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| President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Ukrainian counterpart, President Volodymyr Zelensky, met on the sidelines of the 78th UN General Assembly in New York on September 19 2023. Picture: GCIS |
President Cyril Ramaphosa met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the UN 78th General Assembly in New York, where they discussed the African Peace Initiative initiated 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 June to broker peace in the conflict. SA has been criticised for taking a nonaligned stance since the war broke out in February 2022.
Ramaphosa told world leaders that SA has consistently advocated dialogue, negotiation, and diplomacy to prevent and end conflict and achieve lasting peace. The country has also committed itself to promoting human rights, human dignity, justice, democracy, and adherence to international law. In this conflict, SA has insisted that the UN Charter's principle of respect for every country's territorial integrity be upheld.
The SA's 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 the continent and across the world who are now vulnerable to worsening hunger and deprivation. As the international community, nations must do everything within their means to enable meaningful dialogue and refrain from any actions that fuel the conflict.
Saudi Arabia supports the call by the UN secretary-general in the New Agenda for Peace for Member States to provide more sustainable and predictable financing to peace-building efforts
Ramaphosa said nations are called upon to remain faithful to the founding principles of the UN by recognising the inalienable right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination in line with the relevant General Assembly resolutions. He also called for the lifting of the economic embargo against Cuba and sanctions against Zimbabwe.
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