Media Statement

17 April 2012

South Africa deplores the recent developments in Guinea-Bissau, particularly the military intervention that took place on 12 April 2012, which has led to the imprisonment of several Bissauan politicians and left the country in a state of uncertainty.

In particular, South Africa is concerned that the Bissauan military chose this course of action despite the joint AU-ECOWAS-UN Mission to Bissau that warned the military against any intervention in the political future of Guinea-Bissau.

South Africa has indicated that the African Union (AU) takes a principled position against unconstitutional changes of Government, and that South Africa will support all ECOWAS, AU and UN mandated efforts to reverse the coup d’état. The fact that the Bissauan military is seeking to entrench the military dominance of the country through the imposition of a Transitional Government is of particular concern to South Africa.

South Africa urges the Bissauan military to allow the civilian population to continue with the electoral process of electing a new President in accordance with the ruling of the Bissauan Supreme Court. South Africa also reminds the military authorities that the safety and security of the imprisoned civilian politicians remains their responsibility and that they will be held accountable for any human rights violations.

South Africa supports the ongoing ECOWAS and AU mediation efforts in Guinea-Bissau to resolve the situation.

For further information please contact Mr. Clayson Monyela spokesperson for DIRCO on +2782 884 5974

ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION

OR Tambo Building
460 Soutpansberg Road
Rietondale
Pretoria

Minister Nkoana-Mashabane announces South Africa’s humanitarian assistance to four core countries of the Sahel region during the Ministerial Meeting of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane successfully concluded her participation in the Ministerial Meeting of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, which took place in Bamako, Mali, on Tuesday, 20 March 2012.

The Peace and Security Council (PSC) considered the situation in the Sahel region and in particular, the situation in the northern part of Mali.

The Council expressed deep concern over the humanitarian crisis currently facing a number of countries in the Sahel region as a result of environmental degradation, climate change and food insecurity.

Furthermore, the Council noted that these challenges have been aggravated by the developments in the Maghreb region, especially by the crisis in Libya, the influx of internally displaced persons, as well as the increase in transnational organized crime, terrorism activities and the proliferation of weapons.

The Council called for a more comprehensive and better-coordinated approach in addressing the situation in the Sahel region in order to assist the concerned countries in implementing national and regional strategies to mitigate the impact of the humanitarian crisis.

During the PSC’s consideration of the situation in the Sahel, Minister Nkoana-Mashabane announced that the four core Sahelian States – Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Chad, approached the South African Government for assistance at a bilateral level and stipulated the areas where they require assistance and immediate humanitarian relief.

South Africa has taken heed of the call made by the four core Sahelian countries because of the humanitarian crisis currently confronting this region. As a short term measure, emergency food and nutritional aid will be directly delivered to these sister countries as a matter of urgency. South Africa is also working out a framework of implementation of further assistance in the medium term.

NIGER

Following a request made by Niger’s President Issoufou to President Zuma during his official visit in November 2011, South Africa has decided to render humanitarian assistance to the Government of the Republic of Niger to help it meet the obligations set out in the Preliminary Support Plan aimed at preventing the spread of food and nutritional insecurity.

The humanitarian assistance that South Africa will provide to assist Niger combat and overcome the current drought, food and nutritional insecurity, will be made up of the following items:

• Fertilizer: 877 tons

• Biopesticides: 5000 litres

• Protection kits for workers applying pesticides: 12 000 units

 • Animal feed for cattle and goats: 11 000 tons

 • Vaccine PPR for livestock: 9 000 000 doses

 • Food grains, millet and sorghum: 103 500 tons

 • Nutritional provision for children and pregnant women: to cater for approximately           22 000 persons

The overall objective of this assistance to the Republic of Niger is primarily to assist this sister country threatened by food and physical security and is also a clear sign of South Africa’s intention to forge greater cooperation with Niger.

 MALI

The Government of Mali has shared with the South African Government its Action Plan to combat the food and nutrition crisis. During bilateral discussions between the two countries, Mali requested South Africa to assist in combating a looming humanitarian crisis that has been exacerbated by the unexpected return of economic migrants and the internal displacement of thousands of its citizens largely due to conflict in the northern parts of the country, which is creating a refugee crisis.

Mali requires humanitarian assistance to alleviate the looming crisis and South Africa plans to respond positively to the request for aid. The areas in which Mali has pointed out as those needing urgent assistance, are as follows:

• Purchase of cereal and grains for distribution to worst affected areas: 45 886 tons of millet and sorghum

 • Provision of dry seeds and potato seeds before the upcoming planting season

 • Animal feed: 14 500 tons, veterinary products and licking stone for livestock

 • Nutritional care for babies aged 6 to 59 months, as well as children suffering from acute malnutrition

 • Acquisition of 35 000 tons of rice as part of the National Food Security Stock.

CHAD AND MAURITANIA

The South African Government is currently in consultation with Chad and Mauritania to assess their emergency humanitarian requirements.

