ANC Today 

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Volume 3, No. 38, 26 September - 2 October 2003 

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THIS WEEK:

* Letter from the President: The poor need a strong and effective United Nations 
* Traditional Medicine: A critical role in the health of our people 
* Heritage Day: Diversity is our most valued asset 

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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

The poor need a strong and effective United Nations

When we met here last year, we were all concerned about what would happen to
Iraq. At the same time, we were concerned about what role this organisation, the
United Nations, would play in the resolution of the Iraq affair. Dramatic events
since then have provided answers to these questions.

However, these dramatic events have raised important and disturbing questions
about the very future of the United Nations. Central among these is the question
- does the United Nations have a future as a strong and effective multi-lateral
organisation, enjoying the confidence of the peoples of the world, and capable
of addressing the matters that are of concern to all humanity!

If for some time after that General Assembly we were concerned to provide
answers to questions about the role of the United Nations on Iraq, today we have
to answer questions about the impact of the Iraq affair on the future of the
United Nations.

It will be extremely difficult to resolve the issue of the role of the United
Nations in Iraq, unless we answer the question about the future of the UN as the
legitimate expression of the collective will of the peoples of the world, the
principal guarantor of international peace and security, among other global
issues.

What is decided about the role of the UN in Iraq will, at the same time, decide
what will become of the UN in the context of its Charter, and the important
global objectives that have been set since the Charter was adopted.

This is not a case of the tail wagging the dog. Rather, history has placed at
our feet an urgent and practical test case that obliges us to answer the
question - what do we, collectively, want the United Nations to be!

In this regard, we must make the point directly that, as South Africans, we are
partisan activists who campaign in favour of a strong and effective United
Nations. We do so because of the place our country and people occupy in the
contemporary world.

That place is defined by the fact that we are a developing country, whose
central challenge is the eradication of poverty and underdevelopment, a
challenge we share with the rest of the African continent of which we are an
integral part.

We believe that everything that has happened places an obligation on the United
Nations to reflect on a number of fundamental issues that are of critical
importance to the evolution of human society.

This organisation, and all of us, singly and collectively, has spoken and speaks
frequently about the phenomenon of globalisation. Correctly, we talk of a global
village, of the integration of all peoples within a common and interdependent
global society.

Certainly, humanity is more integrated today than it was when the United Nations
was established more than fifty years ago.

However, many have drawn attention to the fact that whereas objective social
processes have led to the emergence of the global village, all our political
collectives have not yet succeeded to design the institutions of governance made
necessary by the reality of the birth of this global village.

Correct observations have also been made that the use of the image and concept
of a village does not imply that the residents of this village are equal.

The reality is that the same processes that bring all us closer together in a
global village, are simultaneously placing the residents of the global village
in different positions. Some have emerged as the dominant, and the rest as the
dominated, with the dominant being the decision makers, and the dominated being
the recipients and implementers of these decisions.

Left to its internal and autonomous impulses, the process of globalisation will
inevitably result in the further enhancement of the domination of the dominant
and the entrenchment of the subservience of the dominated, however much the
latter might resent such domination.

Inherent within this is, necessarily, reliance on the use of the superior power
of which the dominant dispose, to achieve the objective of the perpetuation of
the situation of the unequal distribution of power.

In these circumstances, it is inevitable that the pursuit of power in itself,
will assert itself as a unique legitimate objective, apparently detached from
any need to define the uses of such power. This also signifies the deification
of force in all its forms, as the final arbiter in the ordering of human
affairs.

However, from the point of view of the disempowered, the struggle to ensure the
use of such power to address their own interests becomes a strategic objective
they cannot avoid. Necessarily this means that power would have to be
redistributed. This would be done to empower the disempowered, and to regulate
the use of power by those who are powerful.

And yet, by definition, the disempowered should not reasonably expect that their
disempowerment gives them any possibility to have a decisive influence over the
powerful. Logically, they should not entertain any dreams that they have the
means to oblige the powerful to regulate the use of their power to achieve
results that benefit all humanity, regardless of the impact of this on what the
powerful might define as their national interest.

Thus we come back to what I said earlier. Because we are poor, we are partisan
activists for a strong, effective and popularly accepted United Nations.

We take these positions because there is no way in which we could advance the
interests of our people, the majority of whom are poor, outside the context of a
strong, effective and popularly accepted United Nations.

For more than a decade, this organisation has been involved in discussions about
its transformation. Once more, the Secretary General has reflected on this
challenge. The truth is that our discussion has gone nowhere. Earlier this
morning the Secretary General announced steps he will take to facilitate the
adoption of decisions that will help all of us to effect the necessary and
inevitable transformation of the United Nations. We support the decisions he
announced.

One of the matters that must be addressed is the issue of the accepted national
right to self-defence, and the implications of the exercise of this right in the
light of the historic responsibilities of the United Nations to guarantee
international peace and security.

In this context, the global resolve to defeat such organisations as Al Qaeda has
emerged out of our understanding that international aggression should not
necessarily be expected to emanate from formal and recognised state
institutions.

We have all come to understand that, emanating from non-state institutions, such
threat, as was most painfully demonstrated on September 11, 2001, would express
itself as the most inhumane and despicable terrorism.

Our collective experience, stretching from New York and elsewhere in the United
States on September 11, 2001, reaching back to Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam in
Africa earlier still and more recently to Bali in Indonesia, to Morocco, to the
conflict between Israel and Palestine, to Algeria, India, Russia and elsewhere,
and even our own country, this experience tells us that this organisation, the
UN, working in defence of the collective interest of the peoples of the world,
must ensure that we act together to defeat the threat of terrorism, collectively
defined.

At the same time, we have to take on board the conviction among some of our
member states that they constitute special and particular targets of this global
terrorism. Understandably, the argument is advanced that it would be
unreasonable and irrational to expect such states not to act to deter such
terrorist actions against themselves.

None of us can defend international rules that prescribe that anyone of us
should wait to be attacked, knowing, in specific ways, that we were going to be
attacked by identified terrorists, and then act against those who had attacked
us, with such horrendous cost as was experienced by the United States during the
September 11 attacks.

Obviously, all of us also respect the self-defence provisions of Article 51 of
the UN Charter, to which our Secretary General has correctly drawn our
attention.

We also have no choice but to deal with the brute reality that the reform
process of the UN and all its organs, and other multi-lateral organisations, has
to recognise the reality of the imbalance of power as represented by different
countries and regions.

At the same time, we must proceed from the position that such distribution of
power is not necessarily in the interest of the peoples of the world, or even in
the interest of those who, today, have the power to determine what happens to
our common world.

This includes acceptance of the fact that, depending on the place we occupy in
the global community, we have different priorities. Among other things, the rich
are concerned about ways and means to maintain the status quo from which they
benefit.

Necessarily and understandably, they will seek to get the rest of the world to
accept their assertion that the maintenance of the status quo must be a
universal human preoccupation, precisely the kind of issue on which the United
Nations must take a united position.

On the other hand, the poor are interested to change their condition for the
better. Accordingly, they will not accept the maintenance of the status quo,
which perpetuates their poverty. Accordingly, among other things, the poor
billions of the world will argue for action by the UN to ensure the transfer of
resources to themselves, which will enable them to extricate themselves from
their condition of poverty and underdevelopment.

Important shifts in the global balance of power and global objectives have taken
place since the United Nations was established forty-eight years ago. Yet this
organisation has not substantially changed in terms of its structures and mode
of functioning, to reflect these changes. This has served as a recipe for an
inevitable crisis, a disaster waiting to occur.

And so as we meet today, we are confronted by global challenges that this global
organisation cannot solve. Impelled by the urgent issues of the day, some of the
powerful will not wait for all of us to respond to the problems we have raised,
and which they face.

They will act to solve these problems. Their actions will make the statement
that they do not need the United Nations to find solutions to these problems.

Simultaneously, this will make the practical statement that the United Nations
is irrelevant to the solution of the most burning problems of our day. The
disempowered will continue to look to this organisation, understanding,
correctly, that they are too weak to advance their interests singly, outside of
the collective voice of the United Nations.

