Expansion was high on the agenda of the 15th BRICS Summit this week. [Picture: tfiglobalnews.com]
South Africa’s association with countries with poor human rights track records through BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) has drawn much ire. This, even as the government took pains to explain its foreign policy stance.
Speaking at the conclusion of the 15th BRICS Summit, senior research fellow at Afrasid, Thembisa Fakude said the addition of six countries into the fold was “nothing to celebrate”.
“You’ve got a gangster within BRICS, by the name of [Vladimir] Putin, who has killed his adversary in Russia and you’ve just admitted others who have killed people – including Mohammad Bin Salman who chopped Jamal Kashoggi’s head and dissolved his body in acid,” he noted, before pointing out prominent atrocities in other member states.
“These are the kinds of human beings that are joining BRICS. There’s nothing really to celebrate. It’s just an expansion of gangsterism,” he added.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday announced the admittance of Argentina, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia into the group. The majority of current and incoming members are notorious for human rights abuses.
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Human rights
Among existing member states, Russia has been accused of war crimes in its protracted war in Ukraine. India is becoming increasingly discriminatory against minority Muslims, Christians and Sikhs, with mob attacks on the rise. China has been accused of oppressing its Uyghur minority.
Among the new members, who will assume full membership in 2024, dissent is scarcely tolerated. Iran has in recent months severely cracked down on demonstrators, while Saudi Arabia and Egypt have earned a reputation for curtailing press freedom.
Asked why South Africa would associate with countries with the poorest of track records, the country’s ambassador to BRICS and Asia at large, Professor Anil Sooklal, said it was incorrect to “single out” the human rights track records of “one or two countries”.
“All countries in the world, including the major economies of the world,” he said, “have challenges on human rights and it would be wrong to single out that human rights is an issue just among BRICS countries, existing or new members.
Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshaveni, insisted the African Peace Initiative led by Ramaphosa earlier this year had adequately addressed human rights accusations levelled against Russia, in particular.
“There’s been movement … around the [issue of] the children, the issue around the prisoners of war, the issues around the Black Sea and grain. There are a number of movements in terms of making sure the Russian Federation and Ukraine can sit around the table and negotiate peace,” she said.
