International Relations & Cooperation: Legacy Report and Five Year Review

Meeting report

The Chairperson noted that there were an insufficient number of Members attending the meeting to constitute a quorum.  The Committee could therefore only receive reports but was not able to adopt any reports.

Mr B Skosana (IFP) confirmed that the Chairperson’s assessment of the situation was correct.

Mr K Mubu (DA) asked if the reports to the Committee could be presented at the workshop scheduled for 11 and 12 August 2009.

Mr C Mulder (FF+) asked if the Chairperson had received formal apologies from the absent Members.

The Chairperson confirmed that apologies had been received from Ms M Pilusa-Mosoane (ANC), Reverend Meshoe (ACDP), and General B Holomisa (UDM).  Mr T Magama (ANC) would arrive later.  The time of this meeting clashed with meetings of other Portfolio Committees, on which the absent Members served as well.  He suggested that the meeting was continued and that the Legacy and Five Year Review reports were submitted.  The Members agreed to the suggestion.

Mr G Koornhof (ANC) said that the Committee’s programme was still in draft format and asked if the finalisation of the programme could be added to the agenda.

The Chairperson replied that the Committee programme was covered under item 4 of the agenda.  The matter concerning the declaration by the Organisation of African Unity (AU) concerning the warrant of arrest for President Omar Al Bashir of the Sudan issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) would be discussed under item 4(c) of the agenda.  The Legacy and Five Year review reports were compiled by Parliamentary staff members at the request of the Committee.

Mr S Mokgalapa (DA) proposed that the agenda for the meeting was adopted.  Ms R Magau (ANC) seconded the proposal.

Briefing on Legacy Report
Ms Dineo Martin (Acting Committee Secretary) presented the Legacy Report of the Committee for the period 2004 to 2008 (see attached document).

Details of the number of meetings held by the Committee over the period were provided.  The Committee adopted only one piece of legislation, i.e. the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Amendment Bill [B55-2008] (adopted on 30 July 2008 and published on 31 July 2008).  Two oversight visits were undertaken in 2007: the Committee visited the new office premises of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Pretoria on 6 – 7 August 2007 and attended the India Brazil South Africa (IBSA) Summit in Johannesburg on 15 – 17 October 2007.  International study tours were undertaken to the Sudan in November 2006, Brazil in September 2006, Western Sahara and Algeria in May 2008 and Israel, Palestine and Syria in June/July 2008.  The Committee was involved in one international agreement – the treaty of partnership and friendship between South Africa and the Russian Federation in 2008.  A challenge for the Committee was the limited oversight activity at the provincial level.

Outstanding issues to be followed up by the incoming Committee included a briefing by the DFA on the latest developments in Zimbabwe, a visit to the completed new head office premises of the DFA, a follow-up briefing on the DFA’s annual report for 2007/2008, a follow-up briefing by the DFA on relations between South Africa and China over the last 10 years, a briefing by the DFA on the location of the Africa Institute, a briefing by the DFA on including the Members of the Committee in invitations to diplomatic functions hosted by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation and the involvement of the Committee in the appointment of diplomats.

Discussion
Mr Mubu asked for clarity on the Committee’s provincial oversight role and involvement in the appointment of diplomats.

Ms Martin explained that the Committee had an oversight responsibility at a provincial level but had only visited the head office of the DFA in Pretoria.

The Chairperson wanted to know more about the Committee’s responsibility at the provincial level.

Mr Skosana explained that the previous Committee had tried to introduce dialogue on the national policy on foreign relations at the provincial level.

Mr Mokgalapa asked if more study tours were not undertaken because of budgetary constraints or for other reasons.

Ms Magau explained that preference was generally given to Portfolio Committees to undertake study tours that impacted on legislation.  As this Committee had no legislative changes to attend to, applications for study tours were turned down.

The Chairperson asked if endorsements of agreements resulted in legislation.  He wanted to know where agreements were dealt with and which agreements were referred to the Committee.

Ms Martin explained that some agreements were referred to the Committee for consideration but others were merely for information purposes.

Ms Magau recalled that the previous Committee had dealt with the establishment of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP).

Mr Skosana said that matters concerning conflict and misconduct by personnel in the South African missions abroad were reported to the Committee.  The Committee would endeavour to provide advice.  Concerning the matter of the appointment of diplomats, the situation was similar to the appointment of judges by the Department of Justice.

Mr Mubu suggested that the reports were discussed at the workshop if time allowed.  Referring to the outstanding issues, he asked how urgent the briefing by the DFA on Zimbabwe was considered to be.  He had visited Zimbabwe during the previous week to and reported that the situation in that country was dire and needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency.  Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai had held meetings with President Zuma as well and it was imperative that the DFA briefed the Committee as soon as possible and that the Members understood the extent of the crisis in Zimbabwe.

Mr Koornhof expressed appreciation for the efforts of the Parliamentary staff in compiling the report.

The Chairperson reiterated that the report cannot be formally be adopted by the Committee as a quorum of Members was not present at the meeting.  He said that the Committee needed an official report on the agreements reached concerning Zimbabwe and the implementation plan for the agreements.  The outstanding issues would remain on the Committee’s agenda.

Briefing on Five Year Review Report
Mr Mpho Mashaba (Parliamentary Researcher) presented a summary of the Five Year Review report (see attached documents).

Policy priorities included the consolidation of the African Agenda, the strengthening of South/South relations, enhancing the North/South dialogue, engaging in the application of global governance principles and the strengthening of bilateral relations.

Oversight activities included the development of new partnerships for the development of the African continent, the strengthening of AU structures, peace and security issues in Zimbabwe, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Comoros, Western Sahara, the Middle East and the nuclear disarmament of Iran, the Africa Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund and other economic and political issues.

A breakdown of the DFA budget for the period 2004/05 to 2008/09 was included.  The reports issued by the Auditor-General (AG) listed challenges regarding inter-governmental transfers, virements in mission accounts, the vacancy levels experienced by the DFA and the need for quarterly reporting.

Issues for consideration by the Committee included matters concerning public diplomacy (e.g. incidents of xenophobia and the activities of South African companies operating abroad), AU affairs and integration (e.g. SADC, Southern African Customs Union, PAP, African free trade agreements, obstacles to travel and conducting business, a review of migration legislation), peace and security issues (e.g. peace missions, use of funds, inter-departmental coordination and collaboration with development agencies) and economic issues (e.g. partnership agreements, World Trade Organisation Doha development round, economic status issues, regulations for South African Companies operating abroad, cooperation and development assistance).

Discussion
The Chairperson thanked Mr Mashaba for the presentation and detailed report submitted.  He remarked that WTO tariffs imposed generally resulted in a drop in trade rather than encouraging trade.

Discussion of other items on agenda
The Chairperson asked for details of the speakers and agenda for the workshop scheduled for the following week.

Mr Mubu asked for confirmation of the dates of the workshop.

Ms Bulelwa Bottoman (Committee Secretary) advised that the workshop will be held on Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th August 2009.  The venue was a guest lodge in Milnerton, Cape Town.  Members would depart from Parliament at 8.00 a.m., sleep over at the guest lodge on 11th August and return on the 12th August.

Ms Dineo Mosala (Content Adviser) advised that the purpose of the workshop was to orientate Members of the Committee.  Together with this meeting, the workshop aimed to assist the Committee with the strategy planning session planned for later this year.

Seven objectives were set for the workshop:
An overview of national policy and recent policy announcements regarding Myanmar, Zimbabwe, the ICC warrant of arrest for President Al Bashir and other recent issues;
The consolidation of the African Agenda, the five year strategy in place, conflict resolution, peace building, recovery efforts and past performance;
South/South relations – the programme, prioritising activities, issues on the agenda and the waning influence of South Africa;
North/South relations – development of partnerships, agreements signed, DFA strategy, promotion of harmony in SACU;
Global stability – issues of governance, development, security and human rights violations.  How agreements were negotiated, ratified and implemented;
Political and economic relations – the reasons for the opening of missions and the expected benefits;
National Treasury – DFA budget approved, monthly monitoring and evaluation and a briefing by the Office of the Auditor-General on audit reports.

The Committee would be involved in the development of a strategic plan after the workshop.  A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis was in the process of being compiled.

The Chairperson asked who was invited to address the Committee at the workshop.

Ms Mosala said that Tom Wheeler and Katherine Truman of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and George Lwanda of Accord (Durban) would be the speakers.  A third person from SAIIA was invited but had not yet accepted.  If he accepted the invitation, he would replace Mr Wheeler.

The Chairperson referred to a letter received from the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation in response to the invitation from the Committee to attend the workshop.  The original dates set for the workshop clashed with the dates of a conference to be held in Sandton on 13th August 2009.  The Committee had therefore changed the dates of the workshop to allow Members to attend the conference as well.  Funding for the conference was an issue and the most viable option was for Members to make use of their allocated airline tickets and for the DFA to provide accommodation for Members during the conference.  Attendance by the Committee was important as it would allow Members to meet and interact with ambassadors and diplomats during the conference.  The matters to be discussed during the conference were shared by the Committee as well.

Mr Mubu asked if details of the conference were available.  He noted that the conference was scheduled to start the day after the workshop, which meant that Members had to travel to Johannesburg late on the 12th August.

The Chairperson said that Members were only expected to arrive on the morning of the 13th August.  The DFA had only provided accommodation for the night of the 13th August.

Mr Koornhof thanked the Chairperson for arranging for the Members to attend the conference.

Mr Skosana asked if transport was arranged between the airport and the conference venue and if the accommodation provided will also be in Sandton.

Ms Bottoman replied in the affirmative to both questions.

Mr Mulder expressed regret over the short notice given and that he would be unable to attend the conference due to prior commitments.

The Chairperson referred to the recent media briefing notes issued by the DFA, in particular to the AU declaration regarding the ICC warrant of arrest issued for President Al Bashir of Sudan.  There were two schools of thought amongst members of the AU on the matter – one was a rejection of the indictment and a refusal to cooperate with the ICC and the other was that a refusal to implement the indictment constituted an endorsement of the gross human rights violations that had occurred in the Sudan.  The record of the ICC was not considered to be good and AU members felt that African countries were unfairly targeted while the United States were not censured for the war in Iraq.  The fear was that the arrest of the leader of a country would set a dangerous precedent and would exacerbate the turmoil in that country rather than resolve it.  The AU Peace and Security Council called for a deferment of the warrant while peace efforts in the Sudan were underway, not a cancellation of the warrant.  Article 16 of the Rome Statutes that established the ICC made allowance for such a deferment.  Former President Mbeki chaired a high level AU Panel on Darfur, tasked with interacting with the United Nations Security Council on the deferment of the warrant.  A report from the Panel on Darfur was expected in September 2009.  He said that the successful transition of South Africa could be a model for the resolution of the conflict in the Sudan.  Although individuals were not persecuted during the transition, it did not mean that persons guilty of human rights abuses were let off the hook.  It was important that a long-term permanent solution was found in the Sudan.

Mr Skosana remarked that Liberia and the subsequent arrest and trial of Charles Taylor was similar.

The Chairperson thanked the attendees for their participation at the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned.