A/38/PV.62 General Assembly

On 13 July 1983 the South African Broadcasting Corporation broadcast an essay on constitutional development, part of which reads: "Evading reality, building constitutions to ideological constructs, is a prescription for disaster". 2. It is common knowledge that early this month, on 2 November to be exact, a referendum designed precisely to entrench the ideology ofapartheidand white domina- tion was held in South Africa in which anew, even more rabidly racist so-called constitutional dispensation was approved by the white minority. The new dispensation, a veritable prescription for disaster, invites Coloured and Indian South Africans into the white man's laager '0 join the white minority in a futile attempt to evade reality~ to seek refuge in the precarious company of a beleaguered minority hell-bent on presel ving a racist and inhuman ideology at all costs. 3. The results of the referendum welcomed by a promi- nent member ofthe United Nations as marking "a poten- tially significant date in the modem history of South Africa" [56th meeting, para. 124), have been totally rejected by this Assembly-rightly so, because the results of the referendum are far from being a step in the right direction, the direction of meaningful change in South Africa. On the contrary, the new constitutional dispensa- tion can serve only to exacerbate racial polarization in ~'outhAfrica, as it entrenches for all time the disfranchise- ment ofthe majority population ofthat unhappy country. By what logic can the enfranchisement of 2.8 million Coloured and 800,000 Indian South Africans, and the continued disfranchisement of 23 million black South Africans, be described as a step in the right direction, "a potentially significant date in the modern history of South Africa"? By what logic can a constitution which so recklessly launches the white minority in South Africa on so dangerous a collision course with the black majolity be welcomed as offering the best hope ofavoiding disaster and catastrophe in South Africa? 4. The facts are clear and irrefutable. The ultimate objective of the white regime in South Africa is, and always has been, the transformation of two thirds of South Africa into a white man's country, where black NEW YORK South Africans will be welcome only as hewers of wood and drawers of water for the white man. The 1936 Land Act was designed for this purpose. Already a few million black South Africans who have been herded into barren bantustans have been deprived of their citizenship of South Africa and forced to become citizens of tribal archipelagos scattered all over the periphery of so-called white South Africa. When all the tri~ of the bantustans have been forced to accept tribal independence, 87 per cent of South Africa will become a whiteman's country; albeit a white man's country surrounded by an angry sea of black humanity. This is the ingenious evil philosophy behind the constitution which the white people of South Africa accepted on 2 November. s. And yet there are among us a few doubting Thomases who still insist, against all the evidence to the contrary, that the blacks will be taken care of in some future dis- pensation. It is argued that urban blacks, in particular, who may be found to have no connection with distant tribal enclaves and cannot therefore be expelled to those enclaves, will have to be accommodated somehow. What accommodation? The day after the 2 November referen- dum the Prime Minister of South Africa made it clear that there was no hidden agenda for working out a con- stitutional accommodation for blacks. Indeed, through- out the campaign for the referendum the Prime Minister of South Africa and his Ministers wt:nt out of their way to assure their Afrikaner nation that there would never be power-sharing between whites and blacks, and that blacks were already exercising their right to self-deter- mination in the bantustans. 6. In other words. so far as the white Government in Pretoria is concerned, blacks have already been taken care of. They have been given homelands, or bantustans, to run as independent sovereign States. Four of these home- lands are today "independent" and sovereign republics. It is the Coloureds and the Indians who, in the pecking order of the race classification Act and the 1936 Land Act, have no homeland they can call their own. They therefore must be accommodated within white South Aftica, so the reasoning goes, as junior partners, or co- conspirators in a crude conspiracy contrived to delay sine die the introduction of majority rule in South Africa. 7. To Coloured and Indian South Africans, we have this to say: South Africa belongs to all South Africans- black, white, Coloured, Indian, Chinese and all others who have over the centuries of South African history made their homes in their country. South Africa is the common heritage ofall who live in it. The minority whites have no right to deprive the majority non-whites of the citizenship of their country. 8. Coloured and Indian South Africans would be selling their heritage if they ever accepted a dispensation which clearly circumscribed their right to participate fully and freely, on a basis ofequality, in the political life of their country. The new dispensation leaves them in an under- privileged position vis-a-vis whites, and to accept the dispensation in the hope of working against apartheid "from Within" is an exercise in self-delusion. As we pointed out in our statement on this item at the thirty-

The question of apartheid is one of the oldest and most debated issues before the United Nations. Ever since it was first dis- cussed more than three decades ago, the United Nations has adopted numerous resolutions calling on the white minority regime in Pretoria to abandon this despicable system. In addition, Member States have been asked to co-operate by taking appropriate steps, ranging from severance of all forms of contact with South Africa to sanctions ~d embargoes against that State. The purpose was to bnng about the isolation of the white minority regime from the international community and to deny it any support or contacts which could strengthen the regime and its practice of apartheid. 20. It is rather unfortunate that despite serious efforts by the United Nations and the international community, the problem of apartheid still remains far from any prospect of an expeditious peaceful solution. On the c.ontrary, the illegal white minority regime today con- tInues to adhere stubbornly to its apartheid prllctice with greater impunity and in utter defiance of international public opinion. In fact, in South Africa, the policv of apartheid is being further intensified and entrenched through the implementation of various policies, such as racial segregation and bantustanization, the introduction of a so-called new cOhstitutional amendment to create a racially segregated tricamerallegislature for white, Col- oured, and Indian minorities, while excluding the African majority from participation in Parliament, and irelituting other repressive measures aimed at denying the blacks of that country their right to freedom. 21. At this juncture, it appears that all efforts by the U~t.ed Na~ion~ and t!te interna~ional community to elimInate this cnme agaInst humamty have been seriously undermined by the deliberate refusal on the part ofseveral countries, which are in a position to pressure South Africa, to take the necessary measures called for by the United Nations. On the contrary, it is a matter of pro- found regret that these countries are continuing to col- laborate with South Africa in the economic, military and nuclear fields. Such collaboration serves to embolden th~~ apartheidresime and obstructs all efforts to liquidate the apartheid system and all its manifestations. This lack of political will on the part of the countries concerned is indeed a cause for serious concern. 22: Th~ report of the ~pecial Co~tteeagainst Apart- heidJA/..18/22] has outlIned the vanous acts of reprcs7i,con earned out by the South African regime against the ~pponentsof apartheid.. The South African regime con- tinues to adopt repressIve measures such as the indis- criminate arrest of union leaders, the imposition of banning orders and severe prison sentences on freedom fighters. Torture and ill-treatment of political detainees and prisoners are common acts perpetrated by the South African police. World-wide demands for the release of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners have fallen on deaf ears. We are also familiar with the indiscrimi- nate, arbitrary arrests and imprisonments of several persons for alleged participation in the struggle against apartheid. The political imprisonment, since 1963 of Samuel Chibane, Dimake Malepe, Jeff Masemula, l~aac Mthimunye, John Nkosi and Philemon Tefu should not be tolerated by civilized society. It is therefore our sacred ~uty t~ pressure and demand the racist Pretoria regime !mm~ately to release these men from their illegal Impnsonment. em~<?lden t~e white minority regime in its repressive poliCIes agamst the opponents of apartheid. Moreover the situation has become more alarming with reports that South Afric.:a is already in possession of nuclear weapons. Its repeat~ acts of aggression against neighbouring States c0U!d senously ag~avateth.e situation in Africa, thereby POSIng a threat to International peace and security. 24. We are also concerned over the continuing flow of capital and investments for the economic development of South Africa in contravention of United Nations decisions. Such an action would help frustrate the efforts of the international community to pressure South Africa into abandoning its oppressive policy of apartheid and segregatiou based on colour. 2S. Malaysia has consistenUy condemned the policy of iipanheid, ever since the issue was brot!ght to the atten- tion of the international community. Such a policy not o~y.goes against the principle of hum!U1 equality and dlgmty, but represents a source of tensIon and conflict which threatens international peace and security. In deny- ~g t~e black IX:0p~e of South ¥rica ~eir rights, their digmty and theIr nghtful role ID ~he life of their own country, the policy has engendered s-:nous frustrations and resentments in the overwhelmin~ portion of the population, which is black. At the same time, it has encouraged them, and rightly so, to resort to all means available to them, including armed struggle, in order to I free themselves from the shackles of apartheid. News of the inereasing momentum of anti-aparrheid movements among workers and students and in general among the black people ofSouth Africa comes as no surprise to the international community. 26. In the light of the repressive attitude of the white minority regime, the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa deserves our full support and encouragement. My delegation, for its part, wishes to reaffirm its whole- hearted support for the people of South Africa in their struggle against apartheid. We also wish to pay a warm tribute to all the leaders of the liberation movements in South Mrica for tbeir dedication and secrifice to this wcrthy cause. 27. Malaysia, true to its ff,and, was among the earliest to hav~ broken off links and contacts with South Africa. ~here IS a total ban on all trade and a complete prohibi- tion on travel between the two countries. Malaysia is also one of the countries that took the lead in the expulsion of South Africa from the Commonwealth. We shall con- tin~e with our policy of complete boycott of South Africa until the demands of the international community are heeded. 28: The key to the success ofthe struggle against apart- heid by the people of South Africa lies in the whole- hearted support of the international community for their cause. The world has accepted that apartheid is a crime against humanity which must be eliminated. What is lacking is the political will of many Members of our Org~tion.I wish to take this opportunity to urge those who stIll collaborate with the racist regime in the ec0- nomic, military and nuclear fields to manifest their responsibility and obligations by severing all relations with South ,';, ")i~. 29. The r~ ~mmendations of the Special Committee against Apartheid in part III of its report provide the ~,/.. Mr. WOOLCOTI (Australia): It is to the credit of the Government of India that it brought the questior >r'f apartheid before the General Assembly over 25 years ag{;'. It is to the gc( '~ discredit of ihe Government of South Africa that its continued pursuit of the policies ofapart- heid necessitates the inclusion of this item in our agenda yet again. 32. The policy of apartheid is simply institutionalized racism. As such it is abhorrent, and the Australian Gov- ernment and people reject it unreservedly. It is morally repugnant and contains the seeds of its own destruction. One ofthr x:: ~~;t fears of our day is that that destruction could be b~Qody and turbulent. Already we have seen some of tiJ~, both within South Africa and in that coun- try's attemiJ~!: to destabilize its neighbours. 33. Last month, the Government of South Africa held a referendum on various proposals for constitutional change. Attempts have been made to depict them as important changes. The proposals are to replace a uni- cameral system with an ;mangement whereby there will be three houses: a houie of assembly with 168 white members, a house of rtt>resentatives with 85 so-called Coloured members and a house ofdeputies with 45 Indian members. In other words there will be 130 Coloured and Indian members and 161; white members in the Parlia- ment. The mathematk~of this are obvious: the whites will maintain their dominance; the bJ~~kpopulation will remain unenfranchised. 34. Under these so-called constitutional reforms, the pivotal function will rest with the executive position of President. The position of Prime Mini:;ter will be abol- ished. The President will have wide-ranging powers. He will have the authority to appoint and dismiss ministers, to convene and dissolve Parliament, to proclaim martial law, to declare war, to assent to or refuse bills and to send bills back to Parliament for reconsideration. Very importantly, the President will have the authority to determine whether matters are within the category called "own affairs"-that is, peculiar to a particular house and therefore dealt with only by that house-or are "general affairs", in which case they will be dealt with by all of the houses. This means, of course, that in the final r"",ult the white national party will continue to have the sole legal power over the destiny of South Africa. The views of the non-white members of the South African com- munity will largely continue to be ignored at the national level. 56. The crimes of the racist regime of Pretoria against the people ofSouth Africa are aggravated by its aggressive national community has a decisive role to play by express- ing solidarity with and lending manifold support to the ANC, the leading force of the struggling people of South Africa. 75. During the past year, the racist regime of South Africa has intensified its armed aggression against the front-line States. Last December, Lesotho, a small, bec~tise of their colour or their stated political beliefs. The political prisoners in South African gaols bear living witness to the ideals ofdemocracy and justice, which are 120. That white minority has arrogantly defied inter- national law, the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Cove- nmts on Human Rights and the International Conven- tion on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. This arrogant defiance has gone so far as a declaration that the 23 million Africans who are the rightful owners of the country belong not to South Africa but to the bantustans, which are situated in arid lands constituting 13 per cent of the territory of South Africa. 121. This racial defiance reached its zenith when the Pretoria regime decided to ignore the international com- munity's condemnations of the policy of apartheid, a policy that is in complete contradiction with article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 122. The long-term objective of the implementation of this policy of apartheid--implementation that is being gradually achieved despite condemnation by world public opinion and the United Nations and non-recognition of these puppet States as independent States-is to uproot the indigenous population from South Africa. 