A/33/PV.54 General Assembly

The struggle against apartheid is one of the corner-stones of the policy of the non-aligned movement. The non-aligned countries have never compromised in the struggle to bring about an abandonment of the policy ofapartheid, a policy which has made southern Africa one of the most dangerous and volatile regions of the world. This policy directly endangers the security and independence of all African countries, especially the front-line countries. For these reasons, the non-aligned countries have decided to hold an Extra- ordinary Ministerial Meeting of the Co-ordinating Bureau in Mozambique at the beginning of next year to review the situation in southern Africa and provide an opportunity for expressing solidarity with the liberation movements and the front-line States. 2. The non-aligned countries have endorsed the position adopted by the international community, through the United Nations, in condemning apartheid nvt only as a crime against humanity put also as constituting a threat to int~rnational peace and security. The situation is extremely serious and volatile. The international community has become aware of the need to combat and put an end to aDartheid, and to do so speedily. Millions of suffering people are looking to the international community and the United Nations with hope. The L'1ternational conlmu..nity cannot preach moderation to the African freedom fighters on the one hand and permit excesses on the part of the apartheid regime on the other. The ase of armed force in the liberation of Africa was the last resort, impelled really by disillusion and disappointment as regards the efficacy of the United Nations. In fact, the Prime Minister of South Africa in a television interview confirmed that despite the Security Council embargo he still received arms from abroad. -·NEW YORK 3. The trends in South Africa show unmistakable signs that the racist regime is resorting to increased repression and desperate policies to contain the rising tide of African resistance, ignited by repeated uprisings. The South African Government· must be made to realize that there can be no peace as long as three-quarters of the population are excluded from the mainstream ofnational life and from the benefits of the resources of the country. 4. The situation in South Africa is not only degrading and intolerable but is also rapidly approaching the point where the entire region could be engulfed, precipitating more acts of uncontrollable violence, the responsibility for which would be borne solely by the minority racist Government. If that is to be averted not only must all resolutions and decisions of the United Nations be implemented but our political attitudes and will must be strengthened. The strength of moral force and positive, measures on the part of the international community must be effectively applied to compel South Africa to put an end to the injustices of its system. Meaningful steps must be taken, before it is too late, to eliminate the various kinds of racial discrimination and segregation. South Africa must be compelled also to implement the resolutions of the United, Nations. If apartheid is not eradicated it will not only destroy the regime in South Africa but also threaten the peace and security of the world and cause unprecedented bloodshed in the region. 5. My delegation reaffirms our support for and solidarity with the oppressed people of South Africa and their national liberation movements. 6. We deplore the- many fllcets ofapartheid. The apartheid regime in South Africa makes it the bastion of racism and colonialism in southern Africa. That regime has resisted the many efforts of the United Nations to bring peace and security, with honour and justice, t\) that region. The South African regime has continued to occupy Namibia illegally, supported the illegal ~acist minority regime in Southern Rhodesia and constantly committed acts of aggression against neighbouring States. My delegation deplores that situation and supports all efforts to eradicllte apartheid, which is the core of the problems in southern Africa.

As on other occasions, the delegation of Co- lombia wishes to take part in this debate on apartheid in order to condemn once more that kind of racial policy which is in violation of the Charter of the United Nations, and which is indeed repungnant to those peoples that have achieved a minimum degree of political civilization. To- gether with the questions of decolonization, human rights, the new international economic order, the self- determination of peoples-particularly the question of Namibia-this is a vital issue in this General Assembly. A/33/PV.54 9. With the impoverishment of those peoples, the constant migrations, the destruction of tribal life, the European vultures discevered a cheap labour force which, together with the abundance of raw materials, became the other pillar of apartheid policy. In Azania-incorrectly called South Africa-in Zimbabwe and in Nami:>ia, with the policy of division of families and the degradation of the human being, we have seen the formation of a legion of second- class citizens without social benefits, without the oppor- tunity to exercise their human rights, compelled to sell their labour for survival wages. 10. In the last stage of this aberrant form of colonialism, we see the rise of the so-called bantustan policy, or the parallel development of two societies, black and white. By this means, veritable reservations have been set up, modern versions. of concentration camps" whereby a mere 1.7 per cent of the poorest- land of South Africa is set aside for 87 per c':nt of its total population, namely, the black people. The Government of Pretoria, in order to demonstrate the virtue~ of this policy, wishes to give a special impulse to the development of those enclaves, in complicity witP the neo-colonialhlt Powers and their ultimate economic mani- festation, the tranmational corporations. In those reserva- tions, manpower is cheap and scarce and, when no work is to De found, the natives have te seek it elsewhere, thus giving rise to the division of families and creating a nation. of pari~hs. Even now, the Corporation for Economic Development, an entity invented by the South African Government to promote this bantustani:mtion policy in- tends, without fear of international sanction, to open an office in ~ city which was once the cradle of liberty. That office is intended to attract the necessary fmllncial capital for the development of those ignominious reservations. The econ~mic gains they offer could DL't be more of a temptation, nor more profitable. In Umgazana, in the Transkei, a European multinational corporation is building a deep-water port which, thanks to cheap labour and the abundance of raw materials, will earn it a profit of more than SSO million. 12. My delegation sut'ports all' moves to isolate all countries which practice policies of apartheid and racial discrimination in sport as well. It is claimed that sport, the pure expression of effort for the sake of effort, should be separated from politics. That is true. But it is even more true that apartheid is outside the realm of politics because it is a violation of the very essence of the human being. The prohibition against taking part in competitions with coun- tries which practise the policy of apartheid should apply not only at the amateur level, but also at the profeSSional level. 13. My delegation is also concerned at the enormous waste of human resources involved in the apartheid policy. At the present time there are millions of human beings who do not have access to culture, since because of the colour of their skin that area of development has been decreed closed to them. The last repercussions of nazism have even produced statements about the congenital inferiority of some races compared to the white race, about a lesser development of the various parts of the brain. But the truth is that these persecuted peoples have shown, even with.n the limitations imposed on them by force, their intelligence in scientific research and their sensitivity and creativity in literature and ,the plastic arts. The sad poetry which laments the loss of their freedom and the marvellous sculptures whose hidden significance has as yet defied the wisdom of anthro- pologists ,express not only their own feelings but the feeling of all it means to be a human being as well. 14. My delegation wishes to express its scepticism as to the scope and the validity of the protests, such as other delegations' have made, against apartheid While we here condemn that policy as· execrable, the multinational com- panies which genuinely represent the interests of the neo-colonialist Powers, continue to encourage and protect apartheid. It is a policy which produces enormous eco- nomic advantages, the only valid touchstone in these materialistic times. In the face of such abundant profits, what does a human being matter? Co-operation with the C'JOvernment of South Africa continues and has even entered the nuclear field. The Government of Pretoria is being armed with atomic weapons to create in that land a fortress of infamy, and perhaps we can see in this the prelude to a rebirth of nazism worldwide. 15. This, we think, is what PreSident Carter of the United States had in mind when he stated: "On the day of my inauguration I promised that this Administration would use as a guideline the desire to establish a world order that would be more sensitive to 16. But this SIOg?~l of the eradication of the policy of apartheid should be that of the peoples of the third world, with the support of the developed nations, which by their actions express their sympathy for this Doble cause. As the Pre~ident of Colombia, Mr. Julio Cesar Turb~y. and his Foreign Minister, Mr. Uribe-Vargas {33rd :··::eti'"'' ,tated, the struggle against racial discrimination l:i a "r,a ",.. cause that unites the countries of the third world, of which we are a member. The third world is beginning to show its impr.tience with the endless to-ing and fro-ing, without solution, on issues as important as that ofapartheid, which weigh with tremendous force on the ethical, political, economic and social conscience of the contemporary world, and with the intentional procrastination;I, which leads us to f~el that only through physical violence used in self-defence as dermed in the Charter can we reach a fmal solution of this problem. However, the fum belief of our delegation in human values gives us the necessary courage to call on the great Powers, the only ones who exercise my influence on the South African Government, to ensure respect for the rights of the peoples of the third world, which though in the majority are still persecuted. 17. My delegation requests that all co-operation with the Government of South Africa cease as long as it persists in its apartheid policy. We also call for the cessation of other subtle forms ofapartheid, such as the exploitation of cheap labour in areas occupied by foreign Powers as a result of a military operation, the result of force and violence. We wish to see continued the efforts that have been so admirably pursued so far in the Special Committee against Apartheid so that in all corners of the world the Fascist ideological basis of apartheid and its economic r.amifications will be 'made known. Mankind must fumly resist this policy of apartheid as the new dawn of fascism, and we must learn the bitter lesson of the last world war, when millions of lives were sacrificed in defence of freedom and to combat a policy which is identical to that of the present South African Government. We must remember that in the 19208 and 1930s fascism and nazism were able to take advantage of the weakness of liberal Governments, which led to the installation of those odious systems. 18. My delegation is not prepared to rest content with the popular saying that nothing is eternal and that all things have an end. We hope that the eradication of the policy of apartheid will be achieved here and now and not be left for the Greek calends. My nation is the product of much racial intermingling which has formed a proud ethnic mix which, as the great poet Neruda said, for that reason feels itself to be "a grain in the human granary".

For more than 25 years now the subject of apartheid has been on the agenda of the General Assembly. 20. Apartheid, which keeps the African population of South Africa confined in bantustans, genuine ghettoes occupying only 13 per cent of the total area of the country, is a legitimate offspring of the capitalist system and constitutes the most abominable form of racial, economic and political discrimination in modem times. Its purpose is none other than to provide a virtual slave-labour force for the lords of Pretoria. It was not for nothing that John Vorster admitted the follOWing in 1968: . , "It is true that there are blacks working for us and they will go on doing so for generations, despite our ideal of keeping them entirely separate _. . . The fact is that we need them becaus~ they work for us ... but the fact that they work for us will never authorize them to claim political rights, now or in the future." 21. In order to tmsure the success of tl~at policy, the South African regime has institutionalized terror and coercion. Five principal schemes, carried out through ~pecific administrative practices and laws, make up the juridical superstructure of apartheid: the control of Inigra- tion, which prevents the access to urban areas of black people who are not strictly necessary to the productive process; the control of the labour force, to keep it in the production centres or to steer it towards other .centres of interest, through savage laws which cancel out all the workers' rights; the racial barrier, established by the so-called Industrial Conciliation Law of 1956, which enables the Minister of Labour to reserve jobs for members of this or that race and to set the proportion of each in various companies; and, lastly, the so-called pass laws, which com~l all Africans over 16 years old to carry with them at all times a "passbook" containing data about themselves, their job records, and so on. According to the Institute for PQ.1icy Study, in Washington D.C., in a recent publication entitled South Africa: Foreign Investment and Apartheid,l "approximately 400,000 people were tried in 1975 alone under the pass law". 22. The Wall Street Journal-which surely knows what it is talking about-has stated that "the cost of apartheid is immense". How is that cost met? By the generous aid of the Western friends of Vorster and Herr Botba, of course, because "as an independent economic entity, South Africa would not have been able to be where it is now, nor would it be able to go much further in the future". The South African Reserve Bank made this quite explicit in 1972 by stating: "Over the long term, South Africa has depended to a large extent on foreign capital for investment . . . . It is still highly dependent on outside capital to be able to achieve a relatively high rate of growth". 1 Litvak, De Gras and McTigue, South Africa: Foreign Investment and Apartheid (Washington, D.e., Institute for Policy Study, 1978). 24. Of course, such imports have to be paid for through ail inflow of foreign capital or through the expansion of exports. In fact, it is SOl~th Africa's capitalist partners that are keeping South Africa afloat. 