South Africa was one of the original 51 founding members of the United Nations, which came into existence on 24 October 1945. Since its inception the membership of the Organization has grown to 192 States.

The United Nations General Assembly decided on 12 November 1974 to suspend South Africa from participating in its work, due to international opposition to the policy of apartheid.

During the late seventies and early eighties UN Security Council sanctions were instituted against South Africa and it was barred from officially participating in almost all United Nations related bodies. Financial support was also given by the United Nations to national liberation movements. Both the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and the African National Congress (ANC) obtained Observer Missions at the UN with UN financial support.

The democratic elections in South Africa in April 1994 paved the way for the complete normalization of South Africa's relations with the UN. Since then South Africa has participated actively in all aspects of the work of the Organization. Its global status has increased significantly through participation in numerous UN bodies, agencies and General Assembly Sessions.

South Africa is a strong supporter of multilateralism and the current system of governance based on the United Nations and its various bodies. These institutions serve to combine the international community's strength to maintain international peace and security and employ multilateral institutions for the promotion of the economic and social well-being and advancement of all peoples. South Africa is also of the view that this is the optimal system through which other major global issues such as food security, disasters, refugees, international crime and disarmament could be effectively addressed in a collective manner.

South Africa regards the opening of the General Assembly Session in September each year, as one of the most important fora available to Heads of State and Government to address issues of international, regional and national significance. Both President Mbeki and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma have attended all the Sessions since 1999.

In October 2006, South Africa was elected by the Members of the General Assembly to serve, for the first time in its history, as a non-Permanent Member of the Security Council for the period 2007-2008. The election to the Council offers South Africa the opportunity to elevate to a global level the African agenda of achieving peace, security and development, including respect for human rights