SOUTH AFRICA’S HAZARDOUS BALLET WITH HUMAN RIGHTS DIPLOMACY

The policy brief examines the decline of human rights as a cornerstone of South African foreign policy, contrasting the country's strong domestic human rights framework with its controversial voting record at the UN Security Council and UN Human Rights Council. The author contends that this 'de-norming' undermines South Africa's role as a bridge-builder and normative leader in Africa and the Global South. To reverse this trend, the document recommends a three-point action plan: reconceptualising human rights diplomacy through a national 'indaba', strengthening bilateral ties with human rights-promoting nations, and increasing civil society pressure for government accountability.

• Since its transition in 1994, South Africa has shifted from positioning human rights as the center of its foreign policy to relegating them to the periphery of its diplomatic practice.
• South Africa's voting record during its tenures as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (2007-2008 and 2011-2012) demonstrates a lack of consistency with human rights norms, including voting against resolutions regarding human rights abuses in Myanmar and sanctions against Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe.
• The author describes South Africa's record at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as 'ominous', citing instances where the country voted with states having poor human rights records and showed policy incoherence regarding the appointment of an independent expert on gender identity and sexual orientation.
• There is a stark contradiction between South Africa's domestic institutionalisation of human rights—supported by an independent judiciary and Chapter 9 institutions—and its 'de-norming' of human rights in multilateral diplomacy.
• The document proposes a three-part recovery plan: conducting a strategic 'indaba' to re-conceptualise human rights diplomacy (including appointing a human rights envoy in DIRCO), leveraging relationships with human rights-promoting countries, and increasing domestic civil society pressure on the government.

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} }