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South African Journal of International Affairs

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Foreign minister's address

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma

Online publication date: 11 November 2009

To cite this Article Dlamini-Zuma, Nkosazana(2000) 'Foreign minister's address', South African Journal of International

Affairs, 7: 1, 201 207

To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/10220460009545303 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10220460009545303

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Foreign Minister's Address

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma1

he rich symbolism of my address to you this evening does not escape me.

I speak to you four months after our second, and successful democratic elections. It is four months since the retirement of our former President, Nelson Mandela, and just over a hundred days since President Thabo Mbeki took office. It is therefore with a deep sense of humility that we say: The South African people and Government have successfully managed the transition from the Mandela to the Mbeki Presidency. All the fears and anxieties about the postMandela era have proven to be unfounded. As a nation, we are on track to meeting challenges of the new century and millennium in a united, non-racial, democratic and peaceful South Africa. We are, as President Mbeki said, a nation at work to build a better life for all. The real importance of this address is to share with you perspectives not only of our achievements, but also, the challenges and opportunities presented by the new age about to come. I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my predecessor, former Minister Alfred Nzo and the Director-General, Jackie Selebi, for the sterling contribution they have made to our achievements thus far. The role of foreign affairs Our approach is that our foreign policy should be firmly embodied in our domestic policy. For a developing country like ours, faced with daunting

DR NKOSAZANA DLAMINI-ZUMA delivered the Foreign Minister's annual address at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), Johannesburg, on 1 November 1999.

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challenges of economic upliftment and inequalities, our foreign policy priorities should, above all else, be determined by our domestic needs. This in essence is about ensuring that our interaction and engagement with the world results in delivering tangible benefits to the people of South Africa. Our People should be able to enjoy the 'foreign affairs dividend' whether it is from our participation in the disarmament debate or the crusade to eliminate the scourge of landmines, or signing an agreement on trade and investment with our allies these contributions should not only be easily identifiable by each and every man and women in our country but they should also make a meaningful difference to their everyday lives. In other words, our foreign policy objectives are therefore an outward projection of South Africa's domestic imperatives, that is, to create economic and social development and to promote peace and stability. Our broad foreign policy objectives are, in a nutshell, the following: to promote dmocratisation and the respect for human lights; to endeavour to prevent conflicts and promote the peaceful resolution of disputes; and To advance sustainable development and poverty alleviation. The active pursuit of these objectives has enabled South Africa to evolve and project a dynamic foreign policy, which has made us an important player and respected member of the community of nations. It is in this context, that we believe that over the last year, our country has made further significant progress in expending and consolidating our relations with the international community. The Department of Foreign Affairs continues to be faced with new challenges. The international theatre of operation has undergone dramatic changes and continues to do so. Opportun ties, phenomena and threats such as economic globalisation, international syndicated crime, drug trafficking, the proliferation of small arms and weapons of mass destruction, environmental problems and the spread of HIV/Aids, are all issues the Department is grappling with on a daily basis. The primary focus of our foreign policy remains Southern Africa and the African continent as a whole. Prosperity and growth cannot be fostered

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where strife prevails. South Africa cannot hope to flourish if its neighbours suffer from conflict, strife and deprivation. It is therefore precisely against this background that we continue to actively and urgently seek, both bilaterally and together with our African and multilateral partners, the peaceful resolution of conflict situations in our region and continent. The fact that South Africa now has a policy on peacekeeping and has made a practical commitment to start participating in multinational peace missions makes it incumbent on the Government to recognise the role that the Defence Force will play. This puts a new dimension to the Defence Force in terms of South Africa's international obligations. In the last year we were actively engaged in the search for peace, security and development in the conflicts that continue to tear apart the fragile fabric of our subregional architecture. The conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Angola constitute the biggest challenges facing our foreign policy and that of the other SADC member states. Our ongoing engagement in efforts to bring about peace throughout the Great Lakes region of Central Africa will continue until peace and security returns to that region. We compliment President Chiluba for his role in facilitating the signing of the Lusaka Agreement in July this year. We firmly support all the structures that will oversee the implementation of the Lusaka Agreement, including the Joint Military Commission. Our experiences as South Africans have shown, however, that unless the parties to the dispute fully commit themselves to implementing the agreements already reached, peace will not return to this troubled region. We again appeal to all the parties to respect their commitments and to put their personal interests and narrow loyalties behind them and to take bold and courageous steps to bring peace to this undeniably important region of our continent. Without the return of this long-awaited peace we will not be able to promote the economic and social regeneration of that region, and indeed of our entire continent.

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The conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea is equally of great concern. We fully support the OAU initiatives aimed at bringing peace to these warring brotherly countries. We are also deeply concerned about the problems in East Timor and are encouraged by developments towards normality in that region. We are committed to facilitate and promote greater subregional integration through our participation in SADC structures. As you know, from August this year, that responsibility has been conferred on our neighbour, Mozambique. South Africa has signed eight of the nine existing SADC Protocols governing co-operation in various areas. The adoption of the SADC Trade Protocol is probably the most important development within SADC this year. The ratification of the SADC Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security is a matter that we shall accord high priority. We have also contributed in the development of the Berlin Initiative, which strives to foster closer co-operation between the EU and SADC. It is clear that the African reawakening is under way. There have recently been encouraging signs that across our continent there is a renewed commitment to pursue peace, democracy and economic development. The promotion and attainment of the African Renaissance shall constitute the key defining goal of all our foreign policy. We shall work tirelessly, to ensure that, the next century indeed becomes the African century. As the President mentioned in his statement at the African Renaissance Conference in September 1998, 'Our vision of an African Renaissance must have as one of its central aims the provision of a better life for the masses of the people whom we say must enjoy and exercise the right to determine their future. It is in this context, that I would like to reiterate that our Government attaches great importance to the activities of the Organisation of African Unity an organisation South Africa is honoured to be part of and an active member. Of particular significance is the important decision taken recently at the Algiers Summit of the OAU to exclude from its ranks, with effect from the next summit, all military regimes that may still exist on the African continent.

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Furthermore, a significant decision was taken to assist such countries resolutely to move towards a democratic system of Government. South Africa will endeavour to make a constructive contribution in this regard together with its OAU partners. The extent to which we shall be able to successfully address our domestic challenges and problems shall be, in an important sense, the measure of the success of this country's rintgration into the global community and its global economy. We shall continue to expend and strengthen our historical ties with our traditional partners in the industrialised, developed world, including links with countries in Eastern Europe, and seek ties in previously relatively unexplored areas. A recent highlight was the signing on 11 October 1999 of the SA-EU Trade, Development and Co-operation Agreement signed in Pretoria after protracted negotiations spanning over three years. These negotiations were complex and demanding, given the importance of our wide-ranging exchanges with the European Union, our foremost trading and investment partner. We shall pay equal, sustained and increasing attention to our activities in the multilateral and bilateral spheres, and shall continue to see these two spheres as not only complimentary, but also indivisible. We shall speak out against oppression, discrimination in all its forms and manifestations of abuse of human rights, injustice, inequality and discrimination. In fighting for peace, we shall continue to be determined in condemning violence, intolerance and xenophobia. We shall continue to seek to promote a rules-based international order and oppose an unjust and naked abuse of power by the rich and the powerful. South Africa lodged its national Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights at the UN on 10 December 1998, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This translates to 13 the number of human rights related conventions and protocols our country is signatory to. As a Government, our foreign policy stands opposed to unilateralism in dealings among states. We remain committed to the pursuit of people-

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centered development, to the promotion of balanced and sustainable development for all, and to the promotion of sustainable environmental management policies. Challenges for foreign affairs The following are some of the key challenges that will continue to face us in the short and medium term: The challenges facing the developing world and therefore Africa, feature prominently on the agenda of the Non-Aligned Movement. , We are doing our best to fulfil our responsibility as the President of UNCTAD IX. As you all know, in February 2000, Thailand will take over this responsibility. We shall continue our efforts aimed at strengthening UNCTAD as an indispensable multilateral trade and development forum in the next century. We shall continue to pay adequate attention to the imperative need for the reform and dmocratisation of the UN Security Council. The reform of the multilateral institutions, including the UN and Bretton Woods institutions, in order to enhance the role and voice of developing countries in global decision-making processes shall continue to enjoy our firm support. The United Nations and the various other organisations I have mentioned belong to and are shaped by their member countries. In a vibrant democracy such as ours it means that ownership of these apparently inaccessible organisations rests with the people of South Africa, whose interest they should serve. South Africa's civil society, and I immediately think of this Institute, can therefore make an invaluable contribution towards mobilising interest and initiating public debate leading up to the United Nations Millennium Summit next year. South Africa also remains convinced that as we prepare to enter the next Millennium it is essential that we seek a common view on a new agenda for nuclear disarmament.

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Conclusion
In a few days time, from 12-15 November of this year, South Africa will be honoured to play host to the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) Meeting in Durban. The theme of this year's CHOGM is 'PeopleCentred Development: The Challenge for Globalisation'. This theme of 1999 CHOGM best captures the two most important and over-riding challenges facing South Africa at the turn of a new millennium: how do we deal with and manage the impact of globalisation whilst pursuing the necessary and important matter of people-centred development? Ultimately, our success in achieving the objectives we set ourselves for our foreign policy will depend on how we influence and manage, singularly and collectively, the twin processes of globalisation and liberalisation that is sweeping the world. We firmly believe that the Department of Foreign Affairs can and will make a difference and contribute significantly to 'the nation at work building a better life for all'. Thank you for your attention.

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