29 October 2007
South Africa remains totally opposed to all weapons of mass destruction, despite recent media speculation suggesting a turn-around in the country's stance, Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said.
"The suggestion that the government has made a U-turn on its nuclear stance is not borne by any evidence, empirical data or facts, but remains a figment of the imagination of those who thus suggest [it]," she said.
"South Africa remains totally opposed to all weapons of mass destruction and has called for their total elimination in all international forums."
In this regard, President Thabo Mbeki, Brazilian president Lula da Silva and Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh emphasised their commitment to the goal of the elimination of nuclear weapons following the recent India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) summit and expressed their concern at the lack of progress in the realisation thereof.
Though India has manufactured nuclear fuel for decades and Brazil is currently embarking on an uranium enrichment programme, both their nuclear capacities have been used for peaceful purposes - mainly in the generation of electricity.
"South Africa remains opposed to the view that the right to peaceful nuclear technology should be preserved by the rich and powerful to the exclusion of the majority of countries," Dlamini-Zuma said.
"The right to the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes is enshrined in a Non-Proliferation Treaty, and this right cannot be unilaterally abrogated by anyone."
South Africa is considering a major investment in the use of nuclear energy as a more efficient alternative to coal, from which majority of the country's electricity is currently generated.
Nuclear fuel used at Koeberg, currently Africa's only nuclear power station, is enriched abroad, though South Africa has proposed restarting local uranium enrichment to support its ambitious nuclear power plans.
"The importance of ensuring that any multilateral decisions relating to the nuclear fuel cycle do not undermine the inalienable right of states to pursue nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in conformity with their international legal obligations," Dlamini-Zuma said.
SAinfo reporter and BuaNews
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