The DA has condemned the department of international relations and cooperation’s (Dirco) appeal to the UN Security Council (UNSC) to convene and intervene in the US capture and prosecution of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and accused the ANC of misusing foreign policy for party political interests.
DA spokesperson on international relations Ryan Smith said Dirco’s appeal smacked of “hypocrisy and contradiction” as the department failed to take a similar stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In a scathing statement on Tuesday, the DA said this exposed the “politically selective and hypocritical means” in which the ANC conducts South Africa’s diplomatic relations on the international stage.
Smith said diplomacy cannot be built on contradictions and inconsistencies.
“In the context of the situation in Venezuela, the ANC has again decided to pursue its entrenched party-political interests in our foreign policy by referring the US to the UNSC when no such appeal for intervention was made when Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and was found guilty of human rights abuses for child trafficking.”
Smith said it was wrong for Dirco to cite international law or make reference to refraining from “the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”, or the fact that “military invasions against sovereign states yield only instability and deepen crisis” when it has shown “diplomatic cowardice by turning a blind eye to the violation of Ukrainian sovereignty by the Russian Federation”.
This approach has rendered South Africa an inconsistent, unreliable and unserious player on the international stage. There is no room for ambiguity or the interpretation of a violation of state sovereignty.
— Ryan Smith, DA spokesperson on international relations
Smith accused the ANC, the DA’s bigger partner in the government of national unity (GNU), of adopting a two-faced approach to the country’s foreign policy to protect its own party interests over the interests of South Africa.
“This is a gross betrayal of the values and principles enshrined in the constitution.”
Smith said his party strongly opposes the politicisation of Dirco to pursue party-political interests instead of pursuing foreign policy in the national interest.
“This approach has rendered South Africa an inconsistent, unreliable and unserious player on the international stage. There is no room for ambiguity or the interpretation of a violation of state sovereignty. That principle applies equally to all international aggressors, Putin and the Russian Federation included.”
Speaking for South Africa at the UNSC on Monday, Jonathan Passmoor, deputy permanent representative, placed emphasis on the premise that no nation could claim to be legally or morally superior to another, maintaining the principle of sovereign equality of all member states.
Passmoor warned that when countries ignore the UN Charter and act contrary to its central premise, to settle international disputes by peaceful means, it undermines the credibility of the entire system.
“By signing the charter, we have all committed to settle our international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace, security and justice are not endangered.
Failure to act decisively against such violations is tantamount to inviting anarchy, and normalising the use of force and military might as the main form of discourse in international politics
— Jonathan Passmoor, deputy permanent representative at the UNSC
“We have also committed to refrain, in our foreign relations, from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes and principles of the UN. The International Court of Justice has also previously affirmed that international law prohibits the use of force and non-intervention in another state’s affairs.”
Passmoor said the stability of the international system depends not only on respect but on the consistent application of established legal norms.
“We all benefit from a rules-based international order based on international law. When we break the norms, we invite anarchy and an environment where might is right, ignoring the complexity of interrelations and interdependence in our modern world.
“The unilateral military strikes carried out by the US against Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and his spouse from Venezuelan territory for transfer to the US wantonly violates the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Venezuela. The actions are also in stark contrast of our established legal norms. Once again, the belief that might is right is reinforced and diplomacy is undermined.”
He warned that should the UNSC fail to stand up to the sovereign rights of any nations or states being undermined and wantonly violated, it leaves other countries equally vulnerable and questions the guarantee of protection by the principles of the charter and international law.
“Failure to act decisively against such violations is tantamount to inviting anarchy, and normalising the use of force and military might as the main form of discourse in international politics. This would be a regression into a world preceding the UN, a world that gave us two brutal world wars, and an international system prone to severe structural instability and lawlessness. We cannot afford to proceed into a complex future without the stability and protection afforded by international law.”
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