Speech by President Michael D. Higgins on the Occasion of an Official Visit of H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa
Áras an Uachtaráin, 8 October 2025
Your Excellency President Ramaphosa,
Ministers,
Ambassadors,
A cháirde uilig,
On behalf of my wife Sabina and myself, may I say how pleased we are to welcome you today to Áras an Uachtaráin, home of all Irish Presidents since 1938.
It is a great honour to host you, President, our friendship dating back for many years now, our last meeting held a year ago at last year’s United Nations General Assembly.
The essence of our ties is, I suggest, epitomised in a shared commitment to freedom and justice. Ireland and South Africa have a special relationship.
It is one that can be traced back to struggles for independence based on the brave efforts of a principled opposition of racism and the legacies of exclusion and domination.
Our relationship has evolved towards a deepening kinship, one based on a principled unity in so many areas – food security, universal access to vaccines, the building of a reformed United Nations and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
South Africa’s contribution, and the roles played by Nelson Mandela and by yourself, President Ramaphosa, in particular in the Northern Ireland peace process are something for which the people of Ireland will always remain deeply grateful.
I recall a speech that Nelson Mandela made to the Houses of the Oireachtas while visiting Ireland in 1990 at which he called for a negotiated end to the conflict in Northern Ireland and spoke of his hope for a new South Africa.
I recall the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation in Dublin Castle, chaired by Justice Catherine McGuinness S.C. after the 1994 ceasefires, in which you, President, participated, offering your advice based on your own contributions to the negotiations to end Apartheid in South Africa just four years earlier.
In your role as an inspector for the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, alongside the late honourable Martti Ahtisaari, you gained the trust of diverse groups, a trust earned from your role in the struggle against Apartheid and as a senior negotiator in the transition away from the tyrannical Apartheid regime.
Your reaching out to the marginalised included visiting IRA prisoners in the Maze prison along with “Mac” Maharaj.
I also recall the invaluable contribution of the 1997 conference on the Lessons of the South African Transition organised by the Government of South Africa in the Western Cape which was held at a critical juncture in the peace process.
Ireland, for its part, stood firmly against the racist policies of the Apartheid regime imposed on Black South Africans and supported the global Anti-Apartheid Movement, establishing a connection based on the shared goals of freedom and equality.
In 2018, to open an exhibition to mark the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, I recalled with great pride the contribution of the Irish people to South Africa’s struggle.
It started with the establishment of the Irish chapter of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in 1964 by my good friend, the late Kader Asmal and his wife Louise.
May I take the opportunity to once again offer my condolences to the Asmal family on the recent death of Louise who, with Kader, worked tirelessly to make the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement a truly inclusive movement.
Kader, together with Albie Sachs, authored the first draft of the South African Bill of Rights which would go on to become a cornerstone of the South African Constitution, a document widely recognised as one of the most progressive and just of its kind.
There were so many who helped the Irish Movement when it really mattered. Its first secretary was former Minister Barry Desmond, and in the 1980s former Tánaiste Joan Burton, whom I welcome here today, was secretary of the Irish chapter in the 1980s.
I recall the Springboks’ rugby tour of 1970 as an especially pivotal moment – standing with my good friend, the late Noel Browne who held a placard on which was inscribed “Boks go Home” as the rain poured down on us.
In Limerick, Jim Kemmy was staunch in defending the protests against what was an organised opposition.
The Anti-Apartheid Movement played a significant role in influencing the Irish Government to become the first western government to support sanctions against Apartheid South Africa in 1970.
We remember, too, a touchstone moment of enormous moral and exemplary significance in the struggle that yielded emancipatory results – the moral actions of Mary Manning and her brave fellow Dunnes Stores workers 41 years ago, in their refusing to handle the sale of goods from South Africa produced under conditions of Apartheid, their taking actions to demonstrate solidarity with people who were being denied basic human rights. I am so pleased that some of those brave former Dunnes Stores’ workers are also with us today.
The support that was manifest between our nations in the formative years of our relationship is a foundational story of the vibrant friendship that exists between Ireland and South Africa today.
The political ties between our countries have strengthened significantly since the end of Apartheid in the early 1990s in a series of steps that led to the formation of a democratic government in 1994.
It was then that Ireland embarked on a development co-operation partnership, contributing to efforts to reduce gender-based violence and to help with resourcing the treatment of HIV and AIDS.
A key feature of Ireland’s co-operation programme is the Kader Asmal Fellowship, the fully-funded scholarship opportunity offered to South African students to study at Master’s level in Ireland’s Higher Education Institutions, a strong example of Ireland’s dedication to empowering the next generation of South Africans with the necessary skills and opportunities to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, supporting too the development of women’s leadership capacity and women’s participation in STEM subjects.
The connections and cultural exchanges between Ireland and South Africa have greatly enriched both nations, highlighting the unique aspects of our respective heritages. South African art, music, and storytelling have all found a welcoming audience in Ireland.
South Africans embracing of Irish literature, music, and dance and its adaptation of contemporary Irish drama, documentaries and film is deeply appreciated.
Various festivals, exhibitions, and academic collaborations are flourishing, such as the Charlotte Maxeke-Mary Robinson Studies Chair, a joint effort between the University of Western Cape and Trinity College Dublin. Focused on themes of colonialism, partition, postcoloniality and race, they have further strengthened new and deeper cultural bonds, promoting deeper understanding and appreciation between the people of our two countries.
Economic links between Ireland and South Africa are strong and growing. Irish companies have found success in South Africa, contributing to various sectors such as finance, technology, construction, and food. Similarly, South African businesses are expanding into Ireland, helping to diversify the Irish economy and create employment opportunities.
Ireland is now home to approximately 16,000 South Africans, and while the Irish diaspora in South Africa is smaller, over 100,000 people in South Africa claim Irish roots.
Sabina and I recall the wonderful opportunity it was to pay an official visit to the Republic of South Africa in 2014. The visit demonstrated to us the progress that your country had then made in healing the wounds of the past and building a foundation for the positive role that South Africa now continues to play in the wider southern African region, and all of the challenges too that remain and challenge all of humanity in achieving an economy based on sufficiency and inclusion.
The stories of Ireland and South Africa demonstrate that peace and reconciliation are possible in even the most trying of circumstances.
President Ramaphosa, I recall our own meeting on the margins of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, where we discussed our great concern over the dire situation in Gaza, the pressing issues of climate change and food security, as well as the need to reform approaches to development and the global financial system.
May I take this opportunity to once again repeat Ireland’s support for the case taken by South Africa alleging genocide by Israel in Gaza which has been received by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
I welcome Irish lawyer Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh who is advising South Africa’s legal team on these crucial ICJ proceedings.
Ireland’s filing of a declaration of intervention, along with the other countries that that have filed such declarations, is an important step required to ask the ICJ to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a State.
Ireland is concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimised. Ireland’s view of the convention is broader and prioritises the protection of civilian life.
That the United Nations Commission has recently reported that genocide has been, and is continuing to be, committed by Israel is a most damning indictment of the current Israeli Government. What we have been witnessing with horror is nothing less than a collective punishment of the Palestinian people through the intent and impact of the military actions of Israel in Gaza, leaving over 65,000 dead, tens of thousands seriously injured, millions of civilians displaced, and famine and grave food insecurity now rampant owing to the ongoing blocks to supplies of humanitarian aid.
The situation in the West Bank is extremely concerning. Israeli unilateral actions are aimed at eroding the viability, even the possibility, of a two-state solution.
Globally, war and militarism have become hegemonic in our discourse. We must take steps to reverse this appalling trend, one that has been championed by some of the most powerful. Making a concerted effort to achieve peace as our shared goal must be restored as a universal aim, with appropriate institutional reform.
I know from previous discussions with you, President, that there is a real desire on both our parts to achieve further cooperation between our countries in the area of food security as well as in education and in the science and technology areas.
Africa is, and will for the foreseeable future remain, the continent of the young, a continent upon which so many of our hopes and dreams for global co-operation, for planetary survival itself, are based, the continent where, by 2030, young people are expected to constitute 42 percent of the world’s youth population.
Africa is a continent that has the promise to make a new journey of sufficiency, food sovereignty and resilience. Yet, in our global response, we must acknowledge that there are no single set of circumstances that describe all African countries.
In October 2023 I travelled to Rome for the World Food Forum, and later in January 2024 to Dakar for the Africa Food Summit. I also delivered the Kofi Annan Eminent Speakers Lecture on food security last November and was recipient of the FAO Agricola Award in June last year. In all of these speeches, I spoke of the need for the benefits of science to be shared so that we may deliver a resilient, food-secure world, particularly in Africa, but most important of all – that the chains of dependency must be broken.
I believe that we both share a view that our response to assisting Africa in its journey to food sovereignty must be rooted in achieving African agency, limiting dependencies, enabling Africans to decide their future through policies that will include ground-based communal strategies and the prioritising the rights of smallholders to land and technical tools of food production, storage and distribution.
Such an approach, replacing top-down imposed models and silos with policies I have called “globalisation ‘from below’”, is our best prospect for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and a better economics with ecological responsibility and justice as aims, will deliver a future in which so many more Africans will want to participate in good government.
It is in relation to Africa that good, moral science can be employed to deliver a transformative agenda, one undertaken by Africans and utilising indigenous wisdoms and traditional knowledge to create sustainable programmes to tackle food security and other policies that can contribute to the achievement of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
Our two countries are among the growing number of countries that recognise the urgent need for the reform of the international multilateral institutions in order for there to be a fair representation of all countries, including those nations in Africa and the Global South.
On human rights, may I recognise the progress that is being made in South Africa on matters pertaining to equality in civil society, including on LGBTQ+ matters, an area in which both our nations have made great strides in recent history.
While Ireland became the first country in the world to legislate for same-sex marriage following a referendum in 2015, South Africa’s post-Apartheid Constitution was the first in the world to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation, and, in 2006, South Africa became the first country in Africa to legalise same-sex marriage.
It is a testament to your progressive vision, President, and that of others who demonstrate such moral leadership, that same-sex couples in South Africa can also adopt children jointly, arrange IVF and surrogacy treatments, and have constitutional and statutory protections from discrimination in employment, the provision of goods and services, and many other areas.
I am aware that LGBTQ Black South-Africans, particularly those outside of the major cities, continue to face challenges, including homophobic violence and high rates of HIV/AIDS infection. We support the efforts of your country at ensuring full inclusivity in relation to LGBTQ rights regardless of skin colour.
President, I am encouraged by the ever-increasing strength of cooperation between South Africa and Ireland. It is underscored by your kind invitation for Ireland to participate in the G20 for which I would like to express my deep gratitude.
Through your Presidency of the G20, a great deal of work is underway to explore ways to strengthen disaster resilience and response, reshape the global debt infrastructure, implement the ‘just energy transition’, and realise inclusive and sustainable development. I would like to wish you every success in achieving the important goals of your Presidency.
President Ramaphosa, the enduring relationship between Ireland and South Africa is a testament to the strength of respect, partnership, and shared goals.
Looking forward, Ireland remains dedicated to enhancing those connections, celebrating our joint achievements, and exploring new opportunities for cooperation.
Dear guests, may I propose a toast to the good health of President Ramaphosa and the people of the Republic of South Africa, and the continuing friendship and co-operation between our two countries.
Gúim rath agus beannacht ort agus muintir Poblacht Aifric Theas.