DECLARATION OF A NATIONAL STATE OF DISASTER
Over the last week, communities along parts of our eastern coast have been devastated by catastrophic flooding.
On the 11th and 12th of April, parts of KwaZulu-Natal received between 200 and 400 mm of rainfall in a 24 hour period.
All parts of the province were affected by the rainfall, with the entire Ethekwini metro and the districts of iLembe, Ugu, King Cetshwayo and uMgungundlovu being most affected.
Heavy rainfall and flooding have also been experienced in the Eastern Cape, particularly in the districts of Alfred Nzo, Joe Gqabi and OR Tambo, where roads, bridges and houses have been extensively damaged, especially in the Port St Johns’ area.
To date, a total of 443 people are known to have lost their lives in KwaZulu-Natal.
Approximately 48 people are missing or unaccounted for.
Last week, I and a number of Ministers, accompanied by Premier Sihle Zikalala and MECs, as well as the Executive Mayor and councillors, visited several affected families.
They told us heart-breaking stories about children, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents and neighbours being swept away as their homes crumbled under the pressure of the flood waters.
There are few words of comfort that can ease the anguish and the torment of those people who have lost loved ones.
On the other side of the country, the community of Langa is counting the cost of a devastating fire, which destroyed about 300 homes and displaced around 1,000 people.
We are working with the City of Cape Town to provide shelter and relief to the affected families.
Tonight, we are a nation united in our grief.
We are a nation united in our determination to assist those who have lost their homes and possessions, and who are in desperate need of food, water and shelter.
The rains of the last week have caused extensive damage to houses, businesses, roads, bridges and water, electricity, rail and telecommunications infrastructure.
The flooding has disrupted fuel and food supplies.
Areas located close to rivers and waterways – particularly informal settlements – were severely affected and many dwellings were swept away.
Nearly 4,000 homes have been completely destroyed and over 8,300 homes have been partially damaged.
It is estimated that more than 40,000 people have been displaced by these floods.
This is a humanitarian disaster that calls for a massive and urgent relief effort.
The lives, health and well-being of thousands of people are still at risk.
The floods have caused great economic and social damage.
The Port of Durban – which is one of the largest and busiest shipping terminals on the continent and which is vital to our country’s economy – has been severely affected.
Access to the port has been disrupted by extensive damaged to the Bayhead Road, which links to the Durban Port Operations to the rest of the country.
This route handles 13,000 heavy vehicles per day.
The damage caused to businesses in the area have not been fully quantified, but assessments so far suggest that the Ethekwini Metro accounts for nearly half of all the reported damage.
There has also been extensive damage to public infrastructure, including schools, health facilities, police stations and magistrates’ courts.
It is estimated that over 270,000 learners have been affected.
Over 600 schools have been damaged.
Sixteen of these schools cannot be accessed due to damage to connecting roads and bridges.
We are saddened by the reports that a number of learners and at least one educator have died.
Sixty-six public health care facilities have been affected, although there has been minimal disruption to health services in most affected districts.
Extensive work is underway to restore basic services – such as water, electricity, sanitation and waste removal – to various areas in the province.
These efforts are being hampered by to damage to main supply systems and the inaccessibility of some areas.
To ensure an effective response to these tragic events, the National Disaster Management Centre last week classified the flooding as a provincial disaster.
This was followed by the declaration of the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal to invoke extraordinary measures to deal with the situation.
However, given the extent and impact of the floods, the designation of a provincial state of disaster is inadequate to deal with the scale of the emergency and the required reconstruction and rehabilitation measures and responses.
The significance of the Port of Durban and related infrastructure for the effective operation of the country’s economy means that this disaster has implications far beyond the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
With the heavy rains and flooding in the Eastern Cape and indications from the South African Weather Service that the North West and Free State may also be affected by bad weather, it is clear that there are other areas of the country that need emergency intervention.
Cabinet therefore met in a special session last night and decided to declare a national state of disaster.
The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs will gazette the declaration.
This is to ensure an effective response across all spheres of government to the extreme weather events that have occurred in several parts of the country.
The primary responsibility to coordinate and manage the disaster is assigned to the national sphere of government, working closely together with provincial governments and municipalities.
It enables the mobilisation of more resources, capabilities and technical expertise in providing relief, recovery and rehabilitation to affected communities.
We will be responding to this disaster in three phases:
First, we will focus on immediate humanitarian relief, ensuring that all affected persons are safe and that their basic needs are met.
