Johannesburg: AfricUpdate – News Desk
President Cyril Ramaphosa has, in his weekly newsletter, called on the United Nations (UN) to “actively enforce international law and human rights standards.” This as the organisation commemorates the 80th anniversary of the UN Charter this week.
“At a time of widespread poverty and underdevelopment, when human rights are under threat worldwide and where geopolitical tensions are creating instability across the globe, advancing multilateralism is more critical than ever. If the global, rules-based system is to have practical meaning, the UN must exercise its leadership role of global governance. The UN must actively enforce international law and human rights standards for all, and not the select few,” he said on Monday.
The President said that the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly to be held in New York this week comes at a time when the global rules-based system is “profoundly fragile” with the global intergovernmental organisation under “increasing scrutiny.” He cited increasing global conflicts, threats to global health and pandemic response due to withdrawal of global health financing and faltering global climate response as some of global challenges facing UN members.
“As the UN General Assembly convenes this week under the theme: Accelerating Global Progress Through Intergenerational Collaboration, the stakes have never been higher. The UN is struggling to meet its mandate as contained in the UN Charter. It continues to be hampered by competing national interests that impede collective action. There is a lack of political will among member states to address many challenges, including the chronic underfunding of peacekeeping operations,” he said. The President asserted that the body’s most “serious hinderance” is the “structure and operation of the UN Security Council.”
“Despite changes in global power relations over more than half a century, the decision-making architecture that has enabled the five permanent members to have veto powers, has not changed since the end of the Second World War. These five permanent members effectively make decisions on behalf of more than 85% of the world’s population living in countries of the Global South. They continue to use their veto powers to effectively paralyse collective action and prevent timely responses to crises, even in the face of clear violations of international law,” President Ramaphosa said. Furthermore, South Africa has consistently called for the reform of the council in order for it reflect changing global realities.
“The current composition of the UN Security Council and its record of decisions seriously undermine the spirit of global cooperation and weaken the UN’s commitment to neutrality and its legitimacy. Efforts at reform, such as proposals to expand the permanent membership of the Security Council, improving regional representation, and restricting the use of the veto, have stalled and must be reinvigorated with urgency,” he said. As he, and the South African delegation, arrives in New York for the UNGA, the President reaffirmed South Africa’s position.
“The message South Africa takes to this year’s General Assembly is that if the organisation is to remain relevant and if the global, rules-based system is to endure, the UN must demonstrate in both word and deed that multilateralism is alive. Despite its many challenges, the UN remains humanity’s best chance at peace, security and sustainable development for all,” President Ramaphosa concluded.
