A/33/PV.30 General Assembly

I declare open the special meeting of the General Assembly devoted to the observance of the International Anti- Apartheid Year. 2. As President of the Ge-ieral Assembly, I want to associate myself with the observance of the International Anti-Apartheid Year, proclaimed in resolution 32/105 B of 14 December 1977 and solemnly inaugurated at United Nations Headquarters on 21 March of this year. 3. After the hecatomb of the Second World War and the defeat of the ideology based on belief in the superiority of one race, people thought that the right historical conditions were present for the establishment of a universal society based on the legal equality of States, the self-determination of peoples and the absence of discrimination on the grounds of a person's religious or political ideas or the mere colour of his skin. 4. Although we have made great strides towards achieving those goals, the successful culmination of our task is still a long way off. As long as the regimes sustained by the unacceptable practices of apartheid, such as that in South Africa, continue to exist, and as long as other more subtle forms of discrimination-those that differentiate between nations in matters of emigration and immigration, job opportunities and the freedom of individuals to cross frontiers-remain in being, we cannot feel satisfied with what has been accomplislied. Apartheid is an affront to the values that man throughout history has found to be marks of dignity and has expressed in his' philosophies and religious beliefs. It is the negation of all the ethical victories that mankind has gained, sometimes painfully, sometimes with joy. 5. Today, at this special meeting, our feelings of solidarity and our thoughts go out to the thousands of Africans who are suffering in prison for their belief in racial equality, paying with exile for their love of freedom or being persecuted for their determination to eradicate racism. To them, to the young students in the schools of Soweto, to those who are facing subtle forms of racial discrimination such as the so-called immigration quotas, to political NEW YORK prisoners, such as Nelson Mandela, who have become symbols, and to the already legendary martyrs exemplified by Steven Biko, we _ledge our solidarity. We tell them that, however great the distance that separates us, we here in this forum of the United Nations think of them as perpetuating the line of other heroes who made history in the pursuit of freedom. 6. I believe that we shall have realized one of the ideals of the peoples gathered together in the United Nations when there is no need for the General Assembly to hold a meeting like this dedicated tc the observance of the International Anti-Apartheid Year. That will mean that a political regime that runs counter to all the political and cultural ideals underlying the Charter of the United Nations has been swept away. It will mean, too, that there are no more human beings on earth suffering humiliation and abuse because of the colour of their skin; better still, that there are no more human beings who, because of the colour of their skin, are exploited as cheap labour and thus denied the opportunity to develop the higher values that lend dignity to existence. 7. I now invite the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, to address the General Assem- bly.

This special meeting marking the International Anti-Apartheid Year fittingly takes place during a General Assembly session that will com- memorate the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the historic Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That Declaration interpreted in an authoritative and specific way the human rights and fundamental freedoms mentioned in our Charter.: It established a common standard of achieve- ment for all peoples and nations, and it emphasized that freedom, justice and peace in the world can be achieved only by recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. 9. It is against this background of concern for human rights, apparent in the Charter and elaborated in the Universal Declaration, that we must view both the tragedy of the oppressed people of South Africa and the sustained effort of the United Nations to free them from the scourge of racial discrimination. We need to remind ourselves that apartheid negates the common standard of achievement in human rights established by the Universal Declaration, and that in carrying on the anti-apartheid campaign the United Nations is fulfilling one of the main purposes of our Organization. This purpose is to achieve international co-operation "... in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion ...". A/33/PV.30 11. That consensus has been emphasized bv the un- animous decision of the General Assembly to proclaim the International Anti-Apartheid Year at the mid-point of the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimi- nation. Its goal is to intensify and advance the international campaign against apartheid. Our meeting today in further- ance of that objective takes on added meaning in that it coincides also with the Day of Solidarity with South African Political Prisoners. The cause of those who have suffered imprisonment and persecution for striving to attain their legitimate rights will always be of direct and con- tinuing concern to this Organization. '" 12. The United Nations has won ever increasing support for the measures it is adopting to combat apartheid These include: denial of the benefits of international co-operation to the South African Government as long as it pursues its abhorrent policy; providing humanitarian, educational and other assistance to the oppressed people of South Africa; and mobilizing world public opinion to exert its influence in support of the objectives of the United Nations. 13. Apartheid is not only immoral and inhuman, but it is also a grave danger to international peace and security. The gravity of this threat to peace is reflected inthe unanimous resolutions of the Security Council of 31 October and 4 November 1977, resolutions 417 (1977) and 418 (1977) demanding an end to apartheid and deciding on a man- datory arms embargo against South Africa under Chapter VII of the Charter. 14. I wish to take this opportunity to acknowledge the vital contribution to our efforts that has been made by the Special Committee against Apartheid under the leadership of the representative of Nigeria, Ambassador Harriman. May I also express my appreciation to the Organization of African Unity, to the' specialized agencies and to the numerous intergovernmental and non-governmental organi- zations for their most valuable co-operation in this matter. 15. I have stressed repeatedly that there can be no peace in South Africa so long as its Government continues its attempts to perpetuate racial dlscrimination and impose unilateral solutions which seek to deprive the great majority of the people of their right to citizenship. The experience of the past three decades <remonstrates clearly that such a course can only lead to resistance, repression and increased violence. Nothing less than the total abandonment of apartheid and a search for a solution by consultations with the genuine leaders of all the people, on the basis of the principle of human equality, can avert a tragedy. 17. There is no single issue on which the Members of this Organization are more united than the one before us. We therefore speak today with one voice in expressing our determination to do everything within our power to help to ensure the establishment in South Africaof a just society in which all people of all races will enjoy their inalienable rights. We must succeed, in the interest of peace in Africa and, indeed, in the entire world.

