UN Secretary-General's Press Encounter in South Africa

OPENING REMERKS:

Secretary-General: It is wonderful to be back in South Africa. 

I thank President Ramaphosa and Minister Lamola for receiving me today. 

As we speak, we are witnessing the reshaping of the Middle East, with the changes in the correlation of forces among the key regional actors, with the immense tragedy of the Palestinian people whose right for self-determination whose rights to have their own state must be constantly reaffirmed. But we also see some signs of hope, and signs of hope mainly coming from the end of the Syrian dictatorship. 

The UN is totally committed to supporting a smooth transition of power, with an inclusive political process in which the rights of all minorities will be fully respected, and paving the way towards a united sovereign Syria with its territorial integrity fully reestablished. 

My Special Envoy, Geir Pedersen, is engaging all key actors to contribute to these objectives. And I fully trust the Syrian people, to be able to choose their own destiny. 

I am here in South Africa on a mission of solidarity — and a mission for justice. 

And I am here at a critical time as South Africa assumes the presidency of the G20. 

This continent’s potential is without question.  

Africa is home to a young and growing population, rich cultural and natural diversity, and a tremendous entrepreneurial spirit. 

But this enormous potential continues to be held back by injustices that are deeply rooted in the history of colonialism.  

Injustice in today’s global financial system, which loads countries with debt service costs while denying them access to sufficient low-cost financing to fight poverty, inequality and hunger and advance the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Injustice in worsening climate chaos — which Africans did virtually nothing to cause — that fuels everywhere in Africa floods, storms, hunger and deadly droughts. 

I stand side-by-side with President Ramaphosa and the people of Africa in this fight for justice on all fronts. 

Africa needs financial justice. 

In September, world leaders adopted the Pact for the Future. 

And the Pact includes commitments for ambitious reforms to make the international financial architecture representative of today’s global economy and put the needs of developing countries front and centre. 

It calls for action to move forward with an SDG Stimulus… 

To substantially increase the lending capacity of Multilateral Development Banks to make them bigger, bolder and better to support developing countries... 

And to mobilize more international and domestic resources, public and private, for vital investments. 

Last week I appointed a group of leading experts to galvanize international support for action on debt, and I’m delighted that Trevor Manuel will be part of this important work. 

Second, Africa needs climate justice. 

The continent stands on the frontlines of the climate crisis.  

Despite causing minimal emissions, climate change is pummeling your people and pounding your economies. 

Africa is warming faster than the global average. 

We must limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius to stop this crisis from spiralling even further out of control. 

By next year, countries must deliver new economy-wide national climate action plans — or so-called NDCs -- aligned with 1.5 degrees. 

And as the biggest emitters, the G20 must lead the way.  

These new plans must cover all emissions and the whole economy, accelerate fossil fuel phase-out, and contribute to the energy transition goals agreed at COP28. 

And developed countries must also support emerging economies with technological capacities and know-how to drastically reduce fossil fuel consumption and accelerate the renewables revolution swiftly and fairly. 

And this means creating innovative models of international cooperation, such as the Just Energy Transition Partnership that South Africa has been the first pioneer, and that has been copied afterwards in several countries in other parts of the world, namely in Asia. 

This also means developed countries fulfilling their finance commitments by keeping their promise to double adaptation finance, and meaningfully contributing to the Loss and Damage Fund.

There is a story that not many people know. When the Loss and Damage Fund was created, there were a few pledges, and those pledges represented exactly the same amount that corresponds to the yearly salaries of the ten best players – best football players in the world. This gives an idea that when we talk about the Loss and Damage Fund, we must talk about serious things. 

This example shows that there is a lot that must be done to make sure that the Loss and Damage Fund effectively supports developing countries. 

Throughout, the world must help Africa build green economies anchored in renewable energy.  

It is an absurdity that Africa is home to 60 per cent of the world’s best solar resources — but only two per cent of global investments in solar power. 

We must change this. 

And we must ensure that Africa’s critical mineral resources -- that can power the renewables revolution worldwide -- benefit Africans first and most. 

We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past. 

The UN Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, co-chaired by South Africa, identified a set of principles and recommendations to empower communities, create accountability, and ensure that clean energy drives equitable and resilient growth, with maximum added value for producing countries, instead of exporting raw material with very low value. 

Africa also needs technological justice. 

Africa cannot be left behind in the technological revolution or be denied a voice as the world develops guardrails to harness the benefits of this technology, and minimize the risks. 

Artificial Intelligence is a perfect example. 

The Global Digital Compact adopted in September includes the first universal agreement on AI governance that brings every country to the table. 

It calls for an independent international Scientific Panel on AI and initiating a global dialogue on its governance within the United Nations. 

And it requests options for innovative voluntary financing for AI capacity-building in developing countries for them not to be left behind. 

And, fundamentally, Africa needs the justice that only peace can bring. 

The United Nations will keep working to prevent and defuse the conflicts that plague the continent in close cooperation with African regional organizations. 

This includes the nightmare in Sudan. 

We need all parties silencing the guns and committing to a path towards sustainable peace and accountability for the Sudanese people. 

We will also strengthen our collaboration to advance human rights and counter terrorism as well as violent extremism. 

The UN Security Council’s recent resolution to support African-led peace operations is a welcome step towards strengthening our partnership.   

And we must heed the Pact for the Future’s call to explore expanding representation on the UN Security Council -- a glaring example of injustice in the international peace and security architecture.  

Africa remains without one single permanent member of the Security Council, which is completely unacceptable. 

As this year draws to a close, I have a simple message:                               

2025 must be a year of justice for Africa. 

I look forward to working with the G20 Presidency of South Africa to help deliver justice for the people of this great continent. 

And at the same time, we will be fully supportive to all South Africa initiatives in its role for mediation, in its role for justice, not only in Africa, but in so many other parts of the world.

[END]

QUESTION AND ANSWERS:

 

Question: Sophie Mokoena from SABC. You spoke about what's happening in Syria is of a concern in terms of the Middle East. Do you think world leaders are able to understand that this Middle East question must be resolved, because the entire region will experience problem?

 

Secretary-General: I think it's our duty to do everything to support the different Syrian leaders in order to make sure that they come together and they are able to guarantee a smooth transition and an inclusive transition, and in which all Syrians can feel that they belong. The alternative doesn't make any sense. Syrians had enough divisions. It's time for unity, and it's time for the reestablishment of its territory.

 

Question: What exactly will you and the President be discussing when you meet later today?

 

Secretary-General: Well, there are many areas of common interests related naturally to different situations in Africa, in the Middle East and further fields. But I'd say the main objective of this meeting is to see how best can the UN support the South African G20 presidency with the objective to make this presidency able to, say, overcome the resistances that exist to change in order for all the reforms that are needed for justice to prevail and International relations to become possible. We know it's not easy, and we recognize that protagonism is not ours, it is of South Africa presidency, but we are here to fully support South Africa presidency of the G20.

 

Question: Where we could see the first African countries to enter the Security Council as the permanent members. And how important is the influence of the global south on the work of the organization?

 

Secretary-General: Well, first of all, in the work of the organization, the global south has a majority in the General Assembly and the global south has today an extremely important role. If you look at the conclusions of the summit of the future, you will easily recognize that they respond essentially to the concerns of developing countries. And that demonstrates that the global south and South Africa played a very important role and had an enormous influence in the way the work everywhere is developed today.

 

 

Question: Yes, when the first African countries will enter the Security Council's permanent members?

 

Secretary-General: At the present moment, we have, I would say, a consensus of the P5 that two permanent African members should exist in the Security Council. So, the most difficult obstacle is overcome.

 

Now, obviously the committee that is working in the General Assembly on the reform of the Security Council has dramatically changed its procedure. In the past, they would not even be able to have papers. It was a kind of a secret discussion, and the Secretary-General was reprimanded, if you would speak about Security Council reform, now I talked about Security Council reform permanently, and this committee is working seriously. Now, there are some difficulties with other parts of the world it might be more difficult and then the African countries will have to choose their own representatives. But I am hopeful that I will not finish my mandate as Secretary-General without seeing African permanent members in the Security Council.

 

Question: The UN facing very heavy criticism since Bosnia or UN peacekeeping failed to protect. Kenyan police deported four Turkish teachers, they were asylum seekers. So then, with the request of Turkish Government, Kenya said, we have a strong relation with Turkey, and they were under UN protection, and UNHCR expressed deep concern. What do you want to say about this issue?

 

Secretary-General: So, we are talking about several different issues. One issue is in relation to peacekeeping operations. And one of the things that we have been saying time and time again is that it does make sense to use peacekeeping operations where there is no peace to keep, and obviously the situation we have where you have terrorist organizations operating, where you have high level intensity of fighting, peacekeepers will not have the capacity to protect the people, and that is why we fought. We fought hard for the Security Council to accept that what we need in these situations are peace enforcing and counter terrorism operations that should be led by the African Union, and with assessed contributions, covering 75% of the costs. So, we recognize that when we talk about protection of civilians in situations where there is no peace to keep peacekeeping is not the adequate formula.

 

Now, then we have another kind of questions, which are the questions related to the protection mandates of UN agencies, namely of UNHCR. And I can tell you that when I was the High Commissioner for refugees, we had several situations in which the right of non-refoulement was violated. UNHCR has not the power to avoid it, because obviously UNHCR has only international law supporting it, and as we know, international law is many times violated.

 

But what I can guarantee is that UNHCR will maintain a very active advocacy and in those situations, in my contacts with UNHCR, they have been strongly denouncing any forms of non-refoulement, which means any situation in which someone that is entitled to the right of protection is sent back to a country where they can face persecution.

 

Question: I wanted to know, I mean, this year we've seen over 60 countries hold elections, and you know, most of these countries, you've seen almost a pendulum swing in terms of the politics there is right wing nationalism. Do you believe that you are going to lose the fight in terms of being able to get and operationalize that Loss and Damage Fund when you have countries like the US who are basically denouncing, the president denouncing, you know, the green energy for an example, and in particular, you've been confident about Africa actually getting that permanent seat on the UN Security Council, a the direct link between the current people who’ve been elected to govern their countries and the ability of the UN to be able to effect some of the decisions that they were elected to take?

 

Secretary-General: In relation to the Loss and Damage Fund, which I think was the central part of your question. I’ve been strongly advocating to find innovative sources of financing. And we have given several examples. A levy on the production of oil, a levy on maritime transportation that has meaningful emissions. The same with air transportation. On the other hand, putting a price on carbon and using the price on carbon as a way to help finance the Loss and Damage funds. I would like to see the Loss and Damage Fund with semi-novel innovative forms of financing based on decisions that are taken and can be implemented, and not only dependent on the goodwill of donors, because we have seen that the goodwill of donors is very limited.

 

Question: I'm with Reuters. You've talked about the need for Syria's territorial integrity to be restored, but Israel has already been advancing further into Syrian territory, and Netanyahu has said that the Golan Heights will remain part of Israel for eternity. What are your views on that? And how do you see this situation being resolved?

 

Secretary-General: The concept of eternity is the concept difficult to define. The Golan heights are occupied by Israel, but that occupation is not internationally recognized. And so I would say that eternity would not solve the problem of the violations of the law.

 

Question: The crisis in Sudan is the one of the worst now, at the moment in the world. And we saw that they all the initiatives have failed to address the issue there. So my question here, is there any new kind of approach coming from the UN maybe, with collaboration with the AU and as South Africa is playing a key role in the in the continent.

 

Secretary-General: It is true that we have seen the paralysis of several initiatives that were taken and that have not moved. We are actively engaged at the present moment in trying to make the two sides accept the commitments that they made in Jeddah on the protection of civilians, this is our first priority. At the same time and in contact with others, we will be doing everything we can to allow for new initiatives to be able to overcome the present deadlock. What is the deadlock? Deadlock is that on the sides of Burhan, they say we cannot sit at the same level as the RFS, because we are the legitimate government, that the RFS is a rebel movement. And on the kind of the RFS, they say, either we are treated equally or we don't sit together.

 

So, this deadlock needs to be overcome and it's to be overcome with, I would say, some imagination, and we need to work together to make sure that the two sides are able to sit together, and to make sure that the two sides are able to understand that we must have a ceasefire and we must have a serious political process.

 

Question: You spoke about financial injustice and the legacy of colonialism, and I presume that you are talking about the injustices on the African continent. I wanted to know what your view is in terms of the speed at which redress must come, and what South Africa's role should be in that redress as it heads up the G20 presidency.

 

Secretary-General: The speed has been slow. Resistance of different kinds. There is a resistance to transfer of power by those that have a stronger position. There is a resistance of bureaucracies that like to go on doing what they have always done, even when it doesn't work anymore. And there is a resistance, many times also, of lack of unity in some of the key interlocutors, namely, sometimes also in the developing world. Now, what we are witnessing in relation to climate, what we are witnessing in relation to inequality, poverty and hunger, what we are witnessing in relation to the impact of the consequences of these injustices in peace and security. Look at the multiplicity of conflicts we have on this continent.

 

I think at a certain moment, we'll make those that resist understand that if meaningful changes in the sense of justice, in the sense of fighting inequality and in the sense of offering opportunities to young people everywhere, if those changes are not made, I think our world will know more and more instability, more and more conflict, and in the end, everybody will lose.

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