A/39/PV.71 General Assembly

At the outset I should like to express to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic our condolences on the death ofits Head ofState and Chairman ofthe Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Mr. Aleksei Vatchenko. On behalf of my delegation, I request the delegation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic to transmit our sincere condolences to its Government and its people and to the family of the deceased. 56. Once again the General Assembly is considering the policy of apartheid of the Government of South Africa. Although the United Nations has concerned itself with the question for so many years, the situation in South Africa is detenorating,acquiring tragic new dimensions. 57. Since the be~inning of the discussion of this question in the UOlted Nations numerous resolutions have been adopted. The international community has made several appeals, all of which have gone unheeded by the Pretoria regime, a regime which has persisted in its practices and its defiance of the international community, thus proving its utter disregard of the United Nations and its resolutions. 58. At the very moment when we are discussing this subject, the racists in South Africa are mounting ferocious and criminal repression against the black majority, depriving them of their legitimate political and social rights, reducing the population to silence by brute force and the imprisonment of thousands of young men, women and the elderly. 59. The Pretoria regime's repression is not confined to South Africa. In fact it has used every possible means in order to perpetuate its illegal occupation of Namibia through acts of terrorism and murder against the heroic people trying to break away from the shackles of pohtical slavery imposed upon them by this regime. 60. The South African regime is carrying out its plans by deporting Africans to barren areas in order to force them to live in conditions of poverty and disease, with a view to transforming South Africa into a white man's land and depriving the black majority of its citizenship rights, in order to consolidate its r: ·:~t control over the entire country and continue i. Fascist rule in opposition to growing national resistance and the forces of national liberation. 61. The immoral racist practices of the South African authorities against the black majoritv give the peoples ofSouth Africa and Namibia the :d~ht to carry on an armed struggle with every possible mean~ in order to confront these criminal practices, as well as the acts ofbrutal repression and genocide commitenc~1;1raged th~ Pretoria.re8!me to persist. I~ Its racist policy of apartheid and colonialism in South Africa pohcle~ and Its colo~lzatlon of Namlb~a. Tho~e and Namibia requires further concerted international countnes ar~ co-operatmg only on ~he basl~ of the!r efforts in parallel with the intensification of the !1arrow .self-tnterests, comp~ete~y dlsregardll,l8. ~~elr struggle against the repressive Fascist racist regime in mternatlOnal and humamta~an .responslblbtles. South Africa. This requires the imposition of com- Some of those States, speakmg m tht: Oener~l prehensive sanctions under the Charter against the Assembly, use lan.guage which suggests an I~te~est m racist Pretoria regime to compel it to renounce its and .sympathy .wlth the .effo~s ~f .the. maJonty to racist policies and to withdraw from Namibia. We eradicate th~ cnme ofraCial dls~nmmatlon an~ even believe that those who frustrate the Organization's sh~w en~hus~asm_f<!r tht: resolutions ~ondemn!ng the efforts will bear a terrible historical responsibility. racIst mmonty regime m South Afnca, but m fact . . that position is only for propaganda purposes and is 68. All. State~ Members of th~ Umted Nations not based on a sincere desire to eliminate apartheid. should give t.he!r full sup~rt to thiS c~use and sho,:,ld 64. With regard to the support received by the not rest un~J1 .the apartheid syst~m m Sout~ Africa racist Pretoria regime contrary to resolutions of the has been ehmmated: My delegation pledges Itself!o .... '. -. •• • ••. ,... . ILL .. _L _ •. t.JI make every effort m that reaard. and once agam ;:)ecUt:llY \..ouncI~ ano me uenerw ~ssemOlY, I 5nOUlO reaffirms its unswerving support tor the liberation mentlo~ the.. a).hance that ha~ evolved bet,,:een ~he movements in South Africa two racist regimes of Pretoria and Tel AVIV, WIth . their continued aggression against the African and 69. Mr. FOUM (United Republic of Tanzania): Let Arab peoples. Their co-operation in all fields is me first of all join all my colleagues in expressing continuing, especially itl the military, strategic, culshock at the passin~ of the Head of State and tural and economic fields and in the propaganda Chairman of the PreSidium of the Supreme Soviet of field. :Ibis co-operation is no secr~t, and the repret~e Ukrainia.n Soviet S'!Cialist Repub~ic. My delegasentatlve of Israel cannot deny "It. The world in tlOn takes thiS opportumty to convey Its condolences ~eneral, and Africa in particular, knows full well who on this sad loss to the delegation of the Ukrainian IS openly collaborating with the South African SSR, and, th.rough it, to the Government and people regime, supporting that regime militarily and increasof the Ukramian SSR and to the bereaved faml1y. ing its capabilities with a view. to en~bling it to 70. There is hardly any issue before the Assembly suppres~ and o~press the strugghng African people. that evokes as much emotion or greater anger and At prevIous sessions the General Assemb!y has.called frustration than that of the inhuman system of upon I~ra~l !O end all ~orms of collab<!ratl~nWith ~h.e apartheid. Correspondingly'~ few ~ssues have brought Pretona regime, especially collaboration m tl!e mihthe international commumty to such complete agreetary and nucle~r fields, and t<? comply. WIth the ment on their condemnation and total rejection. Yet relevant resolutIons of the Secunty C~uncJl. and the apartheid is still in existence, its perpetrators unre- Gener~l Assembly. Ins~ead .of.complymg w~th those penta"t and indeed obstinate and contemptuous of resolutl0!1s, Israel persls~s m Its co~abora.!IOn, t~us the world body. Last year, just before the Assembly ~ntrenchmg a.nd supportmg the FaSCist racist regime took up this item, the mtemational community stood m South Africa. by in apparent helplessness as the racist regime put 65. Iraq and the other Arab countries that particiinto effect yet another measure aimed at entrenching pated in the Conference of Arab Solidarity witb the and buttressing the system of apartheid. save for the Stru~e for Liberation in Southern Africa, held at . verbal condemnation of the so-called constitutional Tums from 7 to 9 Au~st 1984 [seeA/39/450, annex] reforms imposed upon the people ofSouth Africa, no and in which all African liberation movements action was taken. Just a few weeks ago the Assembly ~'l;iin.:n.cu~,,'l;i Gnu VYJ!Vinuvn ...UIGnGLUI6 IIVUI ...VUIIU ....- nity organizations, workers and their unions, students and religious institutions, as well as growing international condemnation, now tends to gain support from its military arm which, although it cannot maintain the regime indefinitely, can inflict heavy blows on the struggling black South Africans and the neighbouring States that have been extending moral and material support to the freedom. fighters iri South Africa. 106. South Africa's relations with its neighbours and its criminal acts of intensified terrorism and armed aggression against the neighbouring front-line States of southern Africa have become unbearable. The covert manoeuvres of the South African regime and its collaborators threaten the security of the front-line States and should be condemned and halted through the collective efforts of the peaceloving forces of the international community before the already tense situation in the area explodes into a serious conflagration. 107. The South African apartheid regime, bent on its policy of intimidation, oppression, .exploitation and dispossession of the South African black majority, has chosen the military option to subjug~te this majority, and has thus intensified'its efforts to achieve its evil design by increasing its military expenditure 45-fold, or 4,500 per cent, since 1961. It ! will have no effect in comb~tin~ ~md eliminating the system of apartheid unless mdlvldual Governments are compelled to. respect a.nd implement them. i[ilPo.rtrA\~l~e of this. ELp~roachl as is c.lear from t~e and the ~orld co~munity is striving for the atta.inreport. ,of the SP~~C131 Commi.ttoee agamst ApartheId ment of mternatlonal harmony and understandmg {AI3912.2. ;,xzras. 329·..351]. Moreover, some counand the establishment of a new economic and social . tries ha-ve~ sm:i~~ht to j!~stify their collusion with order based on equality and justice. Pret()r!a '\vhh totaJly mlaccep~able ~rguments, such as 176. Today apartheid, which is supposed to prothe nrgum~:nt th,\~t too much Isolatl0!1 of, or pressure mote the separate development of the races but on, tht~ regIme ~nll only m~~e Pretona adopt more of which in actual fact is an institutionalized system of a laager mentahflY or posItIOn. racial segregation, oppression and exploitation, en~ 170. Ifthe opposite ofthis argument is ~hat without abies th~ white minority of, S~uth Africa to c0!1trol pressure the Boer rulers will abandon theIr laager and the destmy of the black maJonty. In South Afnca a accept change then we are compelled to ask how person's racial classification is all-important, since it much real ch~nge has taken place in South Africa determines his worth as a human being. F<?r a non~ since the introduction of the policy of construct~ve white, apartheid determines where he may hve1 what engagement? The answer j~ none. Instead, the polIcy work he may do, what sort and level of education he seems to ha~e given solace to Pretoria in the ruthless can receive, what politi.cal rights, if any, he will ~ave:, pursuit of its barbaric policies and pr~ctices. In fact, the. ~~tent of the ,socIal, cultural and recreatlon~l Pretoria has even been encouraged to mduce or even facIlIties open t? hIm and generally the extent of hIS compel neighbouring countries to enter into unequal freedom of actIon and movement. agreements, or non-aggress.ioll pacts, as they are 177. Blacks in South Africa are torn from their land sometimes called. South AfrIca has no reason to fear, and driven into arid tribal reserves which comprise eve.n to imagine, t~at any <?f our ~oun.tries it} the only 13 per cent of the la':ld su~fac~. In or:der to earn regIOn could commi~ aggresslo~ agamst Its terrttory. a living they have to go to whIte mdus\.fJal areas as The rulers of Pr~tona know thIS full well;. so also ~o migrant workers only. Furthermore, they are subjectth(:i:r Western allIes. Let South Africa deSIst from ItS ed to innumerable discriminatory laws. If such a aggression ~gains! its neigh~ours ~~d address seriou.ssystem, which degrades the worth ofhuman beings, is ly and ~enumelyIts domestIc polICies, and peace wIll not a crime against humanity and a grave menace ·to immedIately come to the region, to the benefit of us international peace and security, then what else can all. be? 171. Economic and military collaboration with 178. The struggle against apartheid, therefore, can- Pretmia and Israel by some Western c.