The General Assembly will now hear an address by the Prime Minister of Jamaica, His Excellency the Honourable Michael Manley.

It was with deep humility and a profound sense of history and its obligations that I accepted the invitation to 'address this Assembly at this particular moment in the struggle againstapartheid and for the final liberation of southern Africa. Even as we meet here, we feel the presence of the spirits of the martyrs who died at Sharpeville and Soweto. Wefeel that Steven Biko is a witness to these proceedings. Even as I speak, millions of . young lives are being warped and crushed in South Africa and Namibia and Zimbabwe, and their blighted hopes stand as a monumental reproach to all of us in this great hall this morning and, indeed, to all mankind. 20. I dare to speak at all, not in my own right as an individual, but as a part and product of a process of struggle in Jamaica, and indeed in.the entire Caribbean. Welook at our tormented brothers in southern Africa from a unique historical perspective. Ourselves the victims of every out- rage still perpetrated in South Africa, we are the products of a slave system which was the foundation for a unique colonial experience. We have known genocide, racism, oppression and exploitation as, first, colonialism and, latterly, neo-colonialism have dominated our lives. Equally, we have struggled for our own liberation and always we have recognized that our labours were a part of a world experience and were very particularly linked to Africa's struggle. 21. In the late nineteenth century, Edward Wilmont Blyden of the Virgin Islands raised the cry for African liberation. It was a Trinidadian, H. Sylvester-Williams, who was a convener of the flrst Pan African Congress,which was held in London in 1900. In the 1930s the great George Padmore and C.L.R. James of Trinidad were to become the mentors of Kwame Nkrumah, Aime Cesaire of Martinique was laying a psychological and cultural foundation for the liberation struggle, even as Frantz Fanon summoned a generation to the necessary indignation. And alongside them all, and before most, was the towering figure of Marcus Garvey, a National Hero of Jamaica. More than any other many of his time, Garvey inspired Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta and an' entire generation of modern black leadership, on both sides of the Atlantic, to that struggle whose cause we celebrate and seek to further today. 23. We in Jamaica are proud of the fact that our Government in the 1950s, under the leadership of another National Hero, Norman Manley,was to join the Republic of India, led by the immortal Nehru, as the first two States in history to ban all trade with South Africa as our common mark of protest and indignation. We have felt deeply enough about southern Africa that, Pl()ng with our sister Caribbean- nation, Guyana, we have offered to raise volunteers for the liberation struggles. All of us in the Caribbean contribute what we can to the liberation armies even as we are now helping to train the cadres of f" -nodern State against the day when the flag of freedom comes finally to Salisbury, Windhoekand Pretoria. 24. One might ask, What has moved so many men of the Caribbean to such internationalist concern. The answer is,in part, that we seek the rediscovery of our own identities misplaced in history as the slave ships made their way through the middle passage between Africa and the Americas. More importantly, however, we know that Nkrumah's claim that no African was free until all Africa was free is a universal truth of equal force as between all races of all continents. We know this to be true even though the Caribbean has probably come closer to the ideal of the multiracial society than any other community in the modern world. Yet despite our own comparative success, we know that we are diminished and incomplete so long as any trace ofapartheid remains. 25. And even as we note the credentials of the Caribbean nations in the struggle for liberation, we pause to pay a tribute to those giants whose work altered the course of history. We remember Mahatma Gandhi and his extraordi- nary disciple in another time and place, Martin Luther King, Jr. We must go back to Toussaint L'Ouverture, Simon Bolivar and Jose Martf even as we come forward to the modern giants like Julius Nyerere, Fidel Castro and Ho Chi Minh. 26. May I offer my respectful congratulations to those who are about to be honoured: KwameNkrumah, whose pan-African vision was the logical precursor to the activist dedication of Murtala Mohamed; Jawaharlal Nehru, who committed the Indian subcontinent and his own immense prestige to the struggle;Paul Robesorr, whose extraordinary commitment and lonely dedication foreshadowed, and was paralleled by, the uphill campaign which has been waged so relentlessly by Canon Collins; and last, but by no means least, Olof Palrne, that courageous and uncompromising leader, who stands as a symbol of the increasingly pro- gressive and, I might almost say, vanguard position taken by an of the Scandinaviancountries. 27. And, finally, may I pay a special tribute to the Special Committee against Apartheid for its vital work under the 28. If our research reveals that the League of Nations was petitioned 50 years ago-indeed long before the word apartheid entered the political vocabulary-how does it happen that we stand here today seeking to mobilize world opinion afresh in 1978? How does a world that produced Lincoln, Marx, Lenin, Mao and Franklin Roosevelt stiU stand impotent before this vicious edifice of shame and degradation? Apartheid has been denounced in the rhetoric of every significant political leader of the twentieth century. It has been the subject of the furthest reaches of political indignation. It has been officially designated a crime against humanity. How, then, does this great Assem- bly of nations find itself today virtually mocked by South Africa's unyielding position with respect to its racial policies? What of this latest impudent rejection of the specific will of the United Nations in Namibia? 