123. Proof ofthis is contained in an article by Mr. C. P. MudIer, South Africa's Minister for Bantustan Admin- istration, in the July-August 1983 issue ofAfricaReport. In that article, he states that all the blacks ofSouth Africa will finally be absorbed into a new independent State. There can be no doubt that this means that the objective of this repugnant policy is to turn South Africa into a white State, after removing all the indigenous people from it and placing them in homelands which lack the very minimum essentials for the economic life of any State. The indigenous population will therefore have no way of escaping from dependence on Pretoria; in other words, they will be absolutely dependent on a State that deals with them from the vantage point of superiority, con- tempt and diktat. Those are only some of the elements of this policy of racial discrimination. 124. With increased black opposition, under the leader- ship of the ANC and PAC, more brutal measures have been taken in order to stamp out this opposition. The Government has imposed a ban on the opponents of apartheid and given them a choice: either to be silent or to be put in prison or eveD. assassinated-and assassina- tion is not an unusual occurrence. 125. In the many resolutions that it has adopted annu- ally since 1960, following the Sharpeville massacre, the General Assembly has condemned the policy of apart- heidand has resolutely supported those who oppose this inhuman, illegal policy. In 1970 the General Assembly recognized that the struggle against apartheid should be carried out by all possible means. Since 1962, it has been calling for diplomatic and economic ostracism of South Africa. It has adopted resolutions calling on Member States to cease their economic relations with South Africa and to r.efrain from extending credit to or investing in that country. But these resolutions have gone unheeded by the Western States that co-operate with the Pretoria regime. Those States have gone so far as to prevent the Security Council from adopting comprehensive sanctions against South Africa under Chapter VI! of the Charter of the United Nations. 138./·}fhe overwh~lmingmajority of both the so-called Coloured people and those of Asian descent have already rejected the so-called constitutional proposals. The racists 167. It is in this context of violence, engendered and fed by the apartheid regime, that on 20 May of this year international public opinion learned that a powerful explosion had spread death and destruction at the head- quarters ofthe South African Air Force in :Pretoria. This grave warning, issued by the liberation movements after more than 20 years of peaceful struggle, was the centre- piece of actions carried out by the heroic freedom fighters 170. We welcome the fact that the General Assembly, by an overwhelming majority, rejected those alleged reforms and underlined the pernicious nature ofthis new confidence trick which is designed to give up a few crumbs of power in order the better to retain the bulk of the privileges usurped by the white minority. 171. Is not the true aim ofthese ~j-calledconstitutional proposals to divert the attention of the international community and to weaken the solidarity of the oppressed peoples ofSouth Africa, while increasing the capacity'of the forces of repression, which can now count on large numbers of new recruits? 172. Neither the world community nor the oppressed people of South Africa as a whole will be deceived. by these sham reforms which only the committed friends· and allies of the apartheid regime regard as containing any positive element. We must declare as totally unaccept- able such fallacious measures, which are just a variation on the policy of bantustanization and whose obvious aim is to create an irreversible situation in which 23 million blacks will become aliens in their own country. 173. Apartheid cannot be reformed. It must be com- pletely abolished so that a multiracial society that respects the rights of all and gi",es everyone equal opportunities for prosperity and happiness can be built in South Africa. 174. That is why we must unreservedly encourage the struggle of the liberation movements, which are taking great risks in order to win a battle that concerns us all, for it is a battle to restore to southern Africa the human dignity which has so shamelessly been flouted. 175. III that quest for freedom and justice, the United Nations, which has made such a powerful contribution to decoloitization, must play the essential role accorded it under the Charter in the service of human dignity. 176. We are grateful to the Special Committee for the great efforts it has made in many ways to denounce unceasingly apartheid and the misdeeds of that policy. But the vast achievements of that Committee must not make us forget the true impotence ofthe United Nations to deal with the tragedy affecting 23 million blacks in economi~sabotage and destabilization attempts. Part of Angola's territory continues to be occupied by the South African hordes. 181. . The growing dangers to which not only the front- line States but the whole of the African region are thus exposed take on a new dimension with Soutb i\.frica's acquisition ofa nuclear capacity. In this regard, we noted with concern the information contained in the Secretary- The meeting rose at 1.35 p.m. NOTES 1Uniao Nacional para a Independllncia Total de Angola. 2See Report of the International Conference on Sanctions against South Africa. Paris. 20-27 May 1981 (A/CONF.107/8), sect. X.A. 3See Report ofthe Second World Colfference to Combat Racism and RacialDiscrimination (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.83.XIV.4 and corrigendum), chap. 11. 4Special Report ofthe Director-General on the Application ofthe Declaration concerning thePolicy 0..(Apartheidin South Africa(Geneva, International Labour Office, 1983).