Transcript Slide 1

Sanusha Naidu
Senior Researcher
Annual Report of the Department of International Relations and
Cooperation for 2011-2012 financial year
Presentation
Portfolio Committee: International Relations and
Cooperation
South African National Parliament
Cape Town
www.osf.org
10 October 2012
www.safpi.org
Mandate: 2009-2012 Strategic Plan
Align the strategic emphasis of DIRCO’s work to
respond to domestic imperatives
Strategic Priorities
Consolidation
of the African
agenda
Strengthening of
South-South
Cooperation
Strengthening
of NorthSouth
Cooperation
Participation
in the Global
system of
Governance
Strengthening
of Political and
Economic
Relations
Principles underlining SA’s International Relations
A commitment to the promotion of Human Rights
A commitment to the promotion of
democracy
A commitment to justice and int’l law in
the conduct of relations bet. nations
A commitment to int’l peace and to internationally agreed upon mechanisms for the
resolution of conflicts
A commitment to Africa in world affairs
A commitment to economic dev through
regional and int’l cooperation in an
interdependent (and)n globalised world
Goals under each focus area:
1. African Agenda
• Promoting Peace, Stability
and Security
• Supporting an environment
for socio-economic
development
• Enhancing African unity and
integration (strengthening
of the AU, implementation
of NEPAD and support
for SADC)
2. South-South
Cooperation
3. North-South
Cooperation
• Advancing the
development agenda of
the South through
leadership roles in global
fora like UNCTAD, G-77
• Supporting Southern
multilateralism like NAM,
IBSA, FOCAC, NAASP
• Promote the Agendas of
Africa and the South
• Advance the importance
of multilateralism in
global governance
Continued....
4. Strengthening of Political and
5. Participation in the Global System of
Economic Relations
Governance
• To increase SA representation in
international institutions
• To promote national priorities, the
African Agenda and the Agenda of the
South, through strengthened and
expanded bilateral and multilateral
cooperation with individual countries
• To advocate for and participate in the
reform of global governance institutions
• To create better access for and address the
needs of developing countries in the global
system
• To promote SA’s national strategies and dev
agenda in global orgs
• To cooperate with countries from the North
and South by identifying and advancing
common goals in major multilateral
centres (incl. the UN)
2011-2012 Strategic Objectives
• Enhanced African Agenda and Sustainable
Development;
• Strengthen Political and Economic integration in the
Southern African Development Community (SADC);
• Strengthen South-South Relations;
• Strengthen Relations with Strategic formations of the
North;
• Participate in the global system of Governance; and
• Strengthen political and economic relations.
Outcomes and Achievements
• Indication that for the period under review there were raft
activities undertaken or pursued against the targets set.
• Some highlights included:
- Reaffirming commitments and actively positioning South Africa’s
contribution to critical debates related to the discourse on peace,
security and stability in Africa, security sector reforms; and
approaches to emerging security challenges.
- 2nd term on the UNSC and Presidency of the UNSC January
2012 led to:
- Alignment of AU/UN cooperation on peace support operations (Resolution 2033)
- Promoting cooperation between UNSC and AU structures (Resolution 2036)
Confidential: Not for Citation nor Circulation
Continued…….
- The promotion of peaceful resolution of conflict and work
towards Post Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD).
- Commitment to the APRM as a key instrument of the AU on the
promotion of good governance across the continent.
- Support for the acceleration of the NEPAD programmes and
action plans through the strategic role of the Presidential
Infrastructure Champions Initiative
- Strengthened the country’s technical and development
cooperation through the promotion of SADPA.
Continued...
- Continued support under African Renaissance Fund
- Engaged in processes to advance regional political and
economic integration processes in SADC
- Participated in the BRICS 3rd and 4th Summits as a fully fledged
member. At the New Delhi Summit Pretoria was seen as one of
the architects of the BRICS Development Bank.
- Hosted the 2011 IBSA Summit and rotational Chair of the
Forum. Jointly initiated the first ever UN Resolution in the area of
Human Rights by addressing the issues of ‘Strengthening the
UN’s actions through the promotion of int’l cooperation and
importance of non-selectivity, impartiality and objectivity.
Continued...
Resolution adopted by consensus in the UNGA Third Committee,
Nov 2011
- Ongoing commitment to a Global Governance System based on
international law and the UN Charter.
- Initiated and led a the resolution adopted at the 17th Session of
the UN Human rights Council, June 2011, aimed at promoting and
protecting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of LGBTI
communities.
- Successfully hosted COP 17 and continues work towards the
implementation of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action
(roadmap towards adoption of the protocol on Climate Change)
The Weaknesses
1. Punching above our weight versus Punching within our weight:
- The raft of activities indicates uncertainty around how this contributes to
actually reframing dominant discourses on the current global architecture.
Some notable exceptions but the bulk of the actual performance against set
targets suggests some of the activities were merely PR exercises
- It is unclear from the information provide whether the targeted outcomes are,
in fact, measurable deliverables against the strategic priorities.
2. Advancing the Principles of our Foreign Policy:
- In some instances there seems to be a disconnect between what is presented
in the report and what has been the actual outcome in practice/reality.
- This is notable in the context of the stated commitment towards upholding
human rights, democracy and good governance in the region i.e. this is
juxtaposed by the decision by the SADC Heads of State to disable the SADC
Tribunal.
Continued
- The role of SA in advancing the rule of law and its commitment to int’l law
and justice is questioned against the outcome.
- This is especially in relation to whether the decision by the SADC Heads of
State was anticipated, considering that SA was part of the meetings that
reviewed the jurisdiction of the Tribunal.
3. Substantive Deficits:
- The report highlights a substantial amount of activities and engagements
but there is little substance or details attached to the reporting.
- In order to understand whether these activities and engagements met
targeted outcomes, the report does not say much in terms of how these
activities assisted the Department in achieving its mission and goals.
- It would seem that by adding more detailed analysis to the activities and
engagements , a more in depth assessment can be made that aligns to how
the activities conformed to financial obligations (value) and more importantly
with regard to key deliverables under each key priority area for the period
Confidential: Not for Citation nor Circulation
Continued....
under review.
- Finally it seems that some of the targets are very broad and
not clear how they intersect with SA’s national interests or
alignment to domestic priorities.
4. Public Diplomacy:
- This needs to be strengthened if the SA public are to
understand why SA’s development cooperation is important to
the strategic priorities or the pursuit of deepening global
commitments.
- The case in point is the SA’s contribution to the IMF fire wall
emergency fund of US$2billion.
Overall Assessment
• Targeted strategies seem to be aimed at getting a seat at the table or going
for positional leadership opportunities i.e. BRICS, G-20, UNSC.
• The substantial issues in how these positions can be used to contribute to
some of the debates on substantially reforming the global architecture or
intellectual capital is unclear.
• The raft of activities are sometimes diffuse and diverse in nature which does
not always align to the domestic imperatives as noted in the mandate
• Research and Development must be strengthened in order for SA to be able
to assess emerging trends and be able to develop appropriate responses i.e.
Policy towards the changing MENA region
• More clarity is needed on processes like the BRICS Strategy, SADPA, and the
SA Council of Foreign Relations which are identified as drivers of SA’s foreign
policy in the 21st Century.
• Finally, there needs to be coherent link between SA’s global engagements,
national interests and domestic priorities.
THANK YOU