()'Untries ennot be a struggle to reform a system but must be one sures the pP-o')etuation of the poHcies of apartheid in to destroy it. It is not a sl~lUggle of blacks against South Mt" Transnational corporations which conwhites but a stru~e by all democratic and freedomtinue to reap profits from their South African loving people agamst racism. Indeed, it is a struggle investments must know that they are acting against of all those who believe in peace, justice, human the interests of.the o(>pressed So~t~ African masses. rights and human dignity. Suchco-operatlo~ With apar~held ~mped~s I?rogress 179. The United Nations has discussed the policy towards the. aC~le~ement 0.. theIr aspl~at10ns to of apartheid, in one form or another, for decades. freedof!l, s<;lclal JustIce and the full .exercls~ of self- The Assembly has declared the policies of apartheid determmatlon.. "a negation of the Charter of the United Nations 172. For our part, in accordance with our commitand... a crime ar.inst humanity" [resolution ment to the purposes and principles of the Charter, 2671 F (XXV;, para. 1 . It has, furthermore, affirmed we in Zimbabwe will co-operate in all genuine efforts the inahenable right 0 the people of South Africa to totally .to eradicate ~he scourge of apartheid from self-determination and freedom and the legitimzcy of South Africa. We shall continue our solidarity with their struggle to eradicate apartheid and rachd disand support for the struggling South African and crimination by all available means. It has aiso Namiblan masses until true fr,eedom, self-determinarej~ ~~d and condemned the establishment of bantustion, social justice and equaBty are achieved in those "3,",S lind the forcible removal of blacks to those areas countrit-Sof our region. as a violation of their inalienable ~ght to self-deter- 173. In conclusion, I wish to· express my delegamination and prejudicial.to the tex'ritorial integrity of tion's richly deserved tribute to the Special Committhe co",ntry and the umty of the people. tee .again~t Apartheid. under the dynamic and i~agi- 1.80. In practi~al terms" unr-rt'mately, all.the decinatlv~guldanee of Mr. Garba, t~e ~presentabv~of S10~S o~ t~e UOlted Natlo~s' 'fe, not compelted. the NigerIa, for the work that Committee has been.dolD'. racist regime to change Its .,ohey and obno"lol~s MyuelesatiO!1; fuUy ~upports th«? Spe~ial Comm~ttee s practices. Of course, most of the (;o~ntrjes.of th~ recommendations and pledges Its'fuH,and contmued wodd have already severed all relations' With .h~· co-operation with it / . " racist reghne ofSouth Africa, yet the most im~~r...." presen~ed to the wo~ld by the racist regi~e .in 189. Mr. SOGLO (Benin) (interpretation from Pretona. Inasm}lch as ,t excludes the b~f..tk maJont,Y French): I wish first of all to discharge a very from any share m the Gov~rnment of~o~th Afnca, It unhappy duty. We heard with sadness of the deaU. of cannot but be a reaffirmatton ofPretona s bantustan- Comrade Aleksei Vatchenko Chairman of the Preization policy. Furthermore, .it .attempts to drive a sidium of the Supreme So~iet of the Ukrainian wedge betwe:en the black maJonty on the ~ne h~~d Soviet Socialist Republic. I take this opportunity to and the so-called Coloureds and those ofASIan onfJm convey to the Ukrainian delegation our deepest on the oth~r, in the hope of weakening the liberatton condolences. struggle ot the oppressed masses as a whole. 190 I th I' f h 'd f th G . . . . . s e po ICy 0 apart el 0 e overnment 184. Thl~ latest machmatlon of Pretona has, of of South Africa still to be put on trial? Is it still to be course, mIsled no one, least of all. the ~o:-called put on trial after 70 years of crimes and treachery, Col,?ured people and the people of ASIan ongm. We after it has ousted an entire people from its ancestral are mdeed hearten~d to learn that many from those lands, stowed it away in bantustans, looted its wealth, two $roups ~ave rejected th~ new proposals and that humiliated it and dehumanized it? If there is y~t to !~:l!.?Je[1?a!~~at_~?Jl~R.~t..!yhas not been hoodbe a trial, it can be only in the court of the WIUn."U uy UU3 llilUU "m.".. international community, ofthose who-wittingly or 185. The black people's massive and vigorous opthrough cowardice-have not desired justice to be position to this constitutional fraud and the brutal done for the black people of South Africa. retaliation perpetrated by the South Africa~'l regime ' . . . against freedom fighters, students and journalists 191. In (act,. the tnal of the pol,tcy of apartheId.of represent a new stage in the struggle of the South South Afraca IS not yet to be carned out: !hat pohcy African people for freedom, and an inescapable has already beet:! ~ndemned before hIstory and challenge to the international community. Eficouragbefore the Orgamzatlon. It has been condemned on ing as it is, such resistance by the oppressed must be moral ~nd legal g~o~!lds,. conde~ned on .the grou~ds complemented ~y sufficient pressure from the outof equ~ty and ~lvlