Pretoria - South Africa was one of the 35 nations which abstained this week in the United Nations General Assembly vote which overwhelmingly condemned Russia's attempts to annex four regions of Ukraine - Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.
The resolution got the thumbs up from 143 of the 193-member states, while 35 States including the People’s Republic of China, India, and seven SADC countries - South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Mozambique and Tanzania abstained. The rest of the member States did not vote.
The vote was rejected by Russia, supported by four countries - Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Nicaragua.
South Africa’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Mathu Joyini said Pretoria abstained from the vote because it believed the focus should be on ending the war.
“We abstained on the resolution because we believe that the objective of this Assembly in keeping with its mandate must always be to contribute to a constructive outcome conducive to the creation of sustainable peace in Ukraine,” she said in a statement to the UN organ.
“Unfortunately, some elements of the resolution do not address this. In the context of the heightened tensions in recent days, all efforts should be geared towards a ceasefire and a political solution.”
Joyini said the General Assembly “must stand” together in seeking peace and unanimously call for an immediate end to the war.
“That should be our immediate focus,” she charged.
“We therefore expected that any additional resolutions would focus on concrete proposals to end the war which is exacting such a heavy toll on the people of Ukraine. South Africa remains steadfast that dialogue, mediation and diplomacy is the only path that will lead to a peaceful resolution of the conflict,” she said.
“We reiterate our call for a cessation of hostilities as a matter of urgency. This would create the necessary environment required for a political process leading to sustainable peace, taking into account the concerns of all affected States.”
She added that South Africa was “encouraged” by the efforts of the Secretary-General António Guterres to finalise an agreement for the export of grain and fertiliser to countries in need.
“We hoped that this important example could be the basis for an agreement leading to a diplomatic resolution of the conflict. We therefore call on the UN Secretary-General to use his good offices to mediate in pursuit of finding a sustainable solution and for us as member states, to facilitate an enabling environment for dialogue and a negotiated solution to the conflict,” said Joyini.
“South Africa stands ready to work with all member states to contribute to the creation of this conducive environment. We urge the UN Security Council to play a constructive role in the resolution of this conflict, in line with its mandate for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Council cannot abandon its responsibility during this time.”
In March, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to reprimand Russia for invading Ukraine and demanded that Moscow stop fighting and withdraw its military forces, an action that aims to diplomatically isolate Russia at the world body.
South Africa along with 33 other countries abstained from the UN’s emergency vote to reprimand Russia.
IOL