International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola reiterated the need to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity but SA abstained from the resolution tabled by Kyiv. Photo: OJ Koloti/Gallo Images
South Africa has voted for a United Nations resolution calling for an end to the war in Ukraine which the US introduced but did not support after it was amended to denounce the Russian invasion as a violation of international law.
The amended resolution called for a swift end to the conflict and a lasting peace accord between Ukraine and Russia, “in line with the UN Charter and the principles of sovereign equality of territorial integrity of states”.
Resolution L.11 was approved by the UN General Assembly by 93 votes to 18, with 65 abstentions.
The US was among the countries which abstained following the adoption of three amendments proposed by France to its initial three-paragraph draft, which laid no blame for the war.
The initial draft implored “a swift end to the conflict” and bemoaned the loss of life on both sides. It was put forth seemingly as a counter to a resolution introduced by Ukraine to mark the third anniversary of the start of the worst conflict Europe has seen since World War II.
That text, resolution L.10, demanded Russian withdrawal from Ukrainian territory, a fair peace agreement and accountability for Russian war crimes.
It emphasised “the need to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law committed on the territory of Ukraine through appropriate, fair and independent investigations and prosecutions at the national or international level, and ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes”.
The resolution carried by 93 votes to 18, with 73 abstentions. South Africa abstained. Russia, the US, Israel and Hungary were among those who voted against it.
Two years ago, on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a similar text garnered 141 votes, including that of the US.
South Africa abstained in 2022 for fear of scuppering peace initiatives by alienating Russia and echoed that stance on Monday.
Addressing the general assembly, South African ambassador to the UN Mathu Joyini said: “South Africa maintains that the current resolution does not go far enough in terms of inclusivity and creating a positive momentum towards a peaceful negotiation.
“South Africa reiterates the importance to make real and meaningful progress towards the peace rather than contribute towards further divisiveness.”
She said despite the adoption of similar resolutions in the past three years, the war had continued.
“If we continue doing what we have been doing and it does not reap positive results then we should consider a different approach. We are at the point of inflection in this conflict.”
South Africa believed, she added, that the text proposed by Ukraine did not resonate with renewed impetus towards a negotiated settlement. Therefore, it would not vote for it.
The New York Times reported that US President Donald Trump’s administration tried to press Ukraine to withdraw its resolution.
The tabling of a counter resolution and tussle over amendments comes amid a deepening transatlantic rift over Ukraine. European leaders are beating a path to the White House after Trump initiated talks with Russia alone and embarked on a war of words with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
He has called Zelenskiy a “dictator” and cast his country as the aggressor, in a stunning attempt to rewrite the facts.
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron smartly corrected Trump’s claim that the US had given $350 billion to Ukraine’s war effort. This is almost three times more than the actual sum of US support, which is about 10% less than what Europe has contributed.
Macron also stressed that any peace accord must protect Ukrainian sovereignty, a week after Trump suggested Russia might have a right to territory seized since the invasion began because “they fought for that land”.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office confirmed last week that he had invited Zelenskiy for a state visit and reiterated that any peace talks must include Ukraine as well as Europe.
The confirmation came while Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, was attending the G20 meeting of foreign ministers in Johannesburg, where Britain’s foreign secretary, David Lammy, said Russia faced a test over Ukraine.
Lammy further said that just and lasting peace would only come through an agreement “consistent with the UN Charter” which “rejects Tsarist imperialism”.
The different approaches to making peace also poses a test for South Africa, itself a target of Trump’s ire over its condemnation of Israel’s destruction of Gaza as genocide.
Pretoria has since the start of war positioned itself as a non-aligned broker which could bring Russia — a longstanding ally and Brics partner — and Ukraine to the negotiating table.
After the resolutions were adopted late on Monday, International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola stressed that peace negotiations must be conducted in the context of respect for international law.
“South Africa remains firmly committed to the need for a peaceful and negotiated resolution of the conflict within a rules-based system centred on international law, including the respect for human rights and the principles of the UN Charter,” he said.
“The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states remain inviolable.”
Lamola said South Africa supported all efforts to end the war but remained steadfast in its belief that all parties must be given a seat at the negotiating table.
He has, since becoming South Africa’s top diplomat last June, repeatedly said that the right to territorial integrity is not only inviolable under international law but the doctrine of non-alignment to which the country subscribes.
His spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, said this informed South Africa’s support for Monday’s amended resolution which was initially introduced by the US.
“The US resolution did not make reference to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states and does not mention the need for all parties to the conflict to be included in the negotiations process. These principles of the UN Charter are central tenets of South Africa’s foreign policy which South African staunchly supports,” Phiri said.
“However, after amendments from the EU, it did and that’s what we voted on. The US, interestingly, voted against their own resolution after it was amended by Europe.”
