SOUTH AFRICA’S HAZARDOUS BALLET WITH HUMAN RIGHTS DIPLOMACY

This policy brief argues that South Africa has experienced a 'de-norming' of human rights in its foreign policy, moving from its 1994 commitment to be a human rights promoter to a position of inconsistency and 'normative backsliding' in multilateral forums.

• Since its transition in 1994, South Africa's commitment to human rights as a centerpiece of its foreign policy has declined, with human rights now relegated to the periphery of its diplomacy.
• South Africa's voting record during its tenures as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (2007-2008 and 2011-2012) is cited as evidence of normative backsliding. Specific instances include voting against a resolution to end human rights abuses in Myanmar and voting against a UK-sponsored resolution to sanction Robert Mugabe's regime in July 2008.
• The author describes South Africa's record at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as 'ominous,' noting that the country has voted alongside states with poor human rights records. In July 2016, South Africa voted against a UNHRC resolution regarding human rights on the Internet and abstained from a vote to appoint an independent expert on gender identity and sexual orientation.
• There is a stark contradiction between South Africa's domestic human rights framework—which includes an independent judiciary, Chapter 9 institutions, and an open political system—and its multilateral diplomatic actions.
• The document proposes a three-point action plan to reclaim South Africa's human rights identity: conducting a 'new indaba' to reconceptualize human rights in diplomacy (including appointing a human rights envoy in DIRCO), investing in bilateral relationships with human rights-promoting countries (including India, Brazil, Argentina, and South Korea), and increasing pressure from domestic civil society and NGOs for government accountability.

APA

HENGARI, A. T. (2018). SOUTH AFRICA’S HAZARDOUS BALLET WITH HUMAN RIGHTS DIPLOMACY. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Policy-Insights-53.pdf

Chicago

HENGARI, ALFREDO TJIURIMO. SOUTH AFRICA’S HAZARDOUS BALLET WITH HUMAN RIGHTS DIPLOMACY. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2018. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Policy-Insights-53.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=HENGARI |first1=ALFREDO TJIURIMO |title=SOUTH AFRICA’S HAZARDOUS BALLET WITH HUMAN RIGHTS DIPLOMACY |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=March 2018 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Policy-Insights-53.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hengari2018south, author = {HENGARI, ALFREDO TJIURIMO}, title = {{SOUTH AFRICA’S HAZARDOUS BALLET WITH HUMAN RIGHTS DIPLOMACY}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Policy-Insights-53.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }