Geneva, 1 March 2022 (TDI): South African Foreign Minister, Naledi Pandor attended the 49th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

The UN organized a session on the current escalation between Ukraine and Russia and its impact on Human Rights. Official United Nations Representatives and officials from member countries attended the session.

South African Minister of International Cooperation Speech

Minister Naledi Pandor spoke at the 49th session of HRC. She welcomed Russia and Ukraine’s decision to continue talks without preconditions. She hoped both countries will use effective diplomacy to de-escalate the situation.

Moreover, Minister talked about the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the developing countries’ economies. Likewise, she argued that the United Nations must ensure the availability of vaccines to poor countries.

Furthermore, South African Minister talked about the South African founding fathers’ sincerity with human rights. President Nelson Mandella signed the South African constitution into Law on 10th December.

Subsequently, South Africa chose the 10th of December to celebrate the constitution with International Human Rights Day. She said, ” President Mandela chose the 10th of December (1996) as the day on which he would sign our Constitution into law.

He chose Sharpeville to be the place to mark this occasion, he wanted to etch in the minds of South Africans the significance of 10 December (International Human Rights Day) and 21 March (South African Human Rights Day) in the history of the struggle for human rights in our country.”

Further, she urged the HRC to effectively respond to all abuses and human rights violations across the globe. Moreover, the South African Mission in Geneva launched the campaign for South Africa membership for Human Rights Council for session 2023-2025.

United Nations Human Right Council

Human Rights Council is the intergovernmental body under the United Nations. It has 47 member states that are responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe.