This shaming situation is ironic as the ANC when it came into power promoted itself as a party at the forefront of protecting and promoting human rights. The ANC government has regrettably over the past few years neglected this aim and instead has chosen to align itself with a number of dictatorships and gross human rights oppressors, the most notable of which is our own neighbour, Zimbabwe.
Most recently, South Africa refused to support a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning rape used as a weapon of war. This happened despite the fact that our own Foreign Affairs Minister led SA’s efforts in supporting this resolution, which was one of the most important decisions taken at the UN Women’s Conference in Beijing twelve years ago.
Our UN ambassador Dumisani Kumalo said that condemning rape related to war was the business of the Security Council, and not the General Assembly. Usually, the opposite reason is given to justify why South Africa failed to take a principled stand on human rights issues.
Other examples of where we failed to take the moral high ground in terms of human rights include:
·      South Africa’s decision to oppose a human rights abuse resolution in Darfur in November 2006;
·      Our opposing of a United Nations Security Council briefing on human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and,
·      Our opposing in 2006 of a non-binding resolution that would have condemned the human rights abuses occurring in Myanmar.
South Africa needs to urgently regain its moral compass when it comes to international relations. We need to take an unambiguous stand on human rights as befits both our recent history and our commitment to fostering the best interests of the emerging world. We must be the country who lead by example on human rights issues, and who take leadership on the international political stage by being a critical voice against human rights abuses. We should not use technical points to avoid shouldering this responsibility.
This is the only way we will regain our previous authoritative position as a champion for the promotion and protection of human rights.
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