Chairperson, due to time constraints I will not be able to respond to each an every contribution made by members. Let me take this opportunity once again to thank each an every member, starting with the chairperson of our portfolio committee, members from the ruling party - the oldest political movement on African soil - and the majority of the members in the opposition benches for your constructive contributions. Those members who would like to come back home, you are also welcome. They began to sound as if they were about to return. When others were referring to such and such a document, they were saying things like, "I contributed to that draft." Please, come back home. Maybe it's time. [Laughter.] We listened to all the comments, including how we should find a way as a government to further resource our public diplomacy. We will adhere to these calls. I just want to highlight the important points that the hon Davidson and other hon members were beginning to allude to and say that we have never reneged on the core values that underpin this ANC-led government.
To the hon Eloff, South Africa did not become "fashionable" in international affairs in 1994. As other members from the ruling party have said, the ANC championed internationalism from the time it was formed in 1912. So, 1994 was not the "entry" of the real and true South Africa into international affairs. Apartheid South Africa was chased out of the League of Nations in 1945 because of their wrong policies. There was no fashion that came with Mandela in 1994. I will take the opportunity to spend a bit more time with the committee when I'm home to share with it as much information as possible, seeing as you declared that you were a new member of this committee. I think hon Sulliman and hon Jacobus were already beginning to contribute by giving more information to the new hon member of our committee.
It is the policy of the ANC-led government to diversify crude oil suppliers to our country. At one stage during the apartheid era we were depending on one country for almost 90% of our crude oil supply to this country. You were around then, sir, although maybe you did not vote that way. It was post-1994 when we started with diversification. We also started looking at building refineries that could access the soot oil that is much sought after by many countries, so that that could also come to our shores.
South Africa, and Dirco in particular, respond to Outcome 11 of the International Co-operation, Trade and Security, ICTS, Cluster. We are not championing our foreign policy implementation alone but with other ICTS Cluster members.
There were responses from members on the way we are dealing with areas of conflict and how we continue to champion peace-building, peace-making and postconflict reconstruction in many of the countries on our continent and even beyond, which the hon Deputy Minister alluded to. There were also responses on how we were being called upon to assist in Sri Lanka.
We have been clarifying the song about Libya and we will continue to do so. South Africa voted positively for Resolution 1973 and we are not apologising for doing that. The reason we voted for Resolution 1973 is that it's very much in line with and responds to the responsibility to protect. But there is no "responsibility to protect" that implies we can replace bombs from Libya to Libyans by bombs from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Nato. That we never agreed to, and we have never apologised either. I know of one head of state who went back into Libya at the height of the war, during the bombardment, to say, "Let this stop because it is going to destabilise our continent." That is a fact of history that we will continue to defend. We will continue to champion all the core values that we have alluded to. We will stick to that.
Hon Dudley, we will consider your advice on fielding the next candidate anywhere in the reform of Bretton Woods institutions or the UN Security Council. I can see the ambassador of the United States nodding to say we should do exactly that. [Laughter.]
Let me conclude by saying yes, South Africa will continue championing and implementing our foreign policy, informed by the core values that we have referred to, by ubuntu - I am because you are - and by human rights. I also agree with hon members, as you support our Budget Vote, that we will continue to champion that through pragmatism. To us, ubuntu means humility - but humility is not equal to timidity. They are two different terms. We will keep our eye on the ball. We will never be arrogant. That's why at the end of March, when in terms of rotation the time came for us to vacate the seat in the AU Peace and Security Council, we did exactly that.
On the issue referred to by hon Davidson of us shying away from contributing to the building of a better Africa by not fielding candidates this is not stipulated in any constitutive Act of the African Union, AU. It does not exist. [Interjections.]