A ‘willing accomplice’? Evaluating South Africa’s response to China’s positions on international human rights

Abstract

ABSTRACT According to the Economist, South Africa’s loyalty to China has made the former’s foreign policy ‘clueless and immoral’. This article examines the extent and solidity of South Africa’s support for China’s attempt to undermine the international human rights system. It does so by evaluating South Africa’s responses to China’s positions on seventeen issue areas of the UN Human Rights Council’s work. More specifically, the article assesses South Africa’s actions in relation to 132 Chinese-backed attempts to amend council resolutions in an anti-human rights direction. The evidence suggests that South Africa has been a willing accomplice in China’s effort to weaken international human rights.