Grave indictment of international community that we can spend so much on war: South Africa's Ramaphosa

Johannesburg: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has slammed the countries that are engaging in global warfare rather than meeting the basic needs of the global community.

Solidarity and trust between states are being eroded while inequality and poverty are deepening, Ramaphosa told the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Wednesday.

He also expressed concern over wealthier countries failing to meet their financial commitments to tackle global warming and urged world leaders to accelerate global decarbonisation while pursuing equality and shared prosperity.

Recalling the aftermath of World War II, Ramaphosa underlined the need to prioritise spending on development instead of war.

"It is a grave indictment of this international community that we can spend so much on war but we cannot support action that needs to be taken to meet the most basic needs of billions of people," he said.

He recalled how in the aftermath of World War II nations made a solemn commitment to save future generations from the horror and the suffering of war.

Through the United Nations Charter, he said, these nations had accepted a shared mandate to foster peace and promote fundamental human rights, social progress and a better standard of life for all.

"And yet, as we gather here, much of humanity is confronted by war and conflict, by want and hunger, by disease and environmental disaster. Solidarity and trust between states is being eroded. Inequality, poverty and unemployment are deepening," the president lamented.

Ramaphosa said that in the wake of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic and the current wars across the globe, achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals seemed "increasingly remote".

"At the moment when every human effort should be directed towards the realisation of Agenda 2030, our attention and our energies have once again been diverted by the scourge of war," he said, adding that "these seemingly intractable troubles can and must be overcome".

"Over millennia, the human race has demonstrated an enormous capacity for resilience, adaptation, innovation, compassion and solidarity. These qualities must be evident in how we work together as a global community and as nations to end war and conflict," he said, citing South Africa's use of dialogue, negotiation and diplomacy to end centuries of conflict and achieve lasting peace.

Ramaphosa further said, "From the experience of our own journey from apartheid to democracy, we value the importance of engaging all parties to conflicts to achieve peaceful, just and enduring resolutions. It is these principles that inform South Africa's participation in the African Peace Initiative, which seeks a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine."

Although South Africa has consistently resisted what it earlier called "bullying" by the West to take sides in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Ramaphosa said, "In this conflict, as in all conflicts, we have insisted that the UN Charter's principle of respect for the territorial integrity of every country should be upheld."

He also called on the global community to be concerned by recent incidents of unconstitutional changes of government in some parts of Africa.

"The global community needs to work alongside the African Union to support peace efforts in the eastern DRC, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Mali, Central African Republic, South Sudan, northern Mozambique, the Great Lakes Region, the Sahel, Niger and the Horn of Africa.

"The African Union Peace and Security Council has declared that it stands ready to deepen its cooperation with the UN Security Council to silence the guns on the African continent and to achieve peace, stability and development," the president said.

On the issue of global warming, Ramaphosa expressed concern over wealthier countries failing to meet their financial commitments.

"It is a great concern that these wealthier countries have failed to meet their undertakings to mobilise USD 100 billion a year for developing economies to take climate action.

"Africa is warming faster than the rest of the world. We are told that of the 20 climate hotspots in the world, 17 are in Africa," he said.

"Centuries after the end of the slave trade, decades after the end of the colonial exploitation of Africa's resources, the people of our continent are once again bearing the cost of the industrialisation and development of the wealthy nations of the world. This is a price that the people of Africa are no longer prepared to pay.

"We urge global leaders to accelerate global decarbonisation while pursuing equality and shared prosperity," Ramaphosa said.