Non-Aligned Movement Summit; Hostages in Philippines

Meeting report

FOREIGN AFFAIRS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
10 May 2000
NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT SUMMIT; SOUTH AFRICAN HOSTAGES IN PHILIPPINES

Documents handed out:
Summary on Non-Aligned Movement Summit

SUMMARY
The original aim of the briefing by the Deputy Director General was to report on the positions taken at a Non-Aligned Movement Summit and to brief the committee on the missions of the department in general. The briefing occurs at a time when the country's foreign policy is put to the test by many incidents such as the farm invasions in Zimbabwe, the broken Lusaka Accord (DRC conflict) and the participation of South Africa in the United Nations-sanctioned peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo and many others. High on the priority list for South Africa at this moment is also finding a solution for the release of people held hostage by rebels in the Philippines, two of whom are South Africans. The presentation by the Deputy Director General aimed at addressing the above concerns and explaining progress on many other missions that the department is involved in.

MINUTES
Non-Aligned Movement Summit
The Deputy Director General, Mr A Minty, indicated that the NAM summit had dealt with several issues which could not be delved into in the setting of an open committee meeting. He did mention certain issues such as disarmament , the need for the United Nations to build a peacekeeping capacity in Africa. They felt that measures should be taken to ensure that the UN abandons the proverbial "double standard" with peacekeeping efforts. Additionally, peacekeeping should not be understood as a replacement for the need to deal with causes of the conflicts. This was further highlighted by the discussion of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and the question as to whether adequate steps were taken. There is a general feeling in the UN General Assembly that the 1994 Rwanda genocide was not handled properly. He said NAM shares that feeling and as a result it is developing some ways to pre-empt genocide. Mr Minty argued additionally for a development plan for disarmament.

The issues of the information technology and communication in "developing" countries were discussed. On that aspect, there has been a realisation that the economically "underdeveloped" countries are left behind in the information and communication 'super-highway'. The resolution of the summit has been that this gap in information and communication technology needs to be narrowed.

On the issues surrounding G77 countries and China's membership, the Deputy Director General said India is not happy with it. Resulting from this unhappiness, India is campaigning for the suspension of China in the group and is basing its campaign on what it says is China's unsatisfactory human rights record.

On good governance, the Deputy Director General said NAM is treating this rather cautiously. The reason being that NAM does not want to offer prescriptive measures. The UN is convinced that there is a good enough reason for intervention on humanitarian grounds. But the Deputy Director General said even with reasons based on humanitarian grounds, it is clearly a slippery slope. He said what is defined as humanitarian can be used as the basis for interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. He pointed out that South Africa has not taken a stand yet on the issue of humanitarian intervention.

On issues of trade, he said the positions taken are not different from those taken at last year's NAM summit. The trade discussion focused on the controversy between trade on the one hand and the promotion of labor and environmental standards. Mr Minty stated that the South African delegation believes that these should not be used for protectionist reasons.

South African hostages in Philippines
The Deputy Director General said the department is trying its level best to find the best possible political solution to the matter and is in constant consultation with the countries involved. There have been three or four incidents in which Philippine forces have engaged the kidnappers, in violation of the non-confrontational approach that they have proposed to adopt. But the Deputy Director General said any further military offensives of any kind have been ruled out. What needs to be guarded against now is for the rebels to leave the island, and the Philippine army has promised to stay in check for that.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Director General registered his hopes that a diplomatic initiative to send three doctors to the camp on the 14^th would succeed. Meanwhile, South Africans in Manila have rallied to provide hope, supplies and support for the Johannesburg couple through a task force of three Foreign Affairs officials in Manila. The diplomats have so far succeeded in sending food - including biltong and dried fruit - and clothing to the rebel compound.

The Deputy Director General concluded his briefing by reporting that the UN will be holding a Millennium Summit in September. One of the issues to be discussed is the role of the UN in the 21^st century; peace, security, and disarmament; and poverty eradication.

Questions and Comment
Ms.Taljaard (DP) expressed her concern and asked for an explanation from the Deputy Director General as to why HIV/AIDS activities seemed not to have been on the agenda at the NAM summit. Taljaard asked for further explanation on the shaky position of China in the G.77 countries.

Ms Hajaij (ANC) referred to the issues of trade and globalisation touched upon by the Deputy Director General in his presentation. She asked if inroads are being made in the sphere of poverty eradication, especially with respect to the existing trade relations and the globalising world. Still on the question of poverty, Ms Hajaij asked the Deputy Director General to explain further what is involved in NAM's proposed poverty eradication and malnutrition summit. Ms Hajaij further asked a question on the reform of UN. She asked if there is any way forward in the reform of the UN's Security Council, as this issue has been the 'talk of the day' especially in the African continent.

Another committee member asked what was India's proposal on the issues of constitutional governance. She also enquired about the date for the proposed conference on environmental affairs.

Mr Eglin (DP) enquired about the progress on the DRC peace process. He asked if the peace process is on the right track, and whether the defaulters of the Lusaka Peace Accord have been identified.

Mr Sithole (ANC) asked how NAM has come to define 'good governance'. He said South Africa needs to make sure that abstract concepts like those are being debated, as humanitarian intervention may be interpreted, rightly so, by some member states as a violation of sovereignty and interference in internal affairs of a state. He said, if the Deputy Director General's presentation is anything to go by, there is an indication that South Africa does not yet have a stand on 'good governance'. Mr Sithole mentioned what he alluded to as South Africa's conflicting stances - military intervention in Lesotho and the present stance on Zimbabwe. He said these are enough examples to show how unsure South Africa is about where she stands on 'good governance', hence the need for debate. Mr Sithole also commented on the issues of trade. He asked how does NAM deal with labour standards, especially considering the protectionist approach that some member states use.

Mr Eglin (DP) asked about the condition of the hostages in Philippines and whether the South African government is doing enough to secure their release.

Department's Response
The Deputy Director General, in his response, firstly corrected the view that HIV/AIDS issues were not raised in the NAM summit. He read from their Report, which states that 'NAM is deeply concerned about HIV/AIDS, and any efforts in the fight against it are welcome'. However, he admitted that this is just a general declaration and association with the programs on HIV/ AIDS.

In response to the question on the reform of the Security Council, Mr Minty said the summit had agreed that the present arrangement is not satisfactory and the US is said to be keen to review it. Not resolved yet, the Deputy Director General indicated, is who would represent Africa in the Security Council, considering the fact that there are three contenders, that is, Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa (though South Africa has not declared interest officially). These contenders, by Africa's standards, are superpowers. Unresolved yet is whether an African country that would finally be seconded to the Security Council would be representing the continent - collective/common continental purpose, or the region - regional purpose, and/or would be representing its interests. In that light, the Deputy Director General said, before a decision can be taken as to which country from Africa is to be seconded, such intricacies (representational confusion) need to be sorted out.

The Deputy Director General also assured the committee that issues surrounding globalisation were touched. There were, for instance, comments on the negative effects of globalisation, which were raised in the context of the burgeoning African debt, especially the debt incurred during colonial and apartheid years and the negative effects of trading in the globalising world. The IMF/World Bank loans to the 'developing' countries were also looked at.

In response to the question on the comment made by India on constitutional governance, the Deputy Director General said India commended OAU's position on military coups - suspending countries whose governments are a result of a coup, from membership of the OAU. Formulations in NAM have not gone this far. They try to encourage member states and those that fall short receive a "yellow card" for unconstitutional governance. NAM discussions are only that and as of now have not been prescriptive. He said discussions at NAM are consensus discussions. He said NAM is well aware of the different situations and contexts, a decision on good governance therefore, like many others, is context bound and needs consensus.

Cabinet has given permission for South Africa to apply to be host of the environmental conference. On the question enquiring about the environmental conference due to be held in South Africa, Mr Minty said it is going to be held in September this year. He said the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has applied for permission that South Africa hosts that conference.

On the question of DRC peace process, the Deputy Director General said the NAM condemns those involved in the breaking of the Lusaka cease-fire agreement and it endorses the positions of the Lusaka peace accord.

On the two South Africans held hostage by the rebel group in Philippines, the Deputy Director General said their main aim is to release them alive. He said the department is following a two pronged approach - try to negotiate a settlement, and secure a temporary arrangement where conditions will be made more bearable for them, pending negotiations for their release.

They are holding talks with the governments affected (France, Philippines and Malaysia) so as to secure a common approach to the problem. Their approach so far is that force should not be used because hostages may be caught in crossfire. High Commissioner Mabuza remains in Philippines to assess the situation so as to inform the department, as South Africa does not have a representative in that country. We have discussed their demands. They are asking for the autonomy of the Islamic Southern region. The government is taking a hard-line. Although, international pressures has been having an effect, because the government has since appointed two more negotiators. The EU has appointed senior officers to approach a discussion with the Philippine government.

The living conditions of the hostages are not pleasant. They slept, for instance, in an open bungalow without blankets. But Mr Minty assured the committee that the department has negotiated for blankets and they are told that those blankets have reached the hostages. The department is also, through a special councillor, in communication with the family of the two South African hostages.

The department is sure about the flow of information because they are interacting with all the stakeholders in this problem, the intelligence and army of Philippines, and other countries involved.

The Deputy Director General further informed the committee that the department is contributing 25% for food and other expenses such as medical.

Mr Jordan (ANC) asked what is NAM's position on coup d'etat with good intentions, that is, to overthrow the undemocratic regimes. He said NAM seems to be painting all coup d'etat with the same brush. He further asked what is NAM's position with regards to democratically elected governments remain unconstitutional.

In response to that, Deputy Director General said these questions are a concern, but NAM's position on displacements/coup d'etat is unshaken. On the question of unconstitutional governments, he said a challenge is how does one draw a line between constitutional and unconstitutional governments. He said it is always a problem for one to rule out a government on the basis that it is unconstitutional, and in turn one does not have something in place to replace it. He concluded that these are tricky issues that are looked at very closely by NAM.

In closing, the Chairperson, Mr Ebrahim, commented that issues of good governance, the United Nations Security Council and other important issues that South Africa seems to lack a definite stance on, need to be debated more closely. He said it is good for South Africa to always know where it stands on issues of international concern. With those remarks, the meeting was adjourned.