Global poverty and underdevelopment are the principal problems that face the
United Nations. Billions across the globe expect that this General Assembly will
address this challenge in a meaningful manner. The poor of the world expect an
end to violence and war everywhere. They desire the realisation of the
democratic objective, universally, that the people shall govern.

They believe that we are seriously committed to the objective of the eradication
of poverty and the provision of a better life for all. They do not want the
process of globalisation to result in the further enrichment of the rich, and
the impoverishment of the poor, within and between countries.

For us, collectively, to meet these expectations, will require that each and
everyone of us, both rich and poor, both the powerful and the disempowered,
commit ourselves practically to act, in all circumstances, in a manner that
recognises and respects the fact that none of us is an island, sufficient unto
ourselves. This includes the most powerful.

The latter face the interesting challenge, important to themselves in their
national interest, that the poverty and disempowerment of the billions will no
longer serve as a condition for their success, and their possibility to prosper
in conditions of peace.

What we have said today, may not be heard because we do not have the strength to
have our voice heard. Tomorrow, we may be obliged to say - no more water, the
fire next time! As the fires burn, the United Nations will die, consumed by the
flames. So will the hopes of the poor of the world die, as they did at Cancun,
Mexico, not so long ago.

We must act together to say in our words and in our actions, as countries and as
the United Nations, there will be water next time, not fire!

Thabo Mbeki

(This is an abridged version of the important address of President Mbeki to the
UN General Assembly on September 23rd. Our movement and country must also
discuss the important matters raised in this address.)

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TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

A critical role in the health of our people

While a recent spate of 'muti' killings reinforce negative perceptions around
African traditional medicine, much work is being done to give proper recognition
to this important component of the health sector.

Two men and a woman appeared in Khayelitsha magistrate court for alleged killing
a baby and frying her intestine for muti to help one of the men find a job. In a
separate incident in a township outside Bloemfontein, five men were arrested
with a bag full of human body parts - a head, a pair each of hands and feet,
intestines, genitals, a heart and a cut-up liver.

These are just two of the cases of what is termed muti killings when people are
murdered and their body parts used for certain rituals. While the majority of
traditional healers do good work, there are people who use herbal and medicinal
knowledge to do evil. These criminal activities reinforce negative perceptions
around African traditional medicine.

As a result, people working people working in the field of traditional medicine
have had to undergo an unpleasant period by being subjected to derogatory names
as witch-doctors and wizards. The practice itself was associated with evil
spirits and backwardness.

However, we are beginning to give proper recognition to this component of the
health sector and our history that has been a source of hope for millions of
people of the continent for hundreds of years. For the first time this year we
celebrated the African Traditional Medicine Day together with the World Health
Organisation.

These medicines are widely available, more affordable to all and most of them
have simple treatment regimen. Up to 80 percent of our people in the South use
traditional or complementary medicine as part of primary health care.

However, there is still a gap in the regulation of these products which allows
space for unscrupulous conduct, including unproven medical claims such as those
of a cure for AIDS.

The Department of Health is working on a regulatory framework to protect our
people and ensure they use products that are safe, effective and of good
quality. We need a new regulatory framework, as the approach towards
registration of conventional medicine is not easily applicable to traditional
medicine.

We have established a National Reference Centre for African Traditional
Medicine. This centre is a joint initiative between the Department of Health and
our two science councils, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

The Centre will seek to:

* establish an information system on African Traditional Medicines; * promote
research and development focused on standardisation and authentication of
products based on medicinal plants; * identify education and training needs
relating to traditional medicine in South Africa; * protect indigenous knowledge
and promote trade through patents and intellectual property rights; * establish
agro-processing businesses based on cultivation and processing of medicinal
plants in a way that promotes sustainability and economic development; * promote
scientific research into various diseases that are prevalent in the region and
their possible remedies. 

In an effort to streamline this field of practice, government has drafted the
Traditional Health Practitioners Bill that will lead to the establishment of an
Interim Traditional Health Practitioners' Council. This Bill is currently going
through the legislative processes in parliament.

The aim is to ensure the efficacy, safety and quality of traditional health care
services and to provide for control over the registration, training and practice
of Traditional Health Practitioners. The approach is that traditional healers
should come together and determine what should be regarded as acceptable
practice and how to deal with cases of malpractice. This should also cover
issues of minimum levels of expertise for different categories of traditional
health practitioners.

The Health Department is working with traditional healers in various
initiatives. Traditional healers are represented as a sector in the South
African National AIDS Council and are joining hands in responding to the
challenges posed by this epidemic. There are also areas where traditional
healers play the role of caregivers and assisting people to take their TB
medication. In cases of diseases like malaria and cholera, it is important to
ensure that traditional practitioners know the symptoms of these diseases and
that they can be treated if people are sent to a health facility as soon as
possible.

The challenge in establishing a formal referral link between traditional health
practitioners and the current formal health system is to ensure that African
traditional medicine and practice is formalised and regulated just like any
other health practice. If patients are referred, responsibility needs to be
taken for the type of care they receive at a referral point.

Traditional medicine has sustained the health of millions of Africans over
hundreds of years. Unfortunately, colonialism and apartheid condemned this
component of health as inferior and primitive. Oppression and lack of regulation
has promoted bad practices and attracted criminal elements into this field.

As part of the emancipation of Africans, traditional medicine is beginning to be
recognised as critical in improving health of our people. Our guiding principles
as we formalise this field of health practice are that the interest of the
public should be protected and patients should receive safe, quality and
effective health care.

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HERITAGE DAY

Diversity is our most valued asset

As we rise to appreciate another day under the sun in our beloved country, we
dare not forget where we come from. Our bitter past of repression and the heroic
struggles of liberation define the latter day South Africa that has become an
icon of emancipation and a nation in triumph. Ours is indeed a nation rich in
its diversity; which diversity has proven to be its most valued asset. As we
celebrate our heritage, conscious of our unity in diversity, we must reach out
across the divide and find each other in celebration of our successes as a
nation; and in solidarity in our battle against tyranny, crime, disease, racial
and ethnic stereotypes, and forge a nation that subscribes to a common principle
of national patriotism.

Our discourse over the last ten years has been profoundly influenced by the
heritage we are celebrating today. Despite the painstaking processes that propel
our democracy forward, our people have demonstrated their resilience and
appreciation of the legacy the ANC carries which is based on the fundamental
principle of human dignity and equality. When the ANC adopted the Africans
Claims document and the African Bill of Rights in 1943, it consciously started a
journey, which was to shape the political future of South Africa.

The ANC's role as a champion of human rights, non-racism, gender equity and
equality can be traced back to its founding conference in 1912, the adoption of
the African Bill of Rights in 1923, the Africans Claims document in 1943, the
Freedom Charter in 1955. All these processes became the roadmap to a new South
Africa, which came to pass in 1994. Our legacy as a nation is intricat ely
linked to this history and the ANC will continue to strive to achieve a nation
that is at peace with itself and celebrates its heritage as a united people.

The diversity of our nation is its strength, which must not be used as a tool to
divide our people. While we celebrate our legacy based on our history that finds
its expression in the heroic struggles we waged against the tyrant apartheid
state, we similarly celebrate the legacy of those we tackled on the battlefield
whose history as colonial masters and oppressors informed their discourse. In a
strange twist of irony, founded on a strong need to forge a single nation at
peace with itself; we celebrate our diversity as one people.

As we pay allegiance to our heritage, we stand at attention at our country's
flag flying high and mighty, enveloped by a strong sense of pride at being part
of this wonderful nation, we make our contribution in building a better life for
all. The progress we have made over the last decade of our freedom in bringing a
better life for all qualifies us to rightfully claim to be champions of socio-
economic and socio-political emancipation of our people. The ideals embodied in
the Freedom Charter continue to inspire our forward momentum and influence our
progress as a nation.

The new national symbols of our nation are a graphic representation of those
ideals that drive our unity of purpose and an acknowledgement of our people' s
immense capacity to rise above petty differences and focus on those things that
matter the most in our nation-building project.

Let us continue to embrace the principle of peaceful co-existence and build a
proud nation from whom nations of the world can learn. Let each one of us make
their contribution to building a better South Africa and a better world. Let our
heritage be a beacon of inspiration that always motivates us to do the right
thing, and not degenerate to destructive tendencies that divide rather than
unite.
  
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