Human rights in South Africa’s foreign policy under President Cyril Ramaphosa (2019-2024) : a case study of Ukraine

Abstract

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and its subsequent full-blown war of aggression against the country, received widespread condemnation internationally for violating human rights in general, and the Charter of the United Nations (UN) in particular for taking up arms against a sovereign nation. The war has violated a number of international human rights instruments. South Africa, under President Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidency, was one of the first countries around the world to come out boldly and condemn Russia’s action, and called for the Kremlin to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and respect the country’s territorial integrity.

However, South Africa quickly reversed its position, choosing to take what it calls a ‘non-aligned’ position. This contradicted the country’s foreign policy which has been on the side of human rights historically, including under President Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidency. He has promised to protect the human rights of people who are suffering injustice, including the people of Gaza and the Western Sahara. However, South Africa has chosen to be non-aligned in a situation of injustice in Ukraine, which amounts to taking Russia’s side, in total contradiction with its foreign policy and its support of constitutional democracy. As the war continues, Pretoria has repeatedly refused to condemn Russia, and has abstained or voted against UN resolutions for such condemnation. South Africa certainly has the sovereign right to follow a foreign policy of neutrality, e.g. where the underlying causes of conflict are concerned etc., and offer its good services in mediation and conflict resolution. It can, however, not invoke such neutrality to remain silent with respect to invasion and aggression in violation of the UN Charter and be hesitant to express itself on the violations of human rights as a result thereof.

This mini-dissertation offers a multidisciplinary analysis of human rights in South Africa’s foreign policy under President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration between 2019 and mid-2024. The research concludes that South Africa’s failure to condemn Russia for human rights violations in Ukraine, and its purported ‘non-aligned’ position, raises questions about the country’s commitment to human rights through its foreign policy.

It calls for the decentralisation of foreign policy decision-making from the President and Minister of International Relations to a non-partisan structure, operating like an American Congressional Committee, which can scrutinize foreign policy decision-making, including examining South Africa’s bilateral relationships, to strengthen foreign policy.