Second, we will focus on stabilisation and recovery, rehousing people who have lost homes and restoring provision of services.
Third, we will focus on reconstruction and rebuilding.
This will not only involve the construction and repair of major infrastructure.
It will also involve the construction of houses in suitably-located areas and measures to protect the residents of these areas from such adverse weather events in the future.
Several national government departments have already been working with their provincial and local counterparts to ensure an effective response in the allocation of financial resources and technical expertise to the emergency.
The South African Police Service and the South African National Defence Force have been leading search and rescue efforts, with a total of 247 rescue operations to date.
This includes the deployment of SAPS personnel, diving teams, canine units and various vessels, helicopters and fixed-wing planes to the most affected areas.
Aircraft from the SANDF have been used both for rescue and for the delivery of relief supplies – such as food, water, tents and blankets – to people in inaccessible areas.
I have authorised the SANDF to bring in more personnel, water storage and purification supplies and engineering teams to assist with electricity and water restoration.
Various government departments at national and provincial level, municipalities, non-governmental organisations and businesses are distributing basic relief materials such as food, blankets, mattresses, clothing, chronic medication, toiletries and cooking utensils.
I wish to applaud and thank the many individuals and organisations that have taken the initiative to provide humanitarian assistance to those most affected.
This work is vital and we must all do everything within our means to assist.
I have met with the leadership of the Solidarity Fund to ask that it makes its capacity available to confront this dire emergency.
The Board has agreed to assist with humanitarian and other forms of relief in partnership with government, the private sector and various other non-governmental and community-based organisations.
The National Treasury will make an initial amount of funds available as part of our efforts with the Solidarity Fund to implement these support measures.
The Solidarity Fund has effectively managed the resources that government, the private sector and many South Africans made available to manage the COVID-19 effort as well as the July 2021 unrest assistance measures.
The Fund will now set up a separate bank account for the Flood Disaster.
This account can be used by South African and foreign donors who want to contribute to relief efforts.
The bank account details will be available during the course of tomorrow on the website of the Solidarity Fund.
One of the most pressing challenges in the affected areas is to ensure the supply of clean water and shelter.
The Department of Water and Sanitation is leading efforts to restore water supply to areas of Ethekwini that have been badly affected by damage to infrastructure.
This includes repairs to the aqueducts supplying water from the Nagle Dam to Durban Heights, assessing and repairing damage to water treatment works, and identifying and repairing leaks.
Areas without water are being supplied by water tankers, with the municipal fleet being complemented by an additional 100 tankers.
Most areas that experienced electricity disruptions, particularly in Ethekwini, are now back to full service.
The Department of Human Settlements has begun an assessment of damages to houses across the province, and has determined initial requirements for the provision of temporary accommodation, repairs to damaged houses and the replacement of destroyed houses.
An immediate task is to house those people who have been displaced by the floods.
Preparations are underway to provide temporary residential units and it is expected that construction of these should begin by the end of this week.
Financial assistance through a voucher system is being made available to assist households to rebuild partially damaged houses.
A national team of project managers and engineers have been deployed in the province to assess the damage and to advise on the rebuilding.
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is identifying suitable state land that can be used for resettlement.
Infrastructure South Africa is working with relevant departments in all spheres to provide technical support for the repair and rebuilding of infrastructure such as roads, bridges and schools that have been damaged.
The South African National Roads Agency is the lead agency on the extensive work required to repair roads in the province, starting with an immediate focus on the N2 and N3 highways.
Detailed work is underway to assess and quantify the damage to roads and bridges.
To date, around 1,300 road repair projects have been identified by the agencies involved.
Progress has been made in restoring operations at the Port of Durban, opening alternative routes for trucks to access the port terminals and clean up debris in the harbour.
The Department of Small Business Development is mobilising funds to assist small businesses that have been affected by the floods.
Fellow South Africans,
It is going to take a massive effort, drawing on the resources and capabilities of the entire nation, to recover from this disaster.
We will make financial resources available to meet this challenge.
The Minister of Finance has said that a R1 billion is immediately available, and will be approaching Parliament for the appropriation of additional resources.
I will be approaching the Presiding Officers to request a Joint Sitting of Parliament next week to ensure that the elected representatives of the people of our country can be directly involved in oversight of the work that is needed to provide relief and to rebuild.
