DIRCO Annual Report

President Nelson Mandela following the Centenary of his birth, as well as the legacy of South Africa’s two previous terms on the council. South Africa’s priorities were on building on the advances made in its previous terms in the council and focussed on the implementation thereof, 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 UNSC 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 Security Council decisions in support of the AU initiative of Silencing the Guns across Africa. In 2019, South Africa submitted its Instrument of Ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) to the UN in New York. The treaty entered into force on 22 January 2021, 90 days after the 50th State ratified/acceded to it. The TPNW seeks to establish an international norm, delegitimising and stigmatising the possession of nuclear weapons. It aims to contribute towards achieving the objective set out in the very first resolution adopted by UNGA in 1946 to eliminate all weapons of mass destruction. Although South Africa was not a member of the Human Rights Council (HRC), it 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. South Africa’s commitment to the advancement, protection and promotion of human rights and freedoms was further demonstrated by the unwavering cooperation with the offices of the special rapporteurs in various areas of human rights. In this regard, South African authorities and state departments responded to numerous requests by special rapporteurs for information relating to allegations of human rights violations against e.g. journalists, “informal settlers” and minor children. The South African Government conducted requisite investigations into these allegations and submitted reports to the special rapporteurs. In line with South Africa’s commitment to participate in the global system of governance and to influence the development of norms and standards that are in accordance with South Africa’s priorities, policies and broad strategic goals, South Africa engaged actively

in the context of the various UN human rights systems, including in the HRC, in order to promote multilateralism, advance human rights and freedoms, particularly of vulnerable people, and respect for international law and international humanitarian law. As the 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.

Annual Report 2020/2021 I Vote No. 6

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