SA assumes UN Security Council seat, says priority will be to end conflict on African continent

South Africa on Tuesday assumed the seat as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, where it said ending the conflicts on the African continent will be its key priority.

South Africa's International Relations and Cooperation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said that the silencing of guns in Africa, attending to the plight of women and children in conflict areas and coordinating a response to the rise of extremist groups on the continent would be the key priority.

"We go to the UNSC carrying an African mandate. The people of Africa have sent us to highlight their issues and to work with other nations to find solutions to their challenges. We are ready and our diplomats are ready," Sisulu said in a statement.

"Among key issues we want to attend to as a non-permanent member of the UNSC is the rise of extremist groups in Africa.

"The fact that South Africans are alleged to be involved makes this a very important and urgent matter for our law enforcement agencies in the SADC region and on the continent," she said.

Sisulu also expressed concern over a report of a South African national facing the charges of alleged support and aid to an extreme jihadist group in the northern Mozambique, which led to the death of over 100 people.

"The people of South Africa and Mozambique share a very deep political history and very strong economic relations. It is not acceptable that a South African citizen is in court for alleged involvement in extreme jihadists activities that resulted in loss of life," she said.

Sisulu also said she was concerned that more than 800 South Africans were in prisons across the world for different crimes including fraud, drug possession and violent crimes, with the majority in the Americas for drug-related convictions.