Enquiries: Mr. Clayson Monyela, spokesperson for DIRCO, +2782 884 5974

ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION

OR Tambo Building,

460 Soutpansberg Road

Pretoria

21 March 2012

02 February 2012

South Africa is deeply concerned about the deteriorating political, security and humanitarian situation in Syria. We condemn the continued and violent loss of life in Syria and call for maximum restraint from all the parties to the conflict. We emphasize that there is an urgent need for the violence to cease immediately.

It is our hope that this situation will be resolved in a peaceful manner in accordance with the will of the Syrian people. We reiterate that any solution to the Syrian crisis should be Syrian-led, based on genuine national dialogue, devoid of any form of intimidation and free of interference from outside.

We urge the Syrian authorities to initiate an open, transparent and all-inclusive political process with its people to address their legitimate demands in order to guarantee their fundamental political rights and freedoms, including their rights to freedom of assembly and speech. We also encourage the opposition to participate in this political process with a view to ensuring sustainable peace in Syria.

A comprehensive political solution must be found that would lead to political reform based on respect for democratic principles, rule of law, justice, and human rights. It should also address the socio-economic development needs of the people of Syria, in order to ensure long-term peace and stability.

We appreciate the League of Arab States’ efforts aimed at achieving a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Syria. On 12 January this year the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2033 which focused attention on enhanced cooperation between the UN and regional organizations in the maintenance of international peace and security. South Africa therefore welcomes this engagement by the Council with the League of Arab States, who due to their proximity and knowledge of the region is able to play a meaningful role in assisting the Syrian people overcome their challenges. We hope that this engagement will lead to a peaceful political solution to the conflict in Syria. We strongly believe that any solution should respect the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria, and at the same time uphold the purposes and principles enshrined in the UN Charter.

We thank the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States for providing the UNSC with the report of the Head of the League of Arab States Observer Mission to Syria, General al-Dabi.  This report, which is a first-hand account of developments on the ground, provides the UNSC with an invaluable assessment of the situation. As noted in the report, the Syrian citizens also believe that the crisis “should be resolved peacefully through Arab intervention alone, without international intervention” as “doing so would allow them to live in peace and complete the reform process and bring about the change they desire”.

It is imperative that there be an end to violence from all sides as it is apparent from the Observer Mission report that the opposition is also armed. Consequently, civilians bear the brunt of the violence perpetrated by the Government and armed opposition groups. 

The critical question at this juncture, is what positive contribution can we make as the international community to assist the Syrian parties resolve their conflict.  Action we take should be geared towards bringing the parties towards a peaceful resolution of their conflict rather than widening the gap between them. We therefore welcome the Arab League and all other diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis in the country and we encourage Syrian parties to explore all opportunities to find a political solution.

We must avoid any action that may run the risk of further polarizing the parties and lead to an escalation of the violence. Military intervention to resolve political conflicts, as we have seen in other parts of the world and recently in the Libyan situation, has unintended consequences not only for the country in question but for the wider region.  This is something the Middle East can ill-afford.

We welcome the consideration of the situation in Syria through the draft resolutions before the UNSC. We call on all the commitments and principles expressed by the League of Arab States and other delegations be better expressed in future drafts. South Africa will engage constructively in the negotiations.

For further information, please contact Clayson Monyela, Spokesperson for DIRCO, on +2782 884 5974.

Issued by: The Department of International Relations and Cooperation

OR Tambo Building
460 Soutpansberg Road 
Rietondale
Pretoria

13 January 2012

The South African Government has welcomed the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC’s) unanimous adoption on 12 January 2012 of Resolution 2033, which urges for enhanced cooperation between the UNSC and sub-regional organisations, particularly the African Union (AU), in peace and security matters.

The adoption of the resolution followed an initiative by His Excellency, President Jacob Zuma, during his latest visit to New York to participate in the activities of the UNSC as South Africa holds the Presidency of the Council for the month of January 2012.

Whilst at the UN in New York, President Zuma chaired the UNSC high-level debate on “Strengthening the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations, in particular the African Union, in the maintenance of international peace and security."

Resolution 2033 initiated by South Africa stresses the importance of establishing a more effective relationship between the UNSC and regional bodies in particualr the AU Peace and Security Council, especially in the area of conflict prevention, resolution and management, electoral assistance and regional conflict prevention.

The Resolution also encourages the improvement of regular interaction, consultation and coordination between the two bodies on matters of mutual interest.

President Zuma expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the high-level debate, which saw Member States of the UNSC unanimously supporting calls to strengthen the relations between the UN and regional bodies.

President Zuma said: "While we are pleased with the current relations between the two bodies, we also feel that we can deepen them further for better co-ordination when it comes to dealing with issues affecting our Continent. We want the views of the AU to be respected by the UN."

For further information, please contact Mr. Clayson Monyela, Spokesperson for DIRCO, on 082 884 5974.

Issued by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO)

OR Tambo Building
460 Soutpansberg Road
Pretoria