A comprehensive assessment of the economic cost of these floods still has to be made, but it is clear that it will run into billions of rands for the rebuilding of infrastructure and loss of production.
It will be critical, as we undertake this work, that all the resources we mobilise are used for their intended purposes and reach the intended recipients.
There can be no room for corruption, mismanagement or fraud of any sort.
Learning from the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are drawing together various stakeholders to be part of an oversight structure to ensure all funds disbursed to respond to this disaster are properly accounted for and that the state receives value for money.
These stakeholders include the Office of the Auditor-General, business, religious sector, labour, community-based organisations as well as professional bodies such as engineers and accountants.
We are determined that there must be transparency and accountability as the projects are costed and implemented, as well as how resources are deployed from the beginning.
We are grateful for the messages of support and pledges of solidarity that have been received from across the world, including from the African Union, United Nations and several Heads of State.
These floods are a tragic reminder of the increasing frequency of extreme weather conditions as a result of climate change.
We need to increase our investment in climate adaptation measures to better safeguard communities against the effects of climate change.
At the same time, we need to pursue our own emission reduction targets through a just transition that protects vulnerable communities and safeguards jobs.
Once again, the people of South Africa are coming together to provide assistance and comfort at a time of great need.
In the past week, so much has been done by so many people to bring relief to those most affected.
I wish to commend and thank the emergency service personnel, health care workers, police and defence personnel, municipal workers, volunteers and community members who spent many hours, at great risk to themselves, saving lives and providing support.
We were deeply saddened to learn about the death over the weekend of a police diver, Sergeant Busisiswe Mjwara, who died while conducting a search for victims in the Msunduzi River.
We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to her family, friends and colleagues.
We welcome the support that other provinces have provided in the form of technical expertise and other disaster assistance to KwaZulu-Natal.
We thank the religious community for their prayers and words of comfort over the Easter weekend.
There is still so much more that needs to be done to restore homes, lives and livelihoods.
Let us all work together, as a united and determined nation, to recover and rebuild from this tragic disaster.
May God bless South Africa and protect its people.
I thank you.
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT
Twenty-five years ago, our new democratic Constitution came into effect. In adopting this Constitution, we affirmed our commitment to a society based on democratic values, social justice and human rights.
We were also making a complete break with our past. This was a past of race-based social engineering that manifested itself through influx control, job reservation, group areas and the dreaded dompas. When our forebears drafted the Freedom Charter in 1955, whose principles have been incorporated in our constitution, and declared that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, they were seeking a society free from ethnic chauvinism, tribalism, racism and sexism.
It is therefore deeply disturbing how the recent incidents of anti-foreigner sentiment in parts of the country echo our apartheid past.
We have seen people being stopped on the street by private citizens and being forced to produce identification to verify their immigration status. We have seen some political leaders making unscientific statements about immigrants to exploit people’s grievances for political gain.
We have seen marches being led on people’s homes and their dwellings raided for evidence of criminal activity. We have seen people being attacked, hurt and even killed because of how they looked or because they have a particular accent.
This was how the apartheid oppressors operated.
They said some people could only live in certain areas, operate certain businesses or take certain jobs. Under apartheid, black people were deemed suspects by default and stopped by police when found in so-called white areas. Black people were forced to produce a dompas and if they could not do so, they were jailed.
We cannot allow such injustices to happen again.
The events in the Gauteng township of Diepsloot last week were a tragedy. In the course of a single weekend, seven people were killed, sparking protests. This loss of life is deplorable, as is the killing of a fellow African from Zimbabwe allegedly at the hands of vigilantes.
Crime is a serious problem in this country. It affects all communities and people are justifiably tired of living in fear of criminals.
Contrary to what is claimed by some anti-immigration groupings and individuals, the perpetrators of crime are both black and white, male and female, foreigner and citizen.
Crime, not migrants, is the common enemy we must work together to defeat.
We cannot defeat crime through incitement, violence, intimidation and vigilantism aimed at foreign nationals, and specifically nationals from other African countries.
We acknowledge many communities are frustrated by the apparent inability of the police to deal with criminals. Among the measures we are taking to capacitate the police is the recruitment of an additional 12,000 additional police officers.
We are also re-establishing community policing forums (CPFs) across the country. These forums bring communities and police representatives together to improve local safety and hold police accountable. Communities need to work with the police by actively participating in CPFs and reporting suspected acts of criminality.
Even as we intensify our fight against crime, there is no justification for people taking the law into their own hands.
