Title: White Paper on South African Participation in International Peace Missions - Part 4
4. SOUTH AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY ON PARTICIPATION IN PEACE MISSIONS
4.1. Support for International Conflict Management and Resolution
In the regional, sub-regional and national context within Africa, many of the crises that beset individual countries and their respective sub-regions have deep-rooted causes. These often include a lack of coincidence between nation and state, resultant ethnic tension and the suppression of minority and majority groups; corrupt and dictatorial regimes; military support for these regimes by neighbouring states and/or by Northern powers through arms trade and sales; unstable civil-military relations; chronic underdevelopment and poverty, and a grinding debt burden.
All too frequently, the resources and energies of the international community, regions, sub-regions and the national state are mobilised mainly around the symptoms of conflict - particularly when these reach the proportions of genocide or civil war. When addressing such crises, it is important to realise that they will recur if the underlying causes of the crisis are allowed to persist. Highlighting the distinction between conflict and crisis underlines the importance of managing the former and addressing the causes of the latter. Because conflict is ever present and the causes of the crisis are numerous, complex and structural, both processes have to be undertaken in a sustained and systematic manner.
In particular there is no single, simple or short-term approach to resolving crises. Peace missions should therefore be viewed as long-term endeavours, which include a significant investment in peace building, and not merely as short-term engagements. Peace building involves the inculcation of respect for human rights and political pluralism; the accommodation of diversity; building the capacity of state and civil institutions; and promoting economic growth and equity. These measures are the most effective means of preventing crises, and are therefore as much pre-crisis as post-crisis priorities. In all cases, peace missions should aim at the empowerment of peoples and be based on local traditions and experiences, rather than the imposition of foreign modes of conflict management and governance.
The greatest need for capacity building in conflict arenas is, indeed, in the realm of governance. While the staging of free and fair elections normally marks the transition to the post-conflict state, this state has little chance to prosper unless emphasis is also placed on the essentials of efficient and effective governance, namely: adherence to the rule of law; competent and fair judiciaries; effective police services and criminal justice systems; professional civil services with an ethos of democratic governance; and the reorientation of the state and its personnel away from partisan interests towards developmental goals.
Preventive diplomacy, peace building and peace making must therefore be the essential pillars of any peace mission. South Africa will endeavour to support such efforts aimed at addressing the causes of crises when and where possible and appropriate - to the extent that its resources allow. The South African government must also assist the international community in managing the symptoms of crises. Sine the UN has very limited assets of its own to run field operations, member states are the main providers of the resources required for such operations. Such support is sometimes provided by collectivities of UN member states, acting under the auspices of regional or sub-regional organisations or security arrangements, or sometimes as more ad hoc, UN authorised "coalitions of the willing". As a responsible member of the UN, the OAU and the SADC, South Africa must prepare for active participation in peace missions and, where appropriate and authorised, humanitarian interventions. Such participation will not only serve the cause of international and regional peace and security, but will also be in pursuit of its national interests.
4.2. Peace Missions and National Interests
South Africa provides the international community with a unique example of how a country, having emerged from a deeply divided past, can negotiate a peaceful transition based on its own conflict-resolution techniques and its own vision of meaningful and enduring development. The South African approach to conflict resolution is thus strongly informed by its own recent history and this strong national interest and experience in the peaceful resolution of seemingly intractable conflicts compels it to participate in peace missions to alleviate the plight of other peoples who are struggling to resolve similar conflicts.
South Africa's emerging national interests are underpinned by the values enshrined in the Constitution, which encompass the security of the state and its citizens, the promotion of the social and economic well-being of its citizenry, the encouragement of global peace and stability and participating in the process of ensuring regional peace, stability and development. These national interests are concretely reflected in key national policy documents - examples of which include the Constitution, a range of White Papers on the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), Growth, Employment and Redistribution Strategy (GEAR), the Transformation of the Public Service, Intelligence and Defence.
South Africa's foreign policy, as an important component of this definition of national interest, is based on six key principles:
- A commitment to the promotion of human rights;
- A commitment to the promotion of democracy;
- A commitment to justice and international law in the conduct of relations between nations;
- A commitment to international peace and to internationally agreed- upon mechanisms for the resolution of conflicts;
- A commitment to the interests of Africa in world affairs;
- A commitment to economic development through regional and international co-operation in an inter-dependent world.
In short, it is in the South African national interest to assist peoples who suffer from famine, political repression, natural disasters and the scourge of violent conflict. South Africa may thus provide civilian assistance and armed forces in common international efforts when properly authorised by international authorities to help in such efforts.
Such participation is increasingly a prerequisite for international respectability and for an authoritative voice in the debate on the future of international conflict management and the reform of intergovernmental organisations such as the UN, the OAU and the SADC.
The experience of other countries indicates that multinational peace missions contribute to the professionalism of their personnel that participate in these missions - be they civilians, police or military. People with mission experience tend to be comfortable with working in a multinational environment and can cope with linguistic and cultural diversity. They are also less parochial in their outlook towards their profession than colleagues who have not had similar exposure. This aspect is extremely significant for South Africa, which is emerging from years of international isolation where there were few opportunities for international military and police exposure.
Although South Africa acknowledges its global responsibilities, the prioritisation afforded Africa in South African foreign policy makes Africa the prime focus of future engagements. South Africa has an obvious interest in preserving regional peace and stability in order to promote trade and development and to avoid the spillover effects of conflicts in the neighbourhood.