DIRCO Annual Report

The second virtual Summit of the G20 took place in November 2020, during which significant achievements were realised in the areas of trade, health, development, gender and African priorities, including G20 support for the Compact with Africa, industrialisation in Africa, debt relief, development as well as combatting illicit financial flows (IFFs).

South Africa concluded its non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council (SC) in December 2020, after serving for two years, from 2019 to 2020. Its term was defined by the theme“Continuing the Legacy: Working for a Just and Peaceful World”, drawing on the legacy of President Nelson Mandela following the Centenary of his birth, as well as the legacy of South Africa’s two previous terms on the council. In the latter regard, South Africa’s priorities focussed on the implementation of this legacy, including UN-AU cooperation; the Women, Peace and Security and Youth, Peace and Security agendas; and the peaceful settlement of disputes. South Africa’s last year in the council coincided with its Chairship of the AU. This presented South Africa with a unique opportunity to advance the African Agenda in both institutions and harmonise its priorities of promoting UNSC decisions in support of the AU initiative of Silencing the Guns across Africa. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the postponement of key conferences and negotiation processes at the UN related to sustainable development. However, South Africa actively engaged in virtual diplomacy to advance its national interests and those of Africa and the global South in multilateral fora. A key priority was to support the efforts of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in guiding the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to lead the African continent’s reaction and then recovery response as Chair of the AU.

While not a member of the Human Rights Council during the period under review, South Africa played a key role in its own capacity and as a member of the Africa Group in Geneva to advocate for the protection and promotion of human rights in line with the norms and values of our Constitution, paying particular attention to the protection of the rights of vulnerable persons and rights of people in developing countries. As a leading humanitarian actor on the continent and beyond, South Africa joined hands with the UN and the international community and played a key role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic during the time when the world experienced unprecedented lockdowns and the skies were closed to aviation. To this end, South Africa agreed to the request by the UN and the international community to establish a temporary humanitarian hub in Johannesburg to facilitate transportation (by South African Airways) of personnel (e.g. doctors and humanitarian workers) and cargo (personal protective equipment, medicines and other non-food items) in southern Africa and beyond to assist countries, including South Africa and people in the region, to combat the Coronavirus.

Department of International Relations and Cooperation

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