28. In 1975-and let us not forget that by then the General Assembly had already condemned the activities of foreign economic interests impeding the efforts to eliminate colonialism, apartheid and racism-there were 630 British companies, 494 United States'companies, 132 West German companies, 85 French companies and more than 150 companies from other developed capitalist countries in operation in the country. The Anglo-American Corporation alone, for example, has 31 fmance and investment com- panies, 9 diamond mines, 17 coal mines, 5 copper mines, 16 gold mines, 22 industrial facilities and 7 real-estate flIms, producing 40 per cent of the gold, 30 per cent of the uranium and 30 per cent of the coal, adminilitering 58 per cent of Zambia's copper, and having a monopoly over world diamond sales. 15. Apart from British capital-which occupies the not very enviable top place among the supporters of apart- heid-the United States comes first in the fmancing of the Botha regime. United States companies account for not less than $1,665 million of direct inv?stment in South Africa- in other words, 17 per cent of all the direct investment in that country. United States banks hold more than $2 bil- lion in loans, or 33 per cent of the total under this heading. These figures, according to the experts, are conservative; this has been confmned by Professor Julian R. Friedman in a recent publication of the United Nations Centre on Apartheid 2 Moreover, the publicatia:l South Africa: For- eign Investment and Apartheid also states the following: 29. The authors of South Africa: Foreign Investment and Aparth.:!id conclude significantly, that "... the figures do not reveal the qualitative impor- tance of United States investments, nor their growth in the post-war period, nor their concentration in the principal sectors of the economy, nor the fact that they are controlled by a significant, but limited, number of strategic fums. "... beyond their strategic role in the economy, United States corporations in South Africa make a crucial contribution to apartheid United States investments and trade in South Africa create a material bond between' United States corporations and the status quo regime. This bond, originally deriving from profits, protects the minority regime from economic sanctions". "Although there are more than 320 United States firms operating in South Africa today, a mere handful of them control the greater part of United States investments. In 1973 three~quarters of direct United St~_~£ investment in South Africa was in the hands of 12 companies. Four of them-Mobil, Caltex, Ford and General Motors-probably rank among the 25 principal non-mining corporations in the country. In the light of the magnitude and nature of their activities, these and other United States subsidiaries play a fundamental role in the South African economy. An examination of their operations in some of the most strategic and dynamic sectors of the economy-oil, automobiles, computers, mining, high technology and .heavy engineering-gives a crystal-clear illustration of the contribution of the United States corporations to apart- heid. " 30. Without any doubt, that explains why the United States Government-which more than 20 years ago imposed a criminal blockade against my country, which is still in force-has rejected any attempt to apply sanctions, which the international community is demanding with growing indignation, against the racist, oppressive regime of Vorster and Botha. 31. I have referred in some detail to the economic foundations of apartheid because, in the fust place, we must not forget that we are dealing with a regime of exploitation that is part of a pattern of world imperialism. This is not some strange· phenomenon dreamt up by the Neandertal minorit.y in Pretoria, unrelated to the sup- posedly attractive "free world", which daily proclaims the high values of "democracy", which it has never practised; and of "human rights", which it has always scorned. 26. Mr. C. Cotton, Managing Director of Burroughs South Africa, has stated: "We depend entirely on the United States. The econ- omy would stop if it did not have access to Western computer technology. No bank would be able to work; the Government would not be able to collect its income or do its accounting; businesses would not be able to function; salaries could not be paid; retail and wholesale trade and related services would be dislocated". 32. Botha's Government is today, like those of Verwoerd and Vorster in the past, the principal agent of imperialism in Africa. Its objective is to keep the large African majorities of South Africa in a state of subjugation as long as possible, to' promote the creation of neo-colonial govermnents in Namibia and Zimbabwe, to fight the revolutionary States that have come into being in the ex-Portuguese colonies, to destabilize the independent n~igh-. bouring nations. and, together with its capitalist associates, to participate in a new wave of plundering of the African 2 See Julian R. Friedman, Basic Facts on the f.eflublic of South Africa and the Policy of Apa.'"theid, (United Nut;,ons publication, Sales No. E.78.II.K.2), p. 59. 33. The Special Committee against Apartheid has this year, as in previous yearst done a meritorious job. The report [A/33/22 and Co".1] describes the numerous activities carried out in the urgent task of contributing to the isolation and denunciation of the Pretoria regime, including the observance of the International Anti- Apartheid Year; the Seminar 011 South Africa's Military Build-up and Nuclear Plans,3 and the condemnation of South Africats aggression against the People's Republic of Angola. Particular emphasis was given to the World Con- ference to Combat Racism and Racial Discriminationt4 despite the conspicuous absence of the Western Powers most closely linked with Mr. Botha. 34. Among its conclusions and recommendations, the report of the Special Committee records that: "< .. the United Nationst which was born out of the stmggle aga~nst Nazi racismt was obliged after its incep- tion to begin consideration of racist oppres.:ion and domination in South Africa." [Ibid, para. 235.J It urges aU countries to: "... reaffirm the full commitment of thp, United Nations and the international community to the total eradication of apartheid and the special responsibility assumed by them for the oppressed people of South Africa and their national liberation movement." [Ibid., para. 241.J 35. In this respect, I wish to emphasize the importance which Cuba attaches to the active collaboration of all countries with the liberation movements now struggling for the freedom and indeycndence of South Africat Namibia and Zimbabwe; to militant and effective solidarity with the front-line countriest which are standing firm against the aggressive acts of the [an Smith and South African racists and maintaining their unswerving support for the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAPOJ and the Patriotic Front. 36. In the southern cone of Africa the order of the day is open and resolute struggle against the regime of Pretoria, which is the spearhead of imperialism in that areat fm the elimination of the system of oppression practised by the racistst and for the independence of Zimbabwe and Namibia. As long as apartheid subsists, with all its implica- tionst the freedom of the African peoples will always be threatened. 37. All the measures provided for in the relevant resolu- tions of the Security Council and the General Assembly 3 Held by the Special Committee against Apartheid at United Nations Headquarters on 30 May 1978. 4 Held at Geneva from 14 to 25 August 1978. mobili~e world public opinion against the persistence of that infamous regime.

