Engagement matters : South Africa, the United Nations and a rights-based foreign policy
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Date
Authors
Melber, Henning
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Routledge
Abstract
This article critically examines the role of South Africa with special reference to the
values embodied in the human rights principles of the UN system and argues for a reemphasis
of a rights-based foreign policy guided by a non-alignment loyal only to the
normative frameworks established by the UN for global governance. It is argued that
South Africa’s foreign policy should be measured mainly in terms of its willingness to
engage with the global governance system as represented by the UN, and its support of
the normative frameworks codified by the UN as relevant reference points for any
country’s policy. It is suggested that South Africa, despite its claims of being in
unconditional support of such rights-based agenda, might be able to do better if less
guided by strategic parameters.
Description
Keywords
Foreign policy, Human rights, Rule of law, Social capital, United Nations (UN), South Africa (SA)
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Henning Melber (2014) Engagement matters: South Africa, the United Nations and a rights-based foreign policy, South African Journal of International Affairs, 21:1, 131-145, DOI: 10.1080/10220461.2014.895079.