SA in the UN Security Council
January 2nd, 2009 | by kilps |One of the leading stories on the Mail and Guardian’s website is “Security Council stint a milestone for SA, says gov” and the entire article is a regurgitation of why the Department of Foreign Affairs thinks it did a good job – with absolutely no rebuttal of this pathetic claim.
The perfect rebuttal of this, saving me a bit of time, is found at MorrocoBoard.com – the most damning bit being the following:
The South African delegation voted against resolution on human rights in Myanmar and a British proposal for a briefing on the situation in Zimbabwe, while pushing for similar resolutions against other members of the UN. The South African “undiplomatic” reign over the UNSC was decidedly divisive and non inclusive throwing another blow to the hope of millions of Africans to see their conferences addressed and their voices heard.
If that isn’t enough, our prevention of UN action in Zimbabwe and our assistance in blocking the resolutions on Myanmar, just help to further show what a disaster our time in the powerful chamber has been. Our delegation even voted against a resolution condeming rape as a weapon of war – as the aptly title post South Africa: Supporting Oppression and Torture Abroad shows. (althought to be honest I struggled to find verification of this – but still).
I’m not a huge fan of our government, but generally I am pretty positive about South Africa – yet this is one of this things, when I think about, I believe is disgraceful. I’m not the only one – but I’m surprised I can’t find more bloggers making a deal about this.
