New York - South African President Jacob Zuma has rebuked world leaders at the annual gathering of the United Nations over the current refugee crisis in Europe, saying it was “man-made” because world powers did not listen to Africa when it dealt with its problems.
Zuma apologised for his voice, which was still hoarse with a cold, when he spoke at at the global body’s 70th debate in its General Assembly on Monday night.
He told the leaders, to their applause: “The current situation in Libya and the Sahel region is a direct consequence of some members of the UN Security Council not heeding informed counsel from the African Union.”
He was applauded again when he said the Security Council abused its responsibility to protect people from war crimes “for narrow political interests that had nothing to do with the fundamental aspects of the prevention of mass atrocities”.
“The current refugee crisis in Europe is sadly the direct result of the militarisation of civilian unrest which included the massive arming of civilians and opposition groupings in Libya and Syria and other affected countries.”
He said South Africa welcomed the meetings that will take place on the margins of the UN General Assembly to review progress made in countering terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa.
Zuma cautioned, however, that the Security Council should heed Africa’s views in future when dealing with conflicts in those regions.
He said it was “critical that the discussions of violent extremism and terrorism in parts of Africa and the Middle East, look into the root causes of the problem and not just the symptoms”.
“Also requiring serious reflection is the regime change doctrine and its role in perpetuating conflicts and instability,” he said, referring to allegations that some countries in the West fuelled protests against governments that they wanted to see overthrown.
In this, he echoed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s sentiments earlier in Monday’s debate.
Nato continued with military action in Libya after a vote by the UNSC, despite the AU having put forward a road map for peace for that country.
South Africa, as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, also voted in favour of military action but supported the AU’s calls on the alliance to halt air strikes and seek a negotiated settlement to end the conflict.
Zuma also used the UN General Assembly platform to make the most detailed call for UN reform of all the speakers so far.
He said almost no progress had been made since a commitment was given by world leaders to reform the UN Security Council 10 years ago.
“It is unacceptable and unjustifiable that more than one billion people in the African continent are still excluded as permanent members of the key decision making structure of the United Nations, the UN Security Council.
“A continent with a smaller population than Africa is represented by three countries on the UN Security Council as permanent members. The UN cannot pretend that the world has not changed since 1945. We are no longer colonies. We are free, independent sovereign states,” he said, to more applause from delegates.
He said some strides had been made towards reform, but “we will continue working with progressive states towards the expansion of representation”.
He said the election process of the UN Secretary-General also needed to be democratised. Currently the Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council, but Zuma said the assembly should play a bigger role in this.
Various other heads of state urged UN Security Council reform during yesterday’s debate, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Brazil’s Dilma Roussef, Mozambique’s Filipe Nyusi and Ethiopia’s Hailemariam Dessalegn. Speaking after Zuma, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe added his voice to the call.
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel over the weekend also came out in support of reforms.
Zuma on Sunday said South Africa would call for an expansion of the UNSC with four permanent seats going to Africa.
Realistically, however, Africa is hoping for two seats, and South Africa is hoping to fill one of those.
ANA