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On October 30, 2016 South Africa has welcomed a United Nations resolution on the treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons.
“South Africa welcomes the adoption on 27 October 2017 of a resolution entitled ‘Taking forward multilateralism nuclear disarmament negotiations’ by a Committee of the UN General Assembly responsible for disarmament and international security”.
The resolution –which will be tabled for adoption at the General Assembly in December -recommends the convening of a conference early in 2017 to negotiate a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons, leading to their total elimination.
The department said the decision is a historic one and is in line with the aims and objectives of the very first resolution adopted by the General Assembly 70 years ago, the nuclear disarmament obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), as well as the provisions of the Pelindaba Treaty, which has already established Africa as a zone free from nuclear weapons.
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On December 8, 2016 the Israeli parliament has voted to retroactively recognize thousands of illegal settlements built on private Palestinian lands. The bill has passed its first round of voting and is expected to also pass the next three rounds.
The South African government has opposed the Israeli draft bill, which seeks to legalize random settlement outposts in the West Bank. “South Africa reiterates that the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory is a direct obstacle to the peace negotiations and is contrary to international law.”
South Africa calls on all peace-loving people throughout the world to stand up in defence of the two-state solution and strongly opposes the ‘land grab’ bill .The bill has already been condemned by Israel’s Attorney-General, stating that it breaches local and international law. Opposition parties describe it as a “land grab” move.
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