I am addressing the General Assemb!y in order to explain my country's consistent policy of principle and its contribution to the internation:ll fight against apartheid The assistance and support of the Hungarian People's Republic are manifested in several bodies and at different levels: here in the United Nations, as a founding member of the Special Committee against Apartheid; in all international political forums, by taking a firm stand of principle against racial discriminationt espe- cially apartheid, its most extreme manifestation; by taking part in the programm<:- for the International Anti-Apartheid Year[resolution 32/105 R, annex}, at both the national and the international levelst considering its observance an important milestone in the struggle for the fmal and complete elimination of all forms of racial discrimination; and in the bilateral field, by lending flrm and effective support to the liberation movement of South Africa and to its ojppressed peoplet helping its culturalt social and po.litical development. 39. The United Nations is making ever-increasing efforts to enforce a total boycott of the apartheid regime and to wipe it once and for all from the face of the eartoh. During the two previous regular sessions of the General Assembly this item was considared directly in plenary meetings, and it has also been considered several times by the Security Council. Some results can be noted. Let me recall the resolutions of the General Assembly at its thirty-first and thirty-second sessions on this item [resolutions 31/6 A-X and resolutions 32/105 A-O], and also Security Council resolution 418 (1977)t in which the Council, considering that t4e policies and acts of the South African Government were' fraught with danger to international peace and securlty~·'stated that it was therefore acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations in establishing a cornprehensive and mandatory arms embargo against the South African regime. Butt as far as the implementation of that resolution is concerned, we can see no significant development; just as those resolutions of the General Assembly were ignored by the Powers concerned. 40. The Hungarian Government expresses its grave con- cern at the fact that, while the United Nations is doing its best for the oppressed people of South Africa, acts of horror are taking place there, creating a serious and increasingly explosive situation in that part of the African continent. A careful study of the report of the Special Committee against Apartheid again reveals the obvious reasons and the whole background of this situation. 41. It has been explained in this forum several times that South Africa is a preserve of colonialism, a stronghold of apartheid and genocidet a strike-force of neo-colonialism 46. Our responsibility is greater than ever before. Our task and duty in the General Assembly here aJ~-{ now is to achieve some real change in the development of the South African people's fate. We have to prepare and adopt resolutions which will activate and co-ordinate international action against apartheid more effectively by means of the power of the General Assembly; which call for assistance for the oppressed people of South Africa and its national liberation movement; which call for the cessation of all collaboration with the apartheid regime and urge com- prehensive and total implementation of Security Council resolution 418 (1977); and which request the Security Council to consider mandatory economic sanctions and a total boycott against the South African racist regime under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. .. 42. May I cite just a few data to prove that. More than 1,800 compani~s of 14 Western countries are operating in the area. I would like to refer to an IMF report in June 1978, which shows quite accurately that in the fIrst quarter of 1978 imports by South Africa from those 14 countries were somewhat less than SUS 1.1 billion. Further, exports from South Africa to those 14 countries were more than SUS 1.3 billion. Banking activity is also very strong. According to the closing figures for December 1977 proviaed by Corporate Data Exchange Incorporated, the 10 leading United States banks gave loans of SUS 2,277 million to South African banks. And this number is higher than the figures fbr the same period in 1976 and 1975.

The General Assembly has once more taken up the question of the policy of apartheid pursued by the South African Government. I should like at the outset to point out that this year's consideration of this topic has acquired particular importance and has raised a powerful echo mainly for two reasons. First, it coincides with the current International Anti-Apartheid Year decided upon by the General Assembly {resolution 32/105 B, (J}Jnex]; secondly, it represents. a natural follow-up to the work of the World Conference to Combat Racism an~ Racial Discrimination. 43. These facts further prove that the South African situation is not, and never has been, one of a simple contradiction between blacks and whites. It is not, and never has been, a simple fight between some groups of people for the rule of a country. It is part of history. It is part of the international fight of the oppressed and exploited people for a just and democratic social system, on the one hand, and the resistance of the minority imperiaHst ruling circles to the course of history, on the other. 48. There is hardly any need to emphasize that the International Anti-Apartheid Year and the World Con- ference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination are of momentous importance for the further mobilization of international public opinion in support of the struggle of the peoples and national liberation movements in South Africa and throughout the southern part of the African continent, a struggle for freedom ;ptd independence. The importance of these international actions is further rein- forced by the fact that they are being undertaken at a time when the peoples of Africa's southern region are making heroic efforts to bring about the full and fmal elimination of colonialism, racism, racial discrimination and apartheid as forms of political and social oppression and to realize the triumph of the sacred right of peoples to self-determination and independence. 44. Howevrr, South Africa (;ontinues its flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter, and, when the international community tried to put pressure on the Pretoria clique to abandon its racist and repreSSive policies, the Western Powers, by their veto, made it impossible for the Security Council to carry out its duty. The same Powers and their allies ignore existing United Nations resolutions, including Security Council resolution 418 (1977). In this connexion the South African Prime Minister's statement on 19 November of this year that "If an arms embargo is not feasible, I do not think an oil embargo is feasible either" is understandable but not acceptable. 49. The numerous documents and resolutions adopted by the United Nations provide an exhaustive and thorough characterization of the apartheid phenomenon as a policy of the domination of one race over another in a most vile ~ and monstrous form. It would be difficult to find an aspect of the problem which would yield something new. 45. Keeping on with their manoeuvres, the Western Powers have come forward with proposal after proposal for reducing the tension in southern Africa, for ending the hostilities-in fact gaining time for the racists while they continue to lend them assistance. Having armed the regime to the teeth, they claim to be suspending their military aid. This is perhaps a way of putting pressure on the racists to adopt the tactical course advocated by their allies and protectors. But no one should be misled. Certainly, what is 50. The States Members of the United Nations are unanimous in their view that apartheid is H crime against humanity, a violation of all internationally recognized norms of the defence of human rights. A concrete expression of this policy-line is the creation of the so-called' bantustans, which in fact represent an encroachment upon the territorial integrity of the country. They are also a 51. The problem of apartheid cannot, however, be con- strued merely as a questiCin of the defence of human rights in South Africa, highly important though that is. The United Nations has long recognized that the policies and actions of the Pretoria regime are fraught with danger for peace in southern Africa. Their continuation can lead to a broader conflict. 52. The charter and dimensions of that danger were most vividly revealed in connexion with tJ.te aggression launched by South Africa against the People's Republic of Angola, Mozambique and other front-line States. The lastest news coming from that region-among which I should like to recall the communique of 7 November 1978 of the Defence Ministry of the People's Republic of AngolaS - demonstrates that that danger has not only remained undiminished but has even increased. No less serious implications for peace may arise as a result of the attempts by the racist regime to preserve its domination in Namibia at all costs, to rescue the minority tegime in Southern Rhodesia and to bring to a halt and foil the transfer of power to the patriotic forc~s of Zimbabwe. 53. All the circumstances that I hav'e mentioned, taken i'l their entirety, clearly outline a picturl~ of the reil situation, which creates a tangible threat to world pe~ce in the terms in which it is referred to Lll the Charte... of the United N~tions, with all the consequences st~mming therefrom. This threat is further compounded and now tr&nscends the limits of its immediate geographic region because of Pretoria's efforts to gain possession, with the assistance of certain Western interests, ofthe nuclear weapon. 54. There can be no doubt of the fact that the embargo on arms deliveries in its present form has not halted South Africa's nuclear development. This can also be seen from paragraph 48 of the report of the Special Committee [A/33/22 and Corr.1). 55. Experts subscribe overwhelmingly to the opinion that South Africa either already possesses or is in the fmal phase of producing its own nuclear weapon. Bearing in mind the i.-muma.11 nature ofapartheid and the readiness of the ruling establishment to do everything possible to preserve the status quo, as well as the fact that South Africa is one of the few countries not yet to have signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of' Nuclear Weapons [resolution 2373 (XXII), annex), the threat becomes quite real and obvious. 5 See Officilll Records of the Security Council, Thirty·third Year, Supplement for October, November and December 1978, document S/12917. 57. Also of special importance now is the need to arouse the awareness of public opinion in those countries which provide military and economic assistance to the racist regime so as to make it possible to carry out co-ordinated action to secure the strict ob~rvance of the embargo on arms deliveries, a total embargo on all nuclear mate:s.ials and the transfer of nuclear technology, an embargo on oil supplies and the adoption of extensive economic sanctions. The report of the Special Committee, as can be seen from its paragraphs 66 to 87, contains an abundance of informa- tion relating to tltis kind of collaboration. 58. The Bulgarian delegation believes that the time is ripe for the international community to declare openly that apartheid cannot be reformed and that it should be destroyed. In our view there is only one way to solve the 9roblems connected with the policy ofapartheid That way is by implementing the relevant United Nations resolutions and by States Members of the United Nations undertakinr further co-ordinated efforts. The criminal regime in Pretoria would have ceased to exist long ago if all States Members of the United Nations had acted in accordance With the decisions adopted by the world Organization. 59. Therefore, viewil1i in this perspecllive, those Western States which still collaborate with South Af.l~ca bear a heavy responsibility ~ for, by their collusion with South Mrica in military, political, economic and all oth~r fields, they contribute to the preservation of the shameful system of apartheid und embolden Pretoria to continue its aggres- sive action aga»....t freedom in Africa. The data published recently in South Africa show that oil imports and arms deliveries have not abated since the imposition of the arms embargo. 60. At its thirty-second regular session the General As- sembly resolutely reafflImed the inalienable right of the people of South Africa as a whole, irrespective of race, colour or creed, to determine, on the basis of majority rule, the future of South Africa [resolution 32/105 I). The General Assembly also reafflImed the legitimate right of the national liberation movement in the country to continue its struggle to accede to power by all the means at its dispOsal, including armed struggle. Furthermore, the General As- sembly stated that the international community should assist the national liberation movement in South Africa and give it all-out support in its legitimate struggle. Especially important is the appeal by the General Assembly to the Security Council to adopt effective measures to ensure the strict observance of the embargo on arms and all other forms of military collaboration imposed on South Africa, and to undertake other steps, including economic sanctions [resolution 32/105 Gl. 61. It is high time to proceed from words to deeds and for some Western States to stop hiding behind eloquent rhetorical condemnations ofapartheid. They should display 62. In this connexion, I should like to re-emphasize my country's position on this issue by quoting from th~ declaration of the National Assembly of Bulgaria issued last August. It states: "The People's Republic of Bulgaria strictly observes and carries out the decisions of the United Nations aiming at the elimination of apartheid and does not maintain any diplomatic, consular, political, economic, military, cul- tural or other relations with the racist regime of Pretoria." 68. The practices of the apartheid rcHgme have reached unprecedented proportions both within and outside South Africa, b~inging new tragedies to the people of Azania during the past year. Those same practices havf' caused much harm to neighbouring African countries, both at the human and at the economic level, and have also constituted a challenge to the international community, threatening international peace and security. 63. Bulgaria took an active part in the preparation of the International Convention on the Supression and Punish- ment of the Crime of Apartheid and was one of the first States to sign and ratify that instrument.. It was also among the first States to sign the International Covenants on Human Rights [resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex] and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination [resolution 2106 A (XX), annex], ~~ well as all other fundamental intemationallegai docu- ,ments on &ction against racial discrimination and apartheid. 69. Not only has the apartheid regime in South Mrica ignored resolution.s of international organIZations calling for protection of the. people of South Mrica against inhuman, discriminatory policies, it has also persisted in those policies. The world is very well aware of the massacres <?f demonstrators and the crimes committed against political detainees. 64. In pursuance of its principled policy of solidarity with those who fight against imperialism, colonialism, racism and apartheid, the People's Republic of Bulgaria has rendered and will continue to render assistance and support to the peoples of South Mrica and their national liberation movements in their just and lawful struggle for the complete and definitive elimination of the last vestiges of colonialism and of the criminal system ofapartheid, which has been rejected by mankind. 70. During last year the apartheid regime did not confine itself to oppressing the people of Azania inside South Africa: it used its weapons against neighbouring countries, launching extensive armed attacks on Mozambique and Angola and co-operating with the Smith regime to invade Zambia. 65. This policy was recently reaffirmed during the visit by the First SecI~tary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party and President of the Council of State of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, Todor Zhivkov, in Nigeria, An~ola, Mozambique and Ethiopia. In an interview for the Angolan press and radio stations, he stated: 71. The practices of the apartheid reelme within and outside South Africa continued during tae past year, in defiance of the principles of the United N~tions Charter and the resolutions of the Organization, and in contraven- tion of the principles of international humanitarian law and the provisions of certain international documents. Such a situation constitutes a danger not only to Africa but to the international community as a whole. "The racist regimes in the south of Africa are con- sidered by us not only as a threat to independent Mrica, but also as a threat to world peace and security. Our people stand against all forms of racism and racial discrimination and condemn most resolutely the system of apartheid, elevated to the rank of official policy by the rulers of Pretoria." . 72. Therefore the Special Committee against Apartheid, in chapter 11 of its annual report submitted to the General Assembly this year, has said that the situation in South Africa constitutes a threat to the international peace and- security, as defmed in Chapter VII of the Charter, and that there is an urgent need for the United Nations and the international community to take action speedily to remedy that situation by adopting all appropriate measures to eradicate apartheid and liberate South Africa from the oppression of racism. It also states that in order to achieve those aims the apartheid regime should be isolated and that support should be provided for the just cause of the people' of South Africa in their struggle to restore their freedom and dignity. 66. I should not like to end my statement without paying my respects to the Special Committee against Apartheid and its Chairman, Mr. Leslie aarriman, for their tireless efforts to achieve the implementation of United Nations resolutions and for their outstanding and many-sided activities, which have been so eloquently and compre- hensively reflected in the Special Committee': report.

Almost half of the Decade for St~tes to provide assistance to the people of South Africa and to support the national liberation movement of the Azanian people, as well as to provide assistance to the front-line African States. It was necessary also that the Special Committee should have called for increasing inter- national pressure on the Pretoria regime to induce that regime to end immediately the mock, secret trials of freedom fighters and to liberate political detainees. 74< We note in particular that the Special Committee has in its report called fOl an. immewate end to the military and economic assistance provided to the apartheid regime in SJuth Africa, respect for Security Council resolution 418 (1977) and the ending of all forms of co-operation with South Africa in the nuclear field. The Special Committee mentioned in its report that, as a result of the increasing co-operation between some Western countries and the apartheid regime in South Africa, that regime was supporte4 in its refusal to adhere to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and encouraged to disregard the Declaration adopted by the Organization of African Unity proclaiming the African continent a nuclear- weapon-free zone.6 75. In this cOlmexion, and with r~gard to the various forms of ,.;u-oparation with the apartheid regime in South Africa, my delegation wishes to draw the attention of the General Assembly to that part of the Committee's special report which deals with the growing relations between the Pretoria regime and the racist colon!al regime of Tel Aviv [A/33/22/Add2]. The report sets out very clearly the co-operation between those two regimes in the nuclear and military field, the financial and economic field, the field of tourism, the cultural field and othar fields; and all this in spite of the adoption of General Assembly resolution 32/105 D, adopted in 1977, concerning relations between Israel and South Africa. In that resolution the General Assembly condemned Israel for its continuing and in- creasing collaboration with the racist regime of South Africa and once again demanded that Israel desist forthwith from such collaboration and, in particular, terminate all collaboration with the apartheid regime in the military and nuclear fields. 76. The ideological and racist uni~y between the two regimes, which is a natural outcome of their colonial nature, was and still is a reason for the suppression of the aspirations of the peoples of Azania and Palestine to freedom, the restoration of human dignity and the exercise of .their right to self-determination. That same ideological unity also constitutes a hotbed of tension in South Africa and the Middle East and a continuing threat to inter- national peace and security. That same ideological unity also impedes the aspirations of the African and Arab peoples to stability and economic and social development. 6 See Officilzl Records of the General Assembly, Twentieth Session, Annexes, agenda item 105, document A/597S. 78. Therefore my delegation, which has been a member of the Special Committee against Apartheid since its establish- . ment 15 ye~rs ago, wishes to reaffmn that the Syrian Government respects the resolutions of the Gene'ral As- sembly and the Security Coun~i1 which condemn the apartheid regime in South Africa, deplore its inhuman discriminatory practices and call upon the internat'onal community to boycott that regime, militarily, politically and economically. 79. The S.::lme resolutions also call for support for the r.ational liberation movement in South Africa in order to enable the people of Azania to exercise their right to self-determination, to recover their sovereignty over their land, and to enjoy their basic human rights. . SO, The dangers inherent in the practices of the aggressive colonial regime of Pr~toria constitute a great menace to international peace and security. This requires an im- mediate and firm .application of the provisions of Chapter VII of the Charter in order to save mankind from the policy of apartheid, to save the people of South Africa, and to maintain international peace and security.

Its occurrence at the mid-point of the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, and during International Anti-Apartheid Year, makes our debate more significant than ever before. The recent World Conference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, held at Geneva in August 1978, doubtless reinvigorated international determination to eliminate apartheid, a,determination reflected in the Declaration and Progra~me of Action adopted by the Conference at Geneva /A/33/262 chap. JII}, as well as the historic Lagos Declarption,7 82. This series of actions by the international commUnity in the struggle against apartheid, is closely interlinked with the resolution 3411 C (XXX) of 28 November 1975 in which the General Assembly decided that the international community had an inescapable obligation to take decisive action to eradicate the scourge of apartheid and declared the responsibility of the international community towards the oppressed people of South Africa. 83. The special meeting of the General Assembly on 11 October 1978 to observe the International Anti-Apt.vtheid 7 See Report of the World Conference for Action Qgainst Apartheid, Lagos. 22-26 August 1977 (United Nations publication. Sales No. E.77.XIV. and corrigendum), chap. X. "•.. go out to the thousands of Africans who are suffering in prison for their belief in racial equality, paying with exile for the love of freedom or being persecuted for their determination to eradicate racism." [30th meeting. para. 5.} 84. In that same special meeting ofthe General Assembly, the Secretary-General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, stated, among other things: 89. Despite the consistent actions of the international community, this crime in South Africa continues to produce all the ills, misery and indignity that characterize the pernicious pr&ctice of apartheid. Massacres are perpe- trated against the oppressed peo{.Ja of SoEth Africa; detention, arbitrary mass arrests, torture and banning are being stepped up each passing day, and bantustanization is used as a means of denying to the black people their birthright and their citizenship dliC as an instrument to deprive them of their land and its rich resources so as to perpetuate their dependence and slavery. "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 Africa of a just society in which all people of all races will enjoy their inalienable rights." fIbid., para. 17.} 85. Apartheid is based on racial prejudice, racial dis- crimination, racial segregation and separation, on the economic explelh:tion of natural and human resources, on administrative and police terror and torture, as well as on indiscriminate killing and murder, even in hospitals, as is shown by the case of Steven Biko. Racial prejudice is an attitude of mind and racial discrimination is the act by which the myth of white superiority is sustained. The 90. Moreover, the apartheid regime in desperation has attempted to silence the voices of opposition to apartheid inside South Africa through censorship, banning, and the proscription of all acti-tlpartheid organizations and other dissident group~. d'~gradation of the majority of the population of South Africa is enforced and their human rights are violated. 91. The commendable efforts of the international com- munity, spearheaded by the Special Committee against. AptVtheid, are undermined by a number of countries md transnational corporations whose economic, technical and 86. TIiI'ough racial segregation walls are raised to isolate the oppressed people in the citadel of apartheid. The vigorous economic exploitation of natural and human resources, entails the selfish utilization of land, mineral resources and labour to provide super-profits to th~ apartheid regime and investors, and provides Pretoria with the muscle to suppress and oppress the black people in th~t part of Africa.. ~itary collaboration with the apartheid regime, constitute a major stumbling-block to those efforts. This collaboration aids and abets the inhuman and criminal policy of apartheid. 92. Thanks to military oollaboration, South Africa has amassed a huge quantity of sophisticated weaponry and has acquired the capability to manufactJ.lI'e nuclear weapons, which constitutes a grave danger to the peace and security not only of the region but of the whole world. 87. The international community has heaped condemna-' tion upon the racist minority regime in South Africa, and branded the obnoxious system of apartheid as a crime against humanity. The illegitimacy of the racist regime in Pretoria has been pronounced in many respected inter- national forums and institutions, including the international Court of Justice, where Judge Ammoun stated in the Namibia case, 93. The dangerous propensity of Pretoria has come to the surface for all to witness and appears in its aerial bombard- ments and paratroop attacks against Angola and Zambia, and its active support for the illegal minority regime in Salisbury. The situation unfolding with regard to the Namibian question demonstrates the intransigence of Pre- toria and confirms the veracity of those who stated, in the wake of the Security Council resolution, that the arms embargo came too late and did too little. "The eqWllity demanded by the Namibians and by other peoples of every colour, the right to which is the outcome of prolonged struggles to make it a reality, is something of vital interest to us here, on the one hand because it :,S the foundation of other human rights which are no more than its corollaries, arid, on the other, because it naturally rules out rracial discrimination and apartheid, which are the gravest of facts with which South Africa ... stands charged."s 94. Through economic collaboration, the afJflrtheid regime is given the opportunity and means to defend the last bastion of human enslavement and to consolidate and prolong the lifespan of the apartheid system. 95. The bitter and sometimes frustrating experience of the last three decades during which the international com- munity has striven to eliminate apartheid has proved, beyond any shadow of doubt, that the racist minority nSgime in South Africa wlll not be removed by anything less 8 see Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia (South West Africa) notwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276 (1970), Advisory Opinion, I.e.J. Reports 1971, p. 76. 96. The argument that the black people of South Mrica will suffer if economic sanctions are imposed against Pretoria is untenable anrl at best misguided. The oppressr.d people of South Africa have proved with their blood their preparedness to pay the supreme sacrifice in their struggle for human rights, dignity and freedom. Sharpeville and Soweto, to mention only two cases, are eloquent testimony to that. There are no people on this earth who would be prepared to accept in perpetuity an ordeal of the magnitude of apartheid. There is no I;ase in human history of a resolute and determined people being unable to achieve ultimate success in their struggle for a just cause, whatever the cost. 97. During th~ general debate in the General Assembly the Minister for Foreign Affairs of my country, Mr. Abdurah- man Jama Barre, stated, inter alia: ~'My Government hopes that the world community will also maintain its solidarity with the people of South Africa who conti.'lue to intensify their liberation struggle. The spotlight of international condemnation must remain fIxed on the uniquely inhuman policy of apartheid until that crime against humanity and that threat to inter- national peace and security is eliminated. The racist regime's criminal violation of the human rights of the majority of the population and its aggression agaL'lst the Territory and the people of Namibia and against neigh- bOUring States call for further measures under Chapter "1 of the Charter. We hope t.~at the Security Council will take action to enforce more ~trict1y its mandatory punitive measures against that regime." [23rd meeting, para. 98.} 98. My delegation urges that the Assembly give serious consideration to the report and recommendations of the Special Committee against Apartheid[A/33/22 and CO".]J and that utmost priority be accorded to international action leading to the cessation of all military, economic, political and other collaboration with South Africa, if justice, freedom and dignity are to prevail in South Africa. 99. In this connexion, the danger posed by Israeli-South African collaboration, particularly in military fields, re- quires the urgent consideration of the Assembly. As the special report of the Special Committee [A/33/22/Add.2J points out, relations between Israel and South Africa in the military, economic, cultural and many other fields have reached an unparalleled level, and this clearly reflects Israel's determination to associate itself with apartheid and its disregard of the decisions of the United Nations. I need not go into the details of this report, but my delegation considers that immediate and urgent action must be taken by the international comm11nity to put an end to that collaboration in accordance with the decisions of the General Assembly and the Security Council. 101. In conclusion, I wish to mention that my country, which is a f\Junder member of the Special Committee against Apartheid. has carried out many activities, including the issuing of 3 commemoiative postage stamp, in obser- vance of International Anti-Apartheid Year. These activities have already been communicated to the Secretcay-General as well as to the Centre against Apartheid.

