At the March 24 (second) meeting of the UN General Assembly on the Ukraine crisis (see Morning Briefing for Friday, March 25), South Africa put forward its own resolution, titled, “Humanitarian Situation Emanating Out of the Conflict in Ukraine.” The first resolution — which ultimately passed — was titled “Humanitarian Consequences of the Aggression against Ukraine,” and specifically blamed Russia.
While the text of the South African document is not available, a statement from South Africa’s Department of International Relations & Cooperation (DIRCO), describes its “alternative text” as follows: “South Africa called for a UN outcome that will first and foremost focus on calling for the cessation of hostilities as the first step towards ameliorating the humanitarian situation. It is also important for all parties to abide by international humanitarian law as well as all protocols of the Geneva Conventions. It remains pivotal that aside from addressing the humanitarian needs of the people it must also lay the foundation for the parties to engage in constructive and meaningful dialogue.” http://www.dirco.gov.za/docs/2022/unga0324a.htm
South Africa felt that a second resolution was needed, because, according to a separate statement, “instead of placing the humanitarian crisis and our response at the center of our deliberations, the political divisions in this Assembly suggest that perhaps in the minds of some delegations the humanitarian response is secondary to geo-political objectives.” DIRCO felt it necessary to post this second statement after the vote. Without naming any perpetrators, DIRCO’s lengthy statement directly raises the Iraq War, noting that “2.4 million are reported to have died since 2003,” and that “Many more civilians across the world have died and been displaced.” http://www.dirco.gov.za/docs/2022/unga0324.htm
