When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations 78th General Assembly in New York, Zelensky informed him that the African Peace Initiative launched in June was bearing results.
Ramaphosa said, “As we engaged with the parties in this conflict, as African leaders, one of the issues we raised was that there should be confidence-building measures that could create a sense of confidence towards the resolution of this conflict.
“In this regard, we said issues such as the children who were removed from Ukraine should be returned. We also said that the prisoners of war should be exchanged between the two countries.
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“I have just held a meeting with President Zelensky, who says that, in part, some of our efforts are bearing fruit as children are now being returned and prisoners are being exchanged. But then we said we need to see this happening at a much faster pace.”
On Tuesday, while delivering South Africa’s national statement at the General Assembly’s general discussion, President Zuma stated that he and his Ukrainian counterpart had a bilateral meeting.
In June, Ramaphosa and other African heads of state, including Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Senegal’s President Macky Sall, the Comoros’ President Azali Assoumani, and Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema, visited Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to mediate a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
Since the war began in February 2022, South Africa has been chastised for choosing a non-aligned posture. South Africa has consistently encouraged communication, negotiation, and diplomacy to prevent and end war and establish permanent peace, according to Ramaphosa.
According to him, the country has also committed to promoting human rights, human dignity, justice, democracy, and conformity to international law.
“From the experience of our own journey from the evil system of apartheid – which was declared a crime against humanity by this very organization – to democracy, we value the importance of engaging all parties to conflicts to achieve peaceful, just, and enduring solutions.
“It is these principles that inform South Africa’s participation in the African Peace Initiative, which seeks a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”
In this conflict, as in all conflicts, the president said, SA has insisted that the UN Charter’s principle of respect for [the] territorial integrity of every country be upheld.
“Our participation in the African Peace Initiative, supported by seven countries on the African continent, is informed by a desire to see an end to the suffering of those most directly affected by the conflict and the millions on our continent and across the world who, as a result of the conflict, are now vulnerable to worsening hunger and deprivation.”
Nations, according to Ramaphosa, must do everything in their power to facilitate meaningful conversation, as well as refrain from any actions that feed the dispute. Concerning the African continent, Ramaphosa stated that states must invest in prevention and peacebuilding.
South Africa endorses the UN Secretary-General’s appeal in the New Agenda for Peace for Member States to offer more sustainable and predictable funding for peacebuilding activities.
“As a global community, we should be concerned by recent incidents of unconstitutional changes of government in some parts of Africa.
“The global community needs to work alongside the African Union to support peace efforts in the eastern DRC, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Mali, Central African Republic, South Sudan, northern Mozambique, the Great Lakes Region, the Sahel, Niger and the Horn of Africa.
“The African Union Peace and Security Council has declared that it stands ready to deepen its co-operation with the UN Security Council to silence the guns on the African continent and to achieve peace, stability and development.”
According to Ramaphosa, governments are urged to uphold the UN’s basic principles by recognizing the inalienable right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination in accordance with relevant General Assembly resolutions.
“We must work for peace in the Middle East. For as long as the land of the Palestinians remains occupied, for as long as their rights are ignored and their dignity denied, such peace will remain elusive. The actions of the government of Israel have imperiled the possibility of a viable two-state solution.
“The principles of the UN Charter on territorial integrity and on the prohibition on the annexation of land through the use of force must be applied in this situation.”
South Africa, he said, is still calling for the easing of the economic blockade against Cuba, which has caused enormous harm to the country’s economy and people, as well as sanctions on Zimbabwe.
