African solutions for global problems, Clinton

INLSA

BELLVILLE. 08.08.12. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton delivers her address in the main hall of the University of the Western Cape on Tuesday. Picture Ian Landsberg

Deon de Lange Political Bureau

US SECRETARY of State Hillary Clinton has challenged SA to use its moral authority to do more in the causes of peace, equality and democracy – and to “stand up always for human rights at home and around the world”. “When old friends in power become corrupt and repressive, a decision by South Africa to stand on the side of freedom is not a sign that you are giving up on old allies, but a reminder to yourselves and the world that your values don’t stop at your borders,” she said during a well-received speech at the University of the Western Cape yesterday. The event got off to an awkward start when a technical glitch reduced The Star Spangled Banner to a mangled warble, leaving red-faced officials and sound technicians scrambling to solve the problem, which they did with a quick polish of the CD. Clinton praised SA’s leading role at the UN Human Rights Council to protect universal rights, its efforts to advance economic co-operation through the G20 forum, and its promotion of women in leadership positions, but added that SA could and should do more. “Here in South Africa you achieved something that few countries have ever done. You proved that it doesn’t take an all-out civil war to bridge the divide between people who grew up learning to hate one another. You showed that the rights of minorities can be protected even in places where the majority spent decades and decades living in oppression. You reminded the world that the way forward is not revenge, but truth and reconciliation,” she said. Referring to the often repeated statement that African problems required African solutions, Clinton went further to say that “our global problems need African solutions too” and that “few nations on this continent can carry as much weight or be as effective partners and leaders” as SA could be in searching for solutions to global problems. “The world needs you to contribute much because you have already accomplished much… You are a democratic power [with] the opportunity to influence Africa and the world,” she said to enthusiastic applause. America’s top diplomat noted that President Barack Obama had said in 2009 already that “the nations of Africa need partnership, not patronage – not strong men, but strong institutions” and re-committed the US to helping the continent achieve that. And she stressed that many of the world’s problems – such as nuclear proliferation, an anaemic global economy, transnational crime, terrorism and climate change – could not be solved by any country acting alone. Solutions, she said, would only be found through global networks which included governments, businesses, international and regional organisations, academic institutions, civil society groups and individuals – all acting in concert. On the issue of nuclear proliferation, Clinton noted that SA had “set the standard for the world” by being the first country ever to voluntarily give up its nuclear arsenal – a move that allowed SA to “speak with rare authority” on the subject. “You can most convincingly make the case that giving up nuclear weapons is a sign of strength, not weakness… This means that South Africa can play an even greater role on issues like curbing Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons or preventing nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists,” she said. But it was not lost on her audience that the message was coming from a representative of the country that boasted by far the largest nuclear arsenal – and which held the inglorious record of being the only country to have deployed such weapons in anger. Clinton conceded that SA and the US “have not always seen eye to eye” in the area of peace and security – particularly during recent crises in Libya and Ivory Coast – but stressed that these differences were about “tactics, not principles” and therefore should “not obscure our many shared goals”. Speaking about trade issues, Clinton noted that it was often easier for African countries to export goods halfway across the world than to their own neighbours and that there was less intra-regional trade in sub-Saharan Africa than in any other region of the world. “South African leaders have said encouraging words about regional integration. Now the region looks to them to help lead the effort to tear down the barriers that often make it easier to export goods halfway around the world than to your neighbours on the continent,” she urged. And for SA to achieve its own ambitions, the country would have to face and solve its own challenges in health and education, in economic inequality, unemployment, race relations and gender-based violence, Clinton suggested. “Only South Africans can fight corruption. Only South Africans can prevent the use of state security institutions for political gain. Only South Africans can defend your democratic institutions, preventing the erosion of a free press and demanding strong opposition parties and an independent judiciary. Only South Africans can truly preserve and extend the legacy of the Mandela generation.”

deon.delange@inl.co.za