29. In truth, it is almost incredible, from one perspective, that this meeting should have to take place at all. Even to those who see apartheid in simplistic terms as a matter of desegregated railways, restaurants and rugby football teams, the survival of systematic segregation must seem as surpris- ing as it should be morally repugnant. The truth is, however, that these external symptoms, terrible as they are, are the superficial manifestations of a deeper process which is as old as the history of modern imperialism. And I use the word "imperialism" advisedly. Like all words it can be overused and I know that there are those who would prefer it if it were not used at all. 30. But in fact" it is impossible to understand apartheid and the entire structure of oppression in southern Africa without understanding the origins and continuing nature of imperialism. The three centuries which ended in 1945 witnessed an event unique ill history: the subjugation of three quarters of the globe by a technologically triumphant minority. Imperialism consisted of the military and political organization of the world for the purpose of economic exploitation. Half-empty territories were occupied and ancient and often glorious civilizations were destroyed in Africa, Asia and the Americas. The raw economic force of these events is without parallelin human history. 31. Racism was the terrible progeny of the process, but the human passions which it provokes must never be allowed to maks the true father of the process, which is the economic exploitation of nation by nation and, ultimately, of man by man. And it is precisely because racism is not the cause, but the effect, of injustice in southern Africa that we must look beyond the broken bodies of Soweto to find the true targets of our indignation and the real focus for our efforts. 32. Thus, for us in the Caribbean, justice in southern Mrica involves more than the recovery of the identities that we lost in the middle passage, more than the reconquest of our ancestral pride. Wehave learned by bitter experience that apartheid. the frustrations of Namibia, and 33. Thus, ultimately what is on trial here today is not only racism; it is not O=-L~i apartheid-these are but symptoms. It is also exploitation, the final curse ofmankind, that stands accused today. But surely the codefendant is the world itself and more particularly its political systems. For, in the last analysis, southern Africa and apartheid represent a massive failure of the political process. It is well) then, that we should pause to reflect upon the situation in which the world finds itself. 34. Political conquest has always been perpetrated in the name of economic advantage. In a previous era, however, economic advantages were so much the product of political events that they were ultimately dependent upon the political process. If the conquest was reversed, the eco- nomic advantages would cease to flow. Hence, political liberation would naturally guarantee the removal of eco- nomic inequities. But in the modern world that is no longer so. As the tide of modern imperialism in its visible political aspect receded it left behind its economic structures. This system, as expressed through its huge supranational struc- ture of financial, productive and distributive corporations and institutions, has created a system of international influence and control which threatens to make the tradi- tional political process redundant. Nor can this be ignored by any country, regardless of size or ideological persuasion, 35. In the end, both the traditional and the more recent people's democracies, trace the source of their sovereignty, through the political process, to the people. We may quarrel about the authenticity or otherwise of either claim, but both systems owe unmistakable allegiance to the same source of authority for the making of decisions in human affairs, and that source is the people. We are now confronted with a new authority, a new authorship of fundamental decisions, a new determinant of the precise course of events within nations and between nations. 36. That authority, which resides and is lost within the inscrutable mysteries of the international corporate system, 37. Thus, the New International Economic Order and the right of the black South African to walk in simple and unexceptional dignity in his own country, both represent a fundamental question 'which mankind must answer. Who is going to run the world, and on whose behalf? Is the world to continue as the living expression of a contradiction between moral purpose and concrete experience? Or are those who are chosen to lead by the people, in the interest of the people and on behalf of the people to assert the sovereignty of the people by compelling events to walk in accordance with our declared purposes? 38. There are those who will retort that this isunrealistic; as always the pragmatists will swear that it is visionary. But, I suggest that this is a time when mankind might do well to pause to reflect and exercise a deeper pragmatism before it is too late. For just as surely as half of history is the product of those forces which seek to dominate in the name of glory or profit, equally history is the product of the forces of those who rebel. 39. Ultimately) the United Nations presents all mankind with a unique opportunity to achieve liberation without violence through intelligent, concerted international action. I should like, therefore, to invite this Assembly, conscious of the deeper issues that are at stake, to address its mind in a serious, practical, non-rhetorical way ta the question. What action can we, indeed must we, take to remove southern Africa from the agenda of international injustice and apartheid from the <:i:;enda of international crime? 40. And as we consider the question of action, may we pause just to state the present situation for the record. It is now universally recognized that the struggle really involves the refusal to accept the systematic organization of a society on the basis of the inherent superiority of one race, the minority, and' the Institutionalized subjugation of another race, the majority. 41. Therefore, nothing is answered if a few black men are selected to represent South Africa in sport so long as black people generally are paid a fraction; for the same work, of the rewards of their white counterparts; so long as black people must get a pass to travel within the borders of their own country; so long as black people are excluded from the highest reaches of the economy; so long as black people are denied relevant education; and, most critically) so long as they are excluded from the political process. Nor can we ignore the critical relationship between events in South Africa and those to the north in Rhodesia. The illegality of the Smith regime is a technical, though important, question that should never be a!lowed to obscure the essential unity of the problem. That is why the presence of Ian Smith in the United States represents more than a technical defiance of the will of the Members of the United Nations and is regrettable from every point ofview. 43. I realize that when we propose yet again that specific measures be till~.en against South Africa there will be heard, upon the instant, the voices that will counsel inaction on all sorts of grounds. On the one hand, we will have those who say frankly that they are not prepared to suffer any loss of profit or any dislocation as a consequence of any action that may be contemplated against Sm1'Jl Africa. Then there will be the more subtle persuaders claiming that their real concern is lest action against South Africa hurt the black South African in terms of some loss in material standards. To that last we reply that no loss in material standards could be measured in any scale of values against the prospect of the recovery of human dignity. 44. Of course there is the often heard view that economic necessity within South Africa and the emergence of a sense of decency among the racist leaders themselves will bring apartheid down. But why should the absolute rights of millions today await the uncertain outcome of a pious hope? Indeed, it is precisely that kind of mora] evasion which has cost the world so dear in the past. 45. Finally, we must expect the crude contention of the minority who say that they would prefer apartheid to change, since change might lead to an ideology of which they do not approve. But we cannot have it both ways. in a plural world it is the right to self-determination, and not its outcome, which is the inalienable right of every man; and it is where the absolute right to self-determination is denied that peace is most at risk. 46. Last year the United Nations in a modest step forward imposed an arms embargo on South Africa when the Security Council adopted "resolution 418 (1977). Under Chapter VII of the Charter, it was decided that the sale of arms to South Africa represented a threat' to international peace and security. However, we all know that it is not the sale of arms that represents the threat. South Africa is heavily armed to begin with and it has a sophisticated arms industry of its own. Thus, even while we accept this step forward for its psychological effect, we do not delude ourselves; it is the regime itself and the system ofapartheid that represent the threat to the peace and security of the world. 47. Let us recall South Africa's sordid interventionist role in Angola, its support of the client Smith reglme in Rhodesia and the continuing intervention ofthat client in Mozambique and Zambia. Now that we have seen its latest act of defiance in NamAbia one is tempted to ask, What 48. Let us demand that all the members of the inter- national community begin now to prepare themselves for the various kinds of action that are required. Let us finalize, pass and enforce an effective convention against contacts in sports-and let us do it without further delay. 49. Under Article 41 of the United Nations Charter, it is provided that the Security Council should take practical steps to deal with a State which represents a threat to peace. These include economic sanctions. The international community is by now entirely familiar with a range of measures that could be brought to bear. The cutting offof oil supplies and the halting of investment and machinery replacements are examples of steps that can be taken in addition to economic sanctions. 50. But even while we prepare for this kind of action, there is a step contemplated in Article 41 that is simple to apply, is fully within the capability of all nations and would have a dramatic, if not devastating, impact upon the racist r~gime. Let the nations of the world,acting under Article 41, move now to break all air, sea and land links with South Africa. Let us instruct all airlines and shipping lines to eliminate South Africa as a port of call; equally, let us deny landing and berthing rights to all aircraft and ships which are either owned by South Africa or which have come from South Africa; and let us be prepared to invoke Article 42, which authorizes blockades if any action taken under Article 41 should prove to be ineffective. 51. Let this be the first action in the final mobilization of the world. And we say "first action", because we must be prepared to go to all the lengths contemplated in Articles 41 and 42 of the Charter. Total sanctions, diplomatic isolation and even blockades are not too high a price to pay now to avoid the holocaust that will surely come and into which we will all be drawn, if we fail to act. 52. No subject in history has been more thoroughly discussed, no practice more universally condemned, than apartheid. Surely the time for action must be now. 53. At issue throughout southern Africa is nothing more nor less than justice itself. Zimbabwe must be free and the Patriotic Front and its freedom fighters must be a full part of that freedom. Namibia must be free and secure and the South West Africa People's Organization must enjoy full and unimpeded access to the frUits of that freedom. In South Africa no person must be denied access to the political process, the economic benefits or the cultural experiences of that country by reason of race. 54. Those are the issues; on trial is the capacity of the world community to act; at risk is peace; in the balance is our capacity to build a civilization resting surely upon the foundations of justice and human dignity. In the name of every martyr who has died for freedom; in the name of every child now facing the blank wall ofracial rejection; in SS. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish): I thank the Prime Minister of Jamaica for his important statement. 56. I should like to announce that many messages have been received and that six of these messages will be read out because they have been addressed to the Assembly by Heads of State. I request the Under-Secretary-General for Political and General Assembly Affairs to read out the messages we have received from Heads of State.

The first message is from the Head of State and Chairman of the Supreme Military Council of Ghana: "On this occasion of the special meeting of the United Nations General Assembly convened to observe the International Anti-Apartheid Year, I have the pleasure to convey to you hearty felicitations. "The Government and people of Ghana appreciate the efforts of-the United Nations in the fight against the racist policies of the apartheid regime of South Africa. We are particularly gratified by the continued effort of the United Nations in the mobilization of international public opinion in support of the oppressed people of South Africa and their liberation movement. "It is fitting that on this Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners of South Africa the United Nations should honour distinguished personalities who have devoted their life and time to the struggle for freedom and eradication of the injustices of apartheid. To us in Ghana a more lasting tribute which the international community can pay to these gallant men is to rededicate ourselves to the intensification of the fight for justice and racial harmony in South Africa." 58. The second message is from the President of the Republic of India: "1 have great pleasure in .:..;nding a message to the special meeting of the plenary of the Genera' Assembly to honour seven enlightened leaders who have made out- standing contributions to the struggle against apartheid: The liberation of the people of Southern Africa has always been close and dear to our hearts, and we have sought to render the utmost assistance to that caxse, Our total involvement in the struggle against the iniquities of apartheid was launched by Mahatma Gandhi and has gained strength and suppon with the passage of time. Today on this Day of Solidarity with the African Political Prisoners and with the Liberation Movement in Southern Africa, our anguish at the suppression of human rightsin Southern Africa takes a sharper edge as we consider how many brave men and women who have laboured long and hard in the struggle for freedom languish in infamous security gaols. The Indian people reaffirm their complete solidarity with these heroes. 59. The next message has been sent by the Head of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria: "May I on behalf of the Government and people of Nigeria reiterate our solidarity and support for the struggling people of Sou th Africa, especially on the occasion of the special meeting of the General Assembly on the International Anti·Apartheid Year. "I recall that one of the important decisions of the World Conference for Action against Apartheid held in Lagos in August 1977 was the proclamation of 1978 as the Anti·Apartheid Year. J also recall that today, 11 October, is the fifteenth anniversary of the call by the international community for the release of all political prisoners being held by the racist regime in Pretoria. ... . "It is most unfortunate that this call has been to no avail. We have witnessed increased repression, more arbitrary arrests, more political trials, more detentions, more banning orders and, worse still, more deaths in detention. The racist regime in Pretoria, in desperation, has launched the most brutal machinery of oppression ever known. Bantustanization continues to be the priority of the racist regime. "Despite measures contained in resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council against South Africa, the policies of apartheid continue to be pursued by the regime in Pretoria. There is no doubt in our mind that the system is being sustained by political and economic interests from outside our continent. "We again call on all States who have condemned this system of apartheid to match their verbal commitments with necessary and appropriate action. For it is only then that the racist regime will begin to understand the gravity of the. international community's commitment to th, eradication ofapartheid. "May I on behalf of my people congratulate all the recipients of the gold medal awards. They serve as glowing examples of the international commitment to the struggle against apartheid. For our part we will not rest until apartheid is eradicated." 60. The next message is from the President of Pakistan: "Today Pakistan joins the international community in observing the Day of Solidarity with the Political Pris- oners of South Africa and to pay homage to these fighters for freedom whose situation represents a special dimen- sion of the greatest importance in human rights. "The world is witnessing momentous developments in the southern part of Africa. It is unrealistic to expect that the South Africans will passively accept political bondage and suffer continued discrimination at a time when the "On this day, Pakistan pledges to extend its fullest political and material support to' the people of South Africa till they achieve victory in their just struggle against a policy which is a burden on the conscience of the human race." 61. Next is a message from the President of the Somali Democratic Republic: . "On behalf of the Government and people of the Somali Democratic Republic, and in my own name, I wish to express our profound appreciation for the convening of a special meeting of the General Assembly devoted to the International Anti·Apartheid Year. The special meeting highlights the untiring effort of the United Nations to elirr':,late racism, raciil discrimination and apartheid. "It further indicates the commitment of the Organiza- tion in carrying out the special responsibility it has proclaimed in resolution 3411 C (XXX) of 28 November 1975 towards the oppressed people of South Africa. ..As a founding member of the Special Committee against Apartheid, the Somali Government and people reaffirm, in this solemn meeting of the General Assembly, their support and solidarity for the oppressed people of South Africa in their struggle for their self-determination, freedom and dignity. We are confident that the delibera- tions of the special meeting of the General Assembly will constitute a milestone in the efforts of the international community 'towards the elimination of apartheid from the face of the earth and the restoration of inalienable rights to the oppressed people of South Africa. "I wish also to extend our felicitations to the recipients of awards for their significant and exemplary contribu- tion to the international struggle against apartheid." 62. And, finally, a messgage from the President of the Democratic Republic of the -Sudan: "In observance of the Day of Solidarity with South African Political Prisoners, the Government and people of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan join all peace- loving peoples in the world in reaffirming their absolute condemnation and unequivocal rejection of the odious system of apartheid. "The Government and the people of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan, in expressing their solidarity and unshaken support for the freedom fighters in Azania in their relentless struggle to combat racism and apartheid, pledge once again to spare no effort in rendering all possible material and moral support to the heroic people of Azania WIderthe leadership of their national liberation movements.

I should like to announce that we have received further messages from the Governments of Australia, Austria, Brazil, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Phillip· pines, Qatar, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turkey. 64. Messages have also been received from the executive heads of the ILO, FAO, UNESCO and WHO, and from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. These willbe distributed as press releases. 65. We come now to the award ceremony. It may be recalled that in resolution 31/6 G of9 November 1976, the General Assembly authorized the Special Committee against Apartheid "... to establish an award to be presented to persons who have, in co-operation with the United Nations and in solidarity with the South African liberation movements, contributed significantly to the international campaign against apartheid". 66. The Special Committee has accordingly selected seven persons for the award this year. They are: the Reverend Canon L. John Collins, Canon of St. Paul's Cathedral and President of the International Defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa; His Excellency the Honourable Michael Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica; the late General Murtala Mohamed, former Head of State of Nigeria; the later Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, former Prime Minister of India; the late Kwame Nkrumah, former President of Ghana; His Excel- lency Mr. Olof Palme, former Prime Minister and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Sweden; and the late Paul Robeson, famous black American singer, actor and leader in the struggle against racism. 67. I request the Chief of Protocol to escort to their places on the platform the award winners and those who are here to receive awards on behalf of others: the Reverend Canon L. John Collins; His Excellency the Honourable Michael Manley; Mr. Anders I. Thunborg on behalf of His Excel- lency Mr. Olof Palme; Mrs..Murtala Mohamed on behalf of her late husband; Mrs. Kwame Nkrumah on behalf of her late husband; Mr. Paul Robeson, Jr. on behalf of his late father; and Mrs. Nayantara Sahgalon behalf of her uncle, the late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The award winners and those receiving awards on behalf ofothers were escorted to the podium. . 68. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish): It is now my honour to read the citation. "The United Nations special Committee against Apart- heid-in compliance with General Assembly resolution 31/6 G authorizing it to make awards to 'persons who have, in co-operation with the United Nations and in solidarity with the South African liberation movements, contributed significantly to the international campaign against apartheid-takes pride in presenting the highest 69. Having read the citation. I now request the Secretary- General to award the gold medals for "distinguished service in the struggle against apartheid". I invite the Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid, Mr. Leslie O. Harriman of Nigeria, to assist the Secretary-General,

On behalf of the General Assembly, I congratulate most warmly and pay a tribute to all those who have received the award. 71. The Reverend L. John Collins has indicated that he would be pleased to address the General Assembly. I invite him to speak now. 72. The Reverend L. John COLLINS: I have to confess that although trained to speak a great deal in public I have little more to say at present-owing to my emotion on receiving the gift that has been made to me-than that I receive it on behalf of those for whom I have done the work, the staff who have helped me and the countries that have contributed to the work that we do. I want also to express great gratitude to the United Nations for the support it has given to the work that I have done. 73. I wish to add only a few words. When I began this work in 1952 and then in 1954 visited South Africa-which country I can no longer visit and have not been able to visit since then-as a Christian minister I felt that apartheid was one of the vital problems for the world to solve. and I wondered what the religions of the world were doing to ensure that its practice should stop. It was obviously a challenge to me personally to do my little best to try to stimulate people-certainly those who claimed to have a religious sanction to their lives and indeed the whole world-to see that what was happening in South Africa, and continues to happen there, wasjust plain evil. 74. The sooner we follow the excellent, magnificent. sincerely-given advice of Mr. Manley, the sooner the United Nations itself accepts his challenge, the better. Only in such a way canwe be sure that the work for which we have been rewarded here will have its proper and speedy end. 75. The PRESID&~ (interpretation from Spanish): I now call on Mr. Anders 1. Thunborg, who received the award on behalfofMr. OlofPalme. 76. Mr. THURN,BORG: Mr. Olof Palme has. asked me, as an old friend of his, to receive this award on his behalf, He has also asked me to convex to you, Mr. President, to the Secretary-General and to the General Assembly, the follow- ing message: "I deeply regret that I am not able to be present at the ceremony today to receive this award. This is a moment HI accept this award in humble awareness of the fact that we participate in the struggle against apartheid as a compelling matter of human decency and because of-our conviction that we all share a responsibility as human beings to fight against a system that is a disgrace to our world society. In this struggle we stand on the side of those Who are oppressed, poor and exploited, because we believe that, in the fight against a system that is both evil in itself and a threat to peace, there is no middle ground. Our most fundamental feelings of human solidarity leave us no other alternative. "But those Who should be honoured and praised today are not some few outsiders who receive awards but rather all those innumerable silent victims of apartheid in South Africa itself, all those unsung heroes who risked or gave their lives in a brave fight for human dignity, all those who still suffer daily humiliation under a cruel system of discrimination, all those who had to flee their native country in order to save their lives, their health and their sanity. Those who should be remembered and honoured on this solemn occasion are the children who died in the streets of Soweto, the political prisoners who were beaten and tortured to death on the cold floors of the police cells, the squatters at Crossroads who saw their poor homes and few belongings being demolished and shattered, the women and children who were forced to leave their husbands and fathers to live in material and emotional misery on bantustans far away. "They are, all of them, the real heroes in the fight against apartheid. They are in the very front line in this sturggle, and the liberation from apartheid will be their work and their victory. But they need our support, and we should be prepared to give that support whole- heartedly. "The awards that have been bestowed upon us today should be regarded as a solemn expression of our untiring will to contribute to the elimination and eradication of an evil system. These medals should be seen as shining symbols of our hope that one day freedom, justice and peace will triumph in South Africa also."

I now call on Mrs. Murtala Mohamed, who received the award on behalf ofher late husband. 78. Mrs. MOHAMED: It is an honour for me to be here today to -receive this award on behalf of my late husband, Murtala. It is my understanding that this honour is bestowed upon him in recognition of his modest contribu- tion to the international struggle against apartheid. For this I shoul~ like to convey the appreciation of my family. 79. My late husband's heartfelt commitment to the struggles of the oppressed peoples of southern Africa is indeed a reflection of the sentiments of all the people of Nigeria. I am sure they share this honour with me today. 87. The noble efforts of that Special Committee, there- fore, are a source of pride to us his countrymen and family. My prayer on an occasion like this is simply for greater courage and perseverence for the individual members and Governments that make up the Committee so that they may bring light to the areas of the world made dark by subjugation and racial discrimination. May the spirit and example of Osagyefo guide us all in the struggle that lies ahead. 83. I am indeed deeply moved to be present today before this august body to receive a gold medal on behalf of my late husband. He, 1 am sure, would have considered his contribution to the international campaign against apart- heid as a duty, without looking for international approval or awards. At the same time, I know he would have felt gratified to be closely associated with the other five illustrious international figures with whom he has the singular honour of sharing this illustrious and historic occasion. To those five great men may I also express, through you, Sir, and through the representatives of their countries present here, my warmest and most sincere congratulations on receiving the awards they have so richly deserved. 82. Mrs. NKRtJMAfI: First of all, may 1thank the General Assembly most sincerely for its very kind decision to pay so singular a tribute to the memory of my fate husband, Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah. My deepest gratitude also goes to the Government of the Supreme Military Council of Ghana, which- graciously authorized me to receive the award on behalf of my late husband. 84. I should also like to express my gratitude to the Special Committee against Apartheid for recommending the award to my late husband. In pursuit ofits historic role, the Special Committee against Apartheid, whose activities Osagyefo followed so closely and to which he gave his full support, has been instrumental in shaping.the thinking and attitude of Governments on racial discrimination in general and apartheid in particular. Osagyefo would have been proud to see this day. In his own way Osagyefo would have found the appropriate words with which to express his profound appreciation of and gratitude for the magnificent role that the Committee continues to perform. But, alas, his untimely death has robbed us of his presence and encour- agement, and I hope the Assembly will accept my sincerest but inadequate thanks on his-behalf. 85. It will be remembered that on the eve of Ghana's independence my husband asserted that "the independence of Ghana is meaningless unles. it is linked up with the total liberation of the African .continent". In that liberation process.Africa will continue to ensure the eradication of colonialism on our continent, particularly in its most obnoxious and virulent form, apartheid. There can be no greater tribute to his memory than that the bastions of colonialism, white privilege and racism in southern Africa arc collapsing and that it is only a matter of time before Namibia, Zimbabwe and Azania will be free. 86. If Osagyefo strove to contribute, however modestly, to the struggle for emancipation it was because he was totally opposed to and deeply revolted by apartheid He r therefore never lost any opportunity to expose its perverted 88. Once again, I thank you sincerely for this great honour to my late husband and to the land of his birth, Ghana, which he loved so dearly and for which he toiled and sacrificed so much in the interest of world peace, African unity and freedom.

I now call on Mr. Paul Robeson, Jr., who received the award on behalf of his late father. 90. Mr. ROBESON, Jr.: It is with deep emotion that I recall my father's close and enduring friendship with Kwame Nkrumah and Pandit Nehru, his warm regard for Canon Collins and his deep respect and adrrtiration for the courage and determination of Michael ManIey. It is a great honour for me to accept my father's award. The great tribute represented by this award has special significance, because my father's efforts on behalf of the liberation of black people in South Africa were indivisibly linked to his efforts on behalf of black liberation in the United States. 91. More than 20 years ago he presented a petition to the United Nations, accusing the United States Government of violating the Convention against genocide" in its treatment of its black citizens. He saw both of those struggles not just as struggles for civil rights but as struggles for total liberation, for an equal share of the power and wealth of the nation. . 92. Many years ago he called not only for the abolition of apartheid but for all-out support for the fight of black South Africans for political and economic power, for their fight to retake their land and their riches from a racist oppressor. Today it is all the more appropriate to state unequivocally that the decisive issue in South Africa is the taking of power by the black majority, and it is inevitable that the time when that will happen willcome soon. 93. So it is time for the people of the United States to compel their Government to impose an economic boycott on the South African rulers. And it is time for us black 94. We should, we must, do whatever is necessary and pay whatever price is required to prevent those hands we know so well-the hands of our own oppressors-..from quenching the bright revolutionary flame of black liberation in South Africa.

I now call on Mrs. Nayantara Sahgal, who received the award on behalf of her uncle, the late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. 96. Mrs. SAHGAL: It is a great honour for me, on behalf of the Government and people of India, and as the niece of Jawaharlal Nehru, to receive this award to Pandit Nehru for his contribution to the struggle against apartheid 97. Nehru devoted his life to India's struggle for freedom from imperial domination. But it was a struggle intimately connected for him with the urge towards freedom and dignity in other parts of the world, and, more specially, in support of those who laboured under and daily experienced the scourge of apartheid His resolute stand against racism was no mere academic matter, nor even merely the hallmark of a civilized man's conscience. As part of mankind's non-white majority, he profoundly resented this insult to the human spirit and the evil effects of such a policy upon vast nnmoers of men, women and children. 98. He opposed racial discrimination with his intellect, his emotion and his passion. He called it the greatest interna- tional immorality. And when he spoke of it in the Indian Parliament, he deplored moderation on this issue. 99. He said on one occasion: "It surprises me that countries, particularly those who stand for the democratic tradition and those who voted for the United Nations Charter and the international convention on human rights, express themselves so moderately or do not express themselves at all about the racial policy of the South African Union." For him there was no question of counselling patience, moderation or compromise in the face of this continuing affront to human dignity. 100. The people of India have had a long involvement with the struggle against apartheid. Mahatma Gandhi played a courageous and pioneering role in this struggle at the turn of the century, when he organized and led non-violent resistance in South Africa against that regime's unjust and discriminatory laws. Independent India carried the struggle forward by breaking off all relations with South Africa in protest against racist policies. Under Nehru's leadership, India brought the issue of apartheid in South Africa to the General Assembly, and it was the proud privilege of my mother. Mrs. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, to present it at the very first session of the United Nations, in 1946.3 In 1952 India. together with 12 Asian and Arab countries, warned the United Nations that a race conflict in South Africa 101. The credit for this achievement goes to the Special Committee against Apartlteid, and particularly to the dynamic leadership provided by Nigeria as its Chairman. 102. But we know that effective action is yet to be taken against a deflant Member that persists in what the General Assembly has called a crime against humanity. The fight against apartheid is enterlng a critical phase. It must be fought to the finish if the efforts of those whom we honour here today and the sufferings of many who live under apartheid's intolerable conditions are not to have been in vain. 103. My country pledges its continued and full support to the struggle, until final victory.

