Chairperson, with the few minutes I have, I would like to raise two issues of concern. Firstly, Programme 2 on foreign relations that received the biggest slice of the budget deals with, among other things, promoting relations with other countries in line with South Africa's national values and foreign policy objectives. Under "Strategic Overview", the Department of International Relations and Co-operation has stated that their overall mandate was, among other things, to communicate government's policy positions. What was strange though was that government, which claimed to be committed to promoting human rights on the continent, seemed to be shifting positions regarding human rights in favour of other considerations.
This policy shift was evident in the way government failed for years to stand up to crimes against humanity, taking place in Southern Sudan. When the UN Security Council wanted to impose sanctions against President Mugabe and his cronies, South Africa rushed to his defence and objected. When the International Court of Justice issued a warrant of arrest for the Sudanese President, South Africa, jointly with the AU, objected to the decision, saying that there should be a hold-off on the warrant of arrest until there was some peaceful resolution.
Rather than helping the people of Southern Sudan by facilitating the arrest of Al Bashir, they allegedly informed Sudan that their President would risk arrest if he came to South Africa. The ACDP is calling on government to show more commitment and consistency when promoting and defending human rights on the African continent in line with our national values.
Secondly, we are wondering why the department has done so little in promoting the utilisation of the Registration of South Africans Abroad, Rosa, and marking its usage by citizens travelling abroad. It is sad that such a valuable service was not even utilised. [Time expired.]