Chairperson, the context of this debate is that our Parliament is playing its role in debating subjects that are for discussion at an international level as we speak. In our case, we are on the way to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU, on your behalf, to debate matters of domestic concern, such as organised crime, to ensure a parliamentary dimension of response to this global challenge.
This debate is therefore an example of how we as a nation can link with others to solve global problems. In my case, I shall deal more with the need of our Parliament to respond to organised crime in the form of the proliferation of illegal arms, in particular small arms, and the inhumane problem of human trafficking which previous speakers have dealt with. As the topic indicates, this is a global problem that needs a global response. We, in the ANC, have always believed and practised the principle of international human solidarity in our practice of international relations. An international response is paramount, because globalisation has not only integrated economies through technology, but it has also opened the door for the cross-border distribution of social ills like organised crime.
Therefore, the solution is a global response by all nations, in our case our parliaments. We can do this through the domestication of relevant international conventions and oversight over the implementation of both domestic laws and international agreements.
Our Parliament should also look into hosting, as an independent institution, meetings of parliamentarians from abroad on specific pertinent issues. In the ANC when we engage in debates about organised crime, we do so not only from the selfish perspective of the need to protect our property, as important as it is, but also in pursuance of a global economic developmental agenda of all underdeveloped nations. The ANC has long recognised and stated that violence in all its forms, be it war or crime, is inimical to the developmental interests of society here and the world over.
This was the ANC rationale behind agreeing to successive ANC-led governments in the past sending troops in peacekeeping missions on the continent. The ANC has an indefatigable desire to pursue shared economic growth and prosperity for all nations, especially in Africa.
The ANC also states in its strategy and tactics document that in its execution of the national democratic revolution it proceeds from the understanding that it is the task of revolutionary democrats and humanists everywhere to recognise the dangers and opportunities in search of a just, human and equitable world order, a world with greater security, peace and dialogue among the nations of the world - rich and poor, big and small.
Therefore, organised crime is one such danger that must be taken seriously because this scourge has the potential to be an obstacle to the advancement of the national democratic revolution. President Zuma, in his introduction to the manifesto of the ANC, said that the fight against crime would be a key priority to ensure safer and more secure communities.
As we stated in the ANC's current election manifesto, the ANC approach to crime is to deal with both crime and its causes. It is not a willy-nilly shoot-to-kill policy as some have distorted it. We must deal with both the kingpins and the foot soldiers in crime-fighting. We must deal with both the corruptor and the corruptee against crime. We must deal with both white- collar and public-sector crime.
As the strategy and thesis of the ANC document says, we must deal with both the big and the small guy in fighting crime. As we shoot to kill a dangerous armed criminal, we must also hunt and arrest the kingpin who hired the criminal.
The proliferation of illegal arms is a major inhibiting factor in the continent's development and prosperity. There is a saying that a problem well defined is a problem well solved. It is common cause that most illicit arms originate from the Eastern European countries that have joined the European Union. The EU has a policy that when these countries join the EU and Nato, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, they are required to conform to the standardised criteria of the arms of the EU. In this process of compliance, these countries then illicitly sell their undesirable arms, small and big, to the developing countries of the South.
States that are characterised as failed states, that are weak in government institutions, like Somalia, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic and others, become the destination of such arms. Also, countries that are undemocratic, that breed rebels and those with weak immigration laws or borders, become the destination of illicit weapons.
This is why the ANC calls for an African solution to these African problems in the form of harmonised economic refugee regimes, regional uniform laws on peace and security, and an effective African standby force in each region. We also call for the implementation of existing relevant laws between us and our neighbouring nations.
Our Parliament needs to do an audit of all relevant international agreements with a view to ensuring implementation and strengthening of the same. In those states where there are conflicts, which have resulted in ongoing wars, we in the ANC, informed by our successful political settlement here at home, call for inclusive political negotiations and settlements. We call for political solutions to all political problems, instead of war.
We in the ANC also believe that there can be no settlement of wars where some parties are closed out of political negotiations, regardless of how radical they are. the former President of the United States, George Bush's strategy of unilateral solutions to global problems has manifestly failed - dismally.
Similarly, human trafficking emanates from socially and economically deprived communities. It is simply the exploitation of the vulnerable who are turned into sexual commodities for the pleasure of the economically strong in society. Our government and country must move with speed to finalise the anti-human trafficking laws that will completely discourage the sale of people for cheap labour or sexual exploitation.
In conclusion, we in the ANC say that organised crime is repugnant to the struggle for the global economic development of nations of the South and those who are weak in the developed nations. We support the IPU in its deliberations on these subjects and call on our Parliament to play its part in the implementation of relevant laws. Working together here at home and abroad, we can do more to eradicate organised crime.
Lastly, in response to Mr Koos van der Merwe - who has since disappeared - who stated that South Africa was one of the leading nations in the levels of crime, I would like to say that I find it interesting and strange that we, as South Africans, find it necessary to always mention this self- lacerating fact that we have high rates of crime. I believe that we should leave this matter to those who are doing surveys and to academics, and promote what we know is good about our country. I thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.