A ‘new dawn’? Ramaphosa’s South Africa on the UN Human Rights Council

During the presidencies of Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s foreign policy was marked by widespread opposition to international human rights. Has this been the case under Cyril Ramaphosa? The article examines this question by comparing South Africa’s actions on the UN Human Rights Council to the years prior and during Ramaphosa’s presidency. It does so by examining South Africa’s voting on a broad range of issues: country-specific situations, political rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, the death penalty, terrorism and women’s rights. The article shows that under Ramaphosa South Africa has made a clear, albeit inconsistent, shift towards support for international human rights. This conclusion matters because it suggests that in a post-Western world states from the Global South will assist in shoring up the liberal international order.