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How must international law be applied in an imperfect world
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 Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa addressed the General Debate of the Fourteenth Meeting of the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court in the Hague. In her statement Minister Nkoana-Mashabane said, “South Africa's commitment to human rights and the fight against impunity is beyond question, and was forged in the struggle for liberation against the inhumanity of Apartheid.
We condemn in the strongest terms human rights violations and international crimes wherever they may occur and we call for the accountability of those responsible.
We remain committed to all the fundamental principles to which we adhered when we emerged from Apartheid.
However, South Africa cannot and will not be silent in the face of serious flaws in some of the practices of the Court in the interpretation of the Statute. We will not join in the dangerous chorus of uncritical loyalty.
This is our Court, and we have a responsibility to interrogate whether this institution is still reflective of the principles and values which guided its creation. Has this Court become the universally accepted institution for justice as initially hoped for when we established it? Or has the fact that some Permanent Members of the Security Council remain outside the Court with the ability to protect themselves and their allies from the reach of the Court endangered the ideal of universality and equality before the law? I wish to be absolutely clear. The perceptions of inequality and unfairness in the practice of the ICC do not only emanate from the Court's relationship with the Security Council. We ask ourselves, as have many, why no investigations have been opened in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine after long periods of preliminary analysis notwithstanding clear evidence of violations. Is it because those investigations have the potential to implicate the "great powers"? Many will think we are only raising these issues because of the events of June this year. But I remind you that we have been raising these issues since at least 2010. During the sixty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly, for example, we questioned the decision of the former Prosecutor regarding Palestine.”
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China supports Africa’s self-development
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 The 2nd Forum on China-Africa Local Government Cooperation was held in Beijing on November 10th. China’s top diplomat State Councilor Yang Jiechi attended the forum and gave a key-note speech. Representatives from local governments of 26 African countries and 24 Chinese provinces also joined the forum.
Local government cooperation plays an important role in promoting China-Africa relations. State Councilor Yang lauded the important role of the local cooperation in country-to-country relations, and the good momentum in exchanges and cooperation at local level between China and Africa.He spoke highly of the growing cooperation and exchanges between China-Africa local governments in recent years, since the first Forum on China-Africa Local Government Cooperation in 2012, which have added new dimensions to China-Africa relations and remarkably boosted bilateral cooperation. The Chinese side will continue to encourage the two sides to build more sister cities, share experience and enhance exchanges in infrastructure building, trade, investment, agriculture, etc. so as to attain inclusive development.
 Georgia, the former Soviet Republic, has its own unique language and writing alphabet. It is located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, between the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountain. Tbilisi is the capital city of a country which has completely overhauled the communist era regime and has embraced the freedom that the power to choose enables.
It has decisively dealt with corruption and averted the threat of derailing its transformation as it seeks accession to the European Union, as a result enhancing opportunities for investment into Georgia.
China Airlines closer transport link with Georgia now offers passengers new routes from Tbilisi Shota Rustaveli International Airport to the Chinese cities of Urumqi and Guangzhou and the North American cities of New York, Toronto and Los Angeles.
Photo: Mr Beka Dvali, Ambassador of Georgia in South Africa
Travel and tourism are central to Georgia’s plans for attracting trade and investment. At a seminar hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa in October 2015, the Georgian National Investment Agency (GNIA), the Embassy of Georgia in South Africa, the South Africa Georgia Chamber of Commerce (SAGCC) and the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) presented the many opportunities for economic exchanges that exist between South Africa and Georgia.
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Turkey placed development at the centre of G20 work
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President Zuma congratulated President Erdogan on the success of the Turkish Presidency of the G20, which ensured that under Turkish leadership, development was placed at the centre of the G20 work.
The G20 Development Working Group successfully established stronger links with other work streams in the G20, which ensured the prominence of the development agenda throughout the G20 agenda.
The G20 focuses on developmental issues such as the promotion of small and medium enterprises, strengthening women's participation in the labour force as well as addressing youth unemployment – all of which was strongly applauded by President Zuma.
President Zuma welcomed the fact that the G20 has put Africa's development on the agenda with the focus on energy. Turkey hosted the first ever G20 Energy Ministers’ meeting this year, which among other things, focused on inclusive energy collaboration on the basis of the G20 energy principles agreed to at the last G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia.
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