President Cyril Ramaphosa speaking at the United Nations Secretary-General's flagship High-Level Summit of the Future (SoTF) in New York on Sunday
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the Pact of the Future agreement is an ‘opportunity’ to reform global governance architecture, including the United Nations (UN).
Ramaphosa was speaking at the United Nations Secretary-General’s flagship High-Level Summit of the Future (SoTF) in New York on Sunday.
Ramaphosa called for UN reform stating before the General Assembly that the Security Council is “clearly no longer fit” to address contemporary challenges.
“Placing the fate of the world’s security in the hands of a select few when it is the vast majority who bear the brunt of these threats is unjust, unfair and unsustainable.
“The UN Security Council as it is currently structured does not represent all and does not consider the voices and viewpoints of all the countries of the world.,
“We need to make these institutions more representative of the current membership of the United Nations. We need to make them more inclusive of the diversity of views on this planet,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa said the meeting comes at a time when the “world faces many challenges and threats.”
“Wars, conflict, and the spectre of emerging conflicts are ever-persistent features of our time…These challenges transcend borders. They affect everyone. Through this Summit of the Future, we must therefore forge a global consensus on the causes of these challenges.”
“We must agree on actions to confront and overcome the threats we all face,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa said South Africa believes that the Pact Of the Future that is before builds on existing commitments in line with the UN 2030 Agenda and Africa’s Agenda 2063.
“A key element of the Pact of the Future is working towards a new agenda for peace. This must involve strengthening multilateral action for sustained peace. The United Nations was created to save future generations from the scourge of war.
“Yet, armed conflict persists. More and more civilians continue to die. Women and children in particular continue to be adversely affected by conflict.
“There must be a reinforced focus on mediation and the political settlements of disputes. We must pursue the attainment of just and sustainable peace based on international law,” Ramaphosa said.
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Ramaphosa said the Summit of the Future should “encourage us to do things differently.”
“We must make a positive impact on the lives of the people of this planet. We must transform international systems of power, governance, finance, debt, trade and technology so that they work for all countries.”
Ramaphosa said “no one must be left out. No one must be left behind.”
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