Upholding Mandela’s peace mission: Ramaphosa pledges continued conflict resolution efforts

President Cyril Ramaphosa at the ANC Western Cape Provincial Conference at the CTICC Cape Town. Photographer Ayanda Ndamane African News Agency (ANA)

President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated South Africa's commitment to continue promoting peace worldwide, in line with the legacy of the late leader, Nelson Mandela.

South Africa has participated in numerous peace initiatives and conflict resolution missions in Africa and globally, he highlighted. Recently, Ramaphosa led a delegation of African leaders on a peace mission to Kyiv and St Petersburg in an effort to mediate the conflict in June.

This diplomatic mission included meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ramaphosa continued dialogue with both leaders through subsequent telephone discussions.

Putin is also slated to meet with the African leaders at the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg at the end of July.

This pledge was made in the context of his recent meeting with Malik Agar Eyre Nganyoufa, the Deputy President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan. Sudan has been ravaged by a war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces since April 15, leading to thousands of deaths and millions of displacements.

"President Mandela said that 'the heroes are those who make peace and build.' We will continue to follow in his footsteps by advocating for political solutions to conflicts," stated Ramaphosa.

South Africa has played an instrumental role in conflict resolution in Palestine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, eSwatini, Lesotho, Northern Ireland, and Ethiopia.

The country maintains a significant presence of SA National Defence Force members in the DRC through the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission.

Last year, it hosted peace talks in Pretoria between the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. The peace deal on Tigray was facilitated by former Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, and Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta.

Ramaphosa concluded by stating that they will continue to seek peaceful resolutions in conflicts as Mandela did.

"South Africa’s contribution to world peace is made through supporting societies in conflict, and this is largely as a result of the Nelson Mandela legacy.

Our experience with negotiating an end to apartheid and with building a multiparty democracy is regularly sought by parties seeking to end conflicts," he explained.

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