Pretoria - South Africa sold arms to Libya at a time when there was no evidence that there would be political unrest or violence in the North African country, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe says.
Radebe, who is also chairperson of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), said the NCACC authorised arms trade between South African companies in the defence-related industry and Libya in 2010.
He pointed out that in terms of the National Conventional Arms Control Act, before the NCACC took any decisions, subcommittees carried out investigations and advised it.
"In this way we can confidently indicate that in all transactions that were undertaken and concluded with Libya, we had satisfied ourselves, through a meticulous process, that there was compliance with guiding principles and the criteria laid down by our law," Radebe said.
When the transactions with Libya had been finalised there was no evidence available that there would be political unrest in that country or other countries in North Africa or parts of the Middle East, he stressed.
"Similarly, there was no evidence that if political instability were to occur, that it would turn out violent in Libya or in any of the countries with which arms trade had been concluded," Radebe said.
While there have been suggestions that the deaths in Libya during the recent political unrest had a direct link to the arms sold to that country by South African companies, there was no evidence to back up such claims, he added.
The minister noted that as a member of the international community, South Africa had to adhere to international treaties and agreements, and had an obligation not to trade in conventional arms with states engaged in repression, aggression or terrorism.
"At the time when these transactions were concluded, there was no United Nations Security Council resolution on arms embargo against Libya or any other states with which we traded that are or recently have been affected by political instability. No such position had been adopted by the Africa Union either."
He added that due to confidentiality clauses in the contracts, the NCACC was not in a position to give details about the nature or quantities or the arms sold.
It was up to the parties involved in the transactions to decide on whether to waive the confidentiality clauses on the contracts.
Radebe said South Africa would support peace efforts in areas where there are conflicts.
"We will not, with the benefit of information obtained beforehand, authorise the sale of arms where there are grounds to believe that such arms may be used in conflict areas or by governments to commit atrocities against their own people."
He added that the South African Government would continue to conduct arms transactions in a responsible manner and observe the obligations imposed on it by domestic and international laws.