In pursuing one of its noble Qbjectives, that of ensuring respect for the humm rights and fundamental freedoms of all peoples, the United Nations has recently expressed growing concern with regard to the serious situation arising out ~f the perpetuation of racist practiceSs the policy of apartheid and colonial eJ<ploitatioll in southern Africa. 103. The state of tension prevailing in that region is the direct result of the denial and the suppression by minority racist regimes of the most elementary democrati~ rights and freedC'll1s, the sacred right of the majority Afi:~caill popula- tion of South Africa, together with the peoples of N211libia and Zimbabwe, to decide their own fate to live in full freedom and independence. This is due to a 1!}eat extent to the institutionalization by South Africa ef policies of racial discrimination and apartheid, repression and violence, as methods of government, the external expression of which is the frequent acts of aggression directed against the indepen- dent African States. 104. <The heinous racist policy practised by the South African Government is an anachronism which is wholly inconsistent with the real situation in the continent of Africa and in the world today. It has been condt'mned more than once in the United Nations. 105. The United Nations has frequently condemned the policy of segregation, the forced displacement of millions of Africans, bantustanization and the fragmentation of the unity .of the Territory practised by the racist authorities of Pretoria. Such repressive measures have been severely condemned by the international community since they are in flagrant contradiction of human dignity and conscience and are incompatible with the principles of the Charter and the nature of membership of this Organization. 106. Within the context of efforts intended to put an end to that policy, which perpetuates inequality, oppression and racial exploitation in their most degrading fonns~ the United Nations, particularly following the Sharpeville mas- sacre, adopted a number of measures intended to support the majority population of South Africa in its legitimate struggle against apartheid and for national liberation. 108. Among the acts of violence and the numberless crimes committed by the racist regime we might cite the examples of the escalation of bloody repression which culminated in the ma5sacres of Soweto and Langa; the organization of political assassination, such as the assassina- tion of the well-known freedom fighter, Steven Biko; the prohibition of a number of political organizations and publications; massive arrests, particularly among militant supporters of the liberation movement; and the passing of new measures to separate the population on the basis of racial criteria. 115. At the same time, we regard as necessary the co-operation, as a ma~ter of priority, of those who, through- their attitude towards the Pretoria regime, have in one way or another contributed to the maintenance of racist and apartheid policies on th~ African continent and who therefore bear a serious responsibility for the harmful effects of the perpetuation of the existing state of affairs. hJ9. What makes the situation in southern Africa all the more serious is the fact that the policy of apartheid is further strengthened by the attempts of the regime in Pretoria to prolong for as long as possible its colonial domination of Namibia and to have recourse, against the will of the Namibian people and the repeated admonitions of the United Nations, to an illegal solution in order to continue the exploitation of the Namibian people and its national wealth. 116. In the opinion of the Romanian delegation, the abolition of a policy that is so contrary to the facts of the modem world and the requirements of human progress as is the policy of apartheid and racial discrimination is an urgent neef. and one of the major objectives of the international community. 110. The support given to the illegal regime in Salisbury in its repression and oppression of the people of Zimbabwe and its aggressive activities against independent neigh- bouring States is not the least of the dangerous activities of the Pretoria authorities which threaten the stability of the continent. 117. Romania lends all its support to the struggle waged by the majority population of South Africa to put an end to this intolerable policy. In supporting the freedom fighters and the national f.. triotic forces, we are convinced that, by acting together and in -:-lose co-operation and by co-ordinating their courageous actions, they can bring ever closer the moment when racist domination will collapse. 111. The policy of apartheid, as practised by the racist South African Government, has as its corollary on the foreign level the aggre:.:sive policy and the raids carried out by that Government's armed forces against the L.'1d~pendent African States and the acceleration of its arms programme. That policy of aggression has recently taken the fonn of military preparatinns against Angola, an independent and sovereign State; these actions have been resolutely con- demned by international public opinion. 118. It is now more necessary than ever before to broaden the united actions of the African countries and the co-operation of all Member States for the effective support of the struggle of the majority population of S~uth Africa. 119. In these conditions, my delegation states once again Romania's detennination to struggle, as it has always done, against the policy ofapartheid and racial discrimination and to give all forms of support to the peoples of southern Africa, who, headed by their national liberlltion move- ments, are struggling for their national independence and to ensure their economic and social progress in all freedom. 112. The continuation of these policies to which we have just referred shows that the General Assembly has before it a particularly complex problem, which appeals t- reason made to the South African Government will not suffice to settle. For years now we have been faced with a total lack of positive reaction to these appeals. 113. The urgent need for the establishment of inter- national relations based on legality anod respect for the inalienable rights of the peoples requires that the United Nations henceforth carry out resolute and effective actions in support of the people enslaved and oppressed by the racist South Mrican regime. We believe that we .must broaden the international community's actions against the racist policy of South Mrica and put into effect the Programme of Action against apartheid I resolutiOl~ 31/6J, annex], including Security Council resolutions 417 (1977) and 418 (1977) of 31 October and 4 November 1977 respectively, calling for the abandonment of the policy of apartheid and the establishment, in accordance with Chap- 120. In that spirit, Romania has activ~ly participated in the drafting of the resolutions adopted by the United Nations on the situation in South Africa. We are deter- mined to continue such activities in the future, within the United Nations and other international forums, and to co-operate with the African countries and the other Mp.1l1ber States in order that there may be agreement during the present debate on specific measures to hasten the inexorable end of the policies of apartheid and racial discrimination. The meetingrose at 5.15 p.m.