By Prensa Latina
Cape Town : South Africa will focus its foreign policy on peacekeeping in the continent and beyond, said Defence Minister Mosioua Lekota on Wednesday, reported BuaNews.
The Defence Minister, addressing a media briefing on the programme of action of government’s International Relations, Peace and Security cluster, said: “It is clear that peacekeeping is now not a passing engagement [for South Africa].”
Minister Lekota chairing the cluster briefing, said a White Paper on Peace Missions would be reviewed, seven years after the country’s first foray into peacekeeping operations.
At the dawn of South Africa’s democracy 14 years ago, the country could not have foreseen the extent of its involvement in peacekeeping operations, and the current demands on the country to contribute to conflict resolution, he said.
The government, said the minister, would advance the perspective in the review of the White Paper on Peace Missions that an orientation towards peacekeeping support for conflict resolution would be a “priority area”.
It would need to be accepted that peacekeeping missions would become part of South Africa’s regular or “daily” engagements, and that these operations would need to be budgeted for accordingly.
The Defence Minister added that, as such, the defence budget would no longer be able to regard the costs involved in peacekeeping operations as “incidental”, but rather would need to set aside “reserve” amounts to meet the country’s commitments in this regard.
At the same time, South Africa would need to be seen to be part of multilateral efforts, and especially operating within the parameters of the 14 nation regional bloc, the South African Development Community (SADC).
It is likely that peacekeeping operations will be pushed up the agenda when South Africa assumes the chair of the SADC in August this year. Currently, South Africa remains seized with bringing peace, security and stability to Africa, with a current focus on Western Sahara, Cote d’Ivoire, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
After more than one year as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, it assumes the presidency of this powerful multilateral forum in April this year, reporters were told.