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 10 October 2012 www.osf.org www.safpi.org

Mandate: 2009-2012 Strategic Plan Consolidation of the African agenda Participation in the Global system of Governance Strategic Priorities Align the strategic emphasis of DIRCO’s work to respond to domestic imperatives Strengthening of Political and Economic Relations Strengthening of North-South Cooperation Strengthening of South-South Cooperation

Principles underlining SA’s International Relations 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 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

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 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 3. North-South Cooperation Promote the Agendas of Africa and the South Advance the importance of multilateralism in global governance

Continued.... 4. Strengthening of Political and Economic Relations 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 5. Participation in the Global System of Governance 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 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

Continued.... under review. 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