At the same time, we recognise that illegal migration poses a risk to South Africa’s security, stability and economic progress. Illegal migration affects service delivery and places additional burdens on essential services such as health care and education.
Like any sovereign nation, we have the right to implement policies and measures that guarantee the integrity of our borders, protect the rights of South Africans and provide that all who reside in our borders have a legal right to be here.
Controlling migration is the responsibility of government.
No private citizen may assume the role of immigration or law enforcement authorities by demanding that foreign nationals produce identification. Under Section 41 of the Immigration Act, only a police member or immigration officer can ask someone to identify themselves as a citizen, permanent resident or foreign national. If these officers believe, on reasonable grounds, that the person is in the country unlawfully, they may be detained while an investigation into their status is conducted. When doing so, law enforcement authorities must respect that person’s rights and dignity. They may not do so in a manner that is degrading or humiliating.
Enforcement of migration legislation is a priority for government. We are working to ensure that syndicates perpetrating immigration fraud in collusion with corrupt officials are brought to book. This year alone, several people implicated in passport fraud have been arrested.
No private citizen or group has the right to enter businesses and demand its owners produce proof that their businesses are registered or legal. This is the competence of municipal, provincial or national authorities, including inspectors from the Department of Employment and Labour and the South African Revenue Service.
Like all other businesses, foreign-owned businesses must obey the relevant laws, including health and safety regulations, have all the required permits and licences, and pay the necessary taxes.
We are a democracy founded on the rule of law. Acts of lawlessness directed at foreign nationals, whether they are documented or undocumented, cannot be tolerated.
Attacking those we suspect of wrongdoing merely because they are a foreign national is not an act of patriotism. It is immoral, racist and criminal. In the end, it will lead to xenophobia, whose consequences we have lived through in previous years. We do not want to go back there because in the main the people of South Africa are not xenophobic.
I want to appeal to all South Africans, but particularly to younger South Africans who thankfully never experienced the true brutality and dehumanisation of apartheid. Let us not become like the ones who oppressed us, no matter how legitimate the grievance.
Let us work together to resolve our country’s challenges without resorting to violence or vigilantism. Let us resist those who want to exploit the problems of crime and unemployment for political gain.
Today, our anger may be directed at nationals from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria or Pakistan. Tomorrow, our anger may be directed at each other.
Let us heed the words of Martin Niemöller’s famous poem about the Nazis in Germany:
“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out -
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Let us focus on defeating crime, no matter who commits it.
With best regards,
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT
SOUTH AFRICAN STATEMENT AT THE 24TH SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD-UNESCO
SOUTH AFRICAN STATEMENT
214TH SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
UNESCO
4 April 2022
Chairperson of the Executive Board
President of the General Conference
Director-General
Distinguished Colleagues
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is a distinct honour and privilege for me to present this statement on behalf of the government and people of the Republic of South Africa.
One of the key outcomes of the 41st Session of the General Conference was the adoption of the Operational Strategy for Global Priority Africa for the period 2022 to 2029. The Strategy identifies five Flagship Programmes with objectives, activities, outputs and performance indicators, and we are looking forward to its rigorous implementation and monitoring across the various sectors. Importantly, more resources will be required from both the regular and extra-budgetary sources for the successful implementation of these programmes.
Madam Chairperson,
One of the flagship programmes of the Operational Strategy is Fostering Cultural Heritage and Capacity Development. As we are all aware, this year marks the 50th Anniversary of the 1972 World Heritage Convention, a universal instrument for the identification and protection of the world’s natural and cultural heritage that are of outstanding universal value. While much has been achieved in the past 50 years in implementing this Convention, much more still needs to be done, especially in regard to the African continent.
The persistent under-representation of Africa on the World Heritage List and conversely, its over-representation on the World Heritage List in Danger, calls for urgent attention. The Operational Strategy for Priority Africa highlights this challenge and identifies capacity building as one of the crucial activities to be undertaken to address this gap.
While we appreciate that the World Heritage Centre continues to train a number of African experts, there is a need to ensure that those experts are effectively utilised on the African Continent and beyond. In this regard, closer collaboration between the World Heritage Centre and regional institutions is necessary and encouraged, particularly with the African World Heritage Fund. We welcome the efforts of the new Director of the World Heritage Centre, Mr Eloundou-Assomo, to enhance this collaboration.
We furthermore believe that we should use the 50th Anniversary not only to reflect on the progress achieved over the past 50 years, but also to raise the level of ambition for the next 50 years. It is for this reason that South Africa has decided to host, in December of this year, the closing event to celebrate this significant milestone. We do hope that the Director-General will be able to grace this celebratory occasion.
Madam Chairperson,
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected the cultural and creative industries sector, not only in South Africa but also on the African continent and beyond; reversing many of the gains made in the last two decades. In South Africa, the cultural and creative economy provides our communities, especially women and the youth, with a significant level of employment opportunities and contributes approximately three percent to our Gross Domestic Product. To address the challenges of unemployment and poverty now faced by those working in the creative industries, our government has embarked on numerous relief programs to assist these creative workers.
During the recent regional consultations on cultural policies for the African region in preparation for Mondiacult 2022, South Africa presented proposals for its consideration. Firstly, we highlighted the fact that Covid-19 has propelled the sector to speedily move towards the digitization of the creative industries economy. Secondly, we recognise the need to work together to create international demand for African cultural and creative work, and we should consider establishing a continent-wide export council for African cultural exports. This, in the long run, we believe will mitigate the impact of the pandemic and increase the demand and value of Africa’s cultural products.
In this regard, we commend the initiatives undertaken by UNESCO, under the leadership of the Assistant Director-General of Culture, in the creative industries sector. UNESCO undertook a mapping exercise of the African Film industry and together with Netflix, initiated a film project entitled “Folktales Reimagined”, to provide opportunities for African filmmakers to partner with film production companies. This is a perfect example of how the implementation of UNESCO’s projects can have a catalytic impact on cultural renewal and production at grassroots level, and where countries, cultures and communities can experience the brand of UNESCO more tangibly.
We are pleased to note that a similar, specialised mapping exercise has also been initiated focussing on designers in the African fashion industry, including South Africa, Kenya, Burkina Faso, and the Ivory Coast. We believe that if fully implemented, this initiative has the potential to facilitate the integration of the work of African fashion designers in the global fashion value chain. South Africa stands ready to partner with UNESCO in this regard.
Madam Chairperson,
COVID-19 has impacted the education sector and redefined the way teaching and learning takes place. Among others, digital tools are being utilised to bridge educational gaps created by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this has at the same time exposed and brought to the fore the digital divide between the connected and the unconnected, revealing just how far behind many are with access to digital technology. People without robust internet access are being left behind intellectually, academically and economically.
Although we are not yet certain of how much learning has been lost as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, nor how wide the gaps may be for disadvantaged children, we do know that learners from poorer countries have experienced a significantly higher loss of learning; that earlier grades were more susceptible to learning losses; that losses were higher for mathematics and reading; and, that girls were more affected. Previous gains made in achieving SDG4 have thus been negatively impacted.
We are therefore looking forward to the upcoming Transforming Education Summit to be hosted during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2022, as well as the Ministerial pre-Summit that will be hosted by UNESCO in June. It is crucial that the declarations of this Summit should commit member states to concrete plans and actions, including commitment on resources required to bridge the gap.
Madam Chairperson,
Global Priority Africa has highlighted the importance of higher and TVET education on the African continent and commits UNESCO to developing quality assurance instruments to support the capacities of national authorities to transform these institutions, and to improve the quality of qualifications.
South Africa has identified TVET colleges as key institutions to address youth unemployment by equipping young people with the competencies and skills which will enable them to thrive in the transforming economy. In this regard, South Africa has embarked on a process of remodelling and redesigning the curricula of its 50 TVET colleges with a particular focus on STEM. We welcome UNESCO’s continued partnership in this regard.
Madam Chairperson,
During the 41st session of the General Conference held in November 2021 the Recommendation on Open Science was unanimously adopted by States Parties. South Africa recognises the important role that the natural and social sciences sectors play in building equitable societies. As you will recall, South African researchers demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic the importance of sharing with global partners the results of their rigorous research and vitally important insights into the fast evolving virus. It is only when we advance international cooperation in science, technology and innovation that we can address the challenges that we all face today.
In this regard, South Africa is proud to host and fund the African Open Science Platform, a database which will provide access to research, policies, and technologies. If there is one thing we have learnt from the pandemic then it is the need and the urgency of sharing information. The Open Science Platform provides an opportunity to share scientific knowledge between governments, the private sector and the scientific community.
In December 2022 South Africa will host the World Science Forum with a theme “Science for social justice”, which demonstrates our desire to intentionally cross the divide between the natural and social sciences. The conference will discuss the important role of science in addressing social issues such as poverty, unemployment, inequality, climate change and global cooperation in the natural sciences sector. We welcome UNESCO’s role and participation in this conference.
With 2022 declared the International Year of Groundwater, we acknowledge the role that UNESCO is playing on the African continent and appreciates the important mapping exercise that is currently being undertaken on Africa’s groundwater resources. The availability of potable ground water is critical for Africa’s survival and development, especially given that much of the continent is water scarce or water stressed. It is therefore extremely important to develop responsive and impactful programmes in this sector. We were furthermore pleased that the 9th World Water Forum was recently hosted in Dakar, Senegal, the first time that an African country hosted this Forum.
In conclusion, Madam Chairperson,
As we move towards the end of the International Decade for People of African Descent, we must redouble our efforts to fight against the dual scourges of racism and related intolerances. As the Secretary General of the United Nations recently said, and I quote: “Racism plagues our world. It is abhorrent, it is ugly, and it is everywhere. We must reject it and condemn it without reservation, without hesitation, without qualification”.
It is for this reason that South Africa welcomes UNESCO’s Roadmap against Racism and Discrimination, pursuant to the General Conference Resolution 210 EX/Decision 5.I.B. We urge the Director-General to lead the efforts in putting anti-racism and anti-discrimination at the heart of UNESCO’s programmes.
I thank you.
Ambassador Tebogo Seokolo
SOUTH AFRICA’S STATEMENT AT THE SEVENTH SPECIAL SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF UNESCO
SEVENTH SPECIAL SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF UNESCO
SOUTH AFRICA’S STATEMENT
15 MARCH 2022
PARIS
Madam President,
Thank you for affording my Delegation the opportunity to reflect on the agenda item before us: the impact and consequences of the current situation in Ukraine in all aspects of UNESCO’s mandate.
Today we are reminded of the founding mission of UNESCO, an organisation that was established with a purpose to build the defences of peace in the minds of men. Our forebears, in their wisdom, and mindful of the devastation visited upon humanity by the Second World War, sought to build an international organisation that would pursue the objective of achieving peace through building trust between the peoples of the world, and breaking down the differences that have all too often led to conflicts and wars.
This conflict in Ukraine and many others that we continue to experience in different regions of the world challenge the very foundation upon which this organisation was established.
Madam President,
As stated during the emergency session of the UN General Assembly, South Africa remains deeply concerned about the violations of the UN Charter and international law; the loss of lives; the humanitarian crisis destruction of property, including heritage assets, disruption of education and the forced displacement of people as a result of the war in Ukraine.
We recognise that the conflict will no doubt result in human suffering and destruction, the effects of which will be deeply felt not only in Ukraine, but across the world. Already the global economy is negatively impacted with the increase in the prices of fuel and food.
It is for this reason, Madam President that South Africa has called on both Russia and Ukraine to find a diplomatic and political solution to the conflict.
We note on-going efforts by the parties to the conflict to give negotiations a chance in order to bring an end to the suffering experienced by the people of Ukraine and all those affected by the conflict.
We therefore call upon the international community to urge the two countries to intensify their negotiations in order to find a sustainable and comprehensive solution to the raging conflict and bring an end to the human suffering and destruction of property in Ukraine.
Our actions and decisions as UNESCO an organisation for peace, must lead to the creation of a constructive and conducive atmosphere for negotiations. UNESCO, whose mandate is to promote peace and harmony through education, culture, science, communication and information, has a heavier burden and duty to support the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
Political and security issues should be handled by the relevant multilateral bodies, such as the United Nations Security Council.
Madam President,
The conflict in Ukraine has once more exposed the fault line that still persists in the world today: racism and related intolerances. We deplore the ill-treatment and discrimination of African citizens and students fleeing from the conflict in Ukraine and call on all the parties to ensure the free movement and protection of our citizens in line with international humanitarian law.
In this regard we wish to recall various decisions of the General Conference requesting the Director-General to strengthen UNESCO’s contribution to the fight against racism and related practices and to provide a detailed timeframe for the implementation of UNESCO’s roadmap against racism and discrimination.
Madam President,
In conclusion South Africa will not support any decision that does not foreground the call for a peaceful resolution of the Conflict in Ukraine.
I thank you.
Ambassador Tebogo Seokolo