I now call on His Excellency The Honourable Michael Manley. 105. Mr. MANLEY: Having had the opportunity to say a few words earlier in this meeting, I would now merely say a very deep and humble "thank you" to the Committee which was responsible for this award. I do not accept it in my own right, but on behalf of the people of Jamaica, who have always understood this struggle and committed them- selves heart and soul to a triumphant outcome.

I now invite the Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid, Mr. Leslie Harriman of Nigeria, to make a statement. 107. Mr. HARRIMAN (Nigeria), Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid: It is with the deepest emotion that I address this Assembly today as Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid For today is the Day of Solidarity with South African Political Prisoners-a day when we must remember the numerous martyrs in the struggle for freedom .and human dignity in South Africa, martyrs whose lives we could not save. It is a day when we must pledge to the men and women who languish in prisons and in restriction-because they have espoused the princi- ples of this Organization-that they shall be free and that, indeed, all the people in that gigantic apartheid prison of South Africa shall be free. 108. The rulers ofSouthAfrica have built barriers between human beings. They have built bars to imprison those who reject these barriers. They have built dungeons to silence those who espouse the ideal of one humanity. But their barriers and their bars and their dungeons shall be de- stroyed so that all the people of South Africa, irrespective of race, colour or creed, can join together in building a non-racial society in their common homeland. 109. Today we recall the long and valiant struggle of the oppressed people of South Africa for their inalienable rights-an epic struggle which has inspired generations of men and women in Africa and throughout the world. 111. During those three decades the people of South Africa have relentlessly fought back: by passive resistance, by civil disobedience, by boycotts, by mass defiance and, recently, by armed resistance. 112. There are few parallels in history with the non- violent struggles of the South African people. That is also true of the qefiance of death by young students of Soweto \n 1916. If they are compelled, they will no doubt write a new chapter in armedstruggle fot freedom, evp - -tthe cost of rivers of blood. 113. But the international community nas an urgent duty to act to spare them the price.of the full savagery of a criminal regfmearmed to the teeth and on the threshold of nuclear capability. The struggle is a struggle for the principles of the United Nations Charter. It is a struggle epitomited by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the thirtieth anniversary of which we observe this year. It is today the decisive battle for the emancipation of Africa after centuries of slavery and humiliation, of colonialism and racist oppression. It is the crucialfront in efforts to rid this globe of the shame of racism and racial discrimination. Their struggle must triumph-and soon-for its victory is essential for the building of a new world order of peace, human equality.and international co-operation. 114. As we observe the International Anti-Apartheid Year; let us pledge to the oppressed people of South Africa and their national liberation movement and all people who struggle with them our unqualifiedsupport in their struggle for emancipation and the total elimination of apartheid in all its. manifestations. Let us give them all our support in building a new society in which all the people of South Africa will enjoy the human rights and fundamental freedoms to whichthey are entitled. 115. This International Year must see the beginning of a determined international effort to quarantine the w;ists as enemies of humanity and to assist the people of South Africa in asserting their true national independence and sovereignty. The United Nations must go forward beyond mere demands and pressures to the exercise of all its manifold powers under the Charter and to the mobilization of all the resourcesof the international community in order to deal a final blow to apartheid. The Special Committee, for its part, pledges its full contribution-in the name of the martyrs of South Africa, in the name of the principles of this Organizationand in the name of humanity. 116. Our determination is reinforced by the unbounded faith of the many men and women who are today in the dungeons of the apartheid regime and of those who have joined the ranks ofthe freedom fighters. 118. We are greatly encouraged by the convlctlon and support of Mr.Michael Manley, the Reverend L. John Collins, Mr.O1of Palme and many others, who have adopted the cause of the people of South Africa as their own cause and are continuing to make a significant contribution to the struggle for the liberation of that country. 119. We are aware that solidarity with the people strug- gling for African freedom, like the struggle itself, has cost a price, and the eminent personalities we have honoured today have paid that price-in persecution and pressure; some have even paid the supreme price of their lives. On behalf of the SpecialCommitteeagainst Apartheid, I wishto express our gratitude to those who have honoured us by accepting the awards for that distinguished service in the struggle against apartheid and in the struggle for human dignity. 120. There is today no more urgent issue and no greater moral challenge before the international community than the eradication of apartheid. 121. In conclusion, I should like to express the deep gratitude of the Special Committee to the Iivingwinners of the awards, Mr. Michael Manley, the Reverend L John Collins and Mr. DIor Palme, for theirjoint statement today offering their full support to the Special Committee in launching an international mobilization against apartheid, an initiative proposed by Mr.Mtchael Manley. 122. I wish also to express my great appreciation to the cities of New York; Detroit; Michigan; Highland Park, Michigan; Gary, Indiana; and Atlanta, Georgia, which, in response to our appeals, have informal ceremonies pro- claimed today as Anti·Apartheid Day. I should also like to express great appreciation to. other cities all over the world which have a~E'1.·lady taken similar action. All people of conscience must join in the march against apartheid.

I have to announce that a message has been received from the President of Liberia, the text'of whichwill be issued in due course.s 124. May I express my appreciation to all the speakers who have contributed to this solemn observance of the Internatio .al Anti-Apartheid Year. 125. The ceremony isnow concluded. The meeting rose at 12.50 p.m. 4 See press release GA/585 L