ANC backs calls for UN reform
JOHANNESBURG - Minister of International Relations, Naledi Pandor, said the African National Congress (ANC) supports calls for the urgent reform of the United Nations (UN) and its institutions.
“As part of building a better Africa and World, we are continuing with this important work. South Africa, in keeping with the Ezulwini Consensus, fully supports calls for the democratisation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as the premier body responsible for maintaining international peace and security,” she said.
She said that they would continue to work with like-minded and progressive countries and organisations across the globe to make sure this decision is realised.
Pandor briefed the media on Friday about Priority 6 of the ANC’s election manifesto, which centres on building a better Africa and a better world.
It is believed that by reforming the UN, the power of the US will be diminished and strip it of its veto rights, potentially leading to more rapid resolutions in matters of peace and security. “We are the people of South Africa. We, therefore, through our elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic to build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the community of nations,” said Pandor.
Despite the African Union (AU) becoming a full member of the G20, Pandor said it was worth noting that this was done through the leadership of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Pandor highlighted that now that the AU is a member of G20, it will be beneficial. “This (G20 membership) gives the African Union the same status as the European Union, which is part of the 19 other countries, with the developed or developing economies in the world,” she said.
Pandor vowed to continue to mobilise internationally in support of the people of Western Sahara who are struggling against illegal occupation, and we are working within the African Union to ensure that Africa’s last colony is liberated. This move and the call to reform the UN comes months after the South African government took the Israeli government to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for committing genocide in Gaza.