SA delegation addresses United Nations about race-based laws

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An SA delegation of senior officials, led by the G20 Sherpa and the Director General of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco), Zane Dangor, visited the United Nations General Assembly to brief them on South Africa’s G20 Presidency and misconceptions about the country’s legislation, especially the so-called 142 race-based laws.

The meeting comes amid a fallout in diplomatic relations between South Africa and the United States, aid cuts, and misinformation about white genocide and farm seizures.

SA BRIEFS UNGA ABOUT G20 PRESIDENCY AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT RACE-BASED LAWS

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation said during their visit, the delegation advanced discussions originally initiated by the expelled US Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, engaging with counterparts in Washington, D.C. including senior officials at the White House and the State Department, to address bilateral priorities.

The Department said the delegation clarified key issues and misconceptions in meetings with the National Security Council’s Africa Director, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, as well as Treasury Department representatives.

“We believe that these dialogues will assist to refine the current administration’s understanding of South Africa’s position on critical matters, fostering a more nuanced perspective.

“The delegation directly addressed the perception that the South African Government’s policies are designed to violate the human rights of minorities in post-apartheid South Africa. Amongst the issues addressed was the matter of how the Expropriation Act’s no compensation clause is not designed to facilitate unlawful land seizures and undermine property investment,” Dirco said.

POST-APARTHEID ADMINISTRATION MANDATED TO CORRECT INJUSTICES OF THE PAST

The visit to the UNGA about SA’s G20 Presidency comes amid a wave of misinformation fuelled by influential people in the Trump administration including Pretoria-born tech billionaire Elon Musk.

The SpaceX founder took to X (formerly Twitter) to complain that his internet satellite Starlink wasn’t allowed to operate in SA because of race-based laws only to find that he never applied for an operating licence to begin with.

Apart from that, Musk has been at the forefront of those calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to take action against Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema for singing the controversial struggle song ‘Kill the Boer’. The Tesla owner is adamant that the chant calls for the murder of white farmers.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s highest court dismissed lobby group AfriForum’s bid to appeal the ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that the chant is not hate speech, especially taking into consideration South Africa’s historical context.

Regarding the visit to the UNGA, Diro said during the cordial discussions the senior officials addressed misconceptions on what has been presented by some as race laws designed to undermine minority rights in South Africa.

“To this end the senior officials presented information, which highlights the persuasive racial and structural inequality that continues to divide South Africa in all areas of the nation. The post-apartheid administration is constitutionally mandated to correct the injustices of the past. These initiatives are consistent with the efforts to ensure that post-apartheid South Africa entrenches human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms, non-racialism, non-sexism and the supremacy of our constitution and the rule of law.

“These fruitful engagements will be carried out at various levels of government according to the 7 February Executive Order issued by the President of the United States. This includes ensuring that the Seventh Administration positions itself as a strategic partner to avoid conflagration of our national interests against those of our strategic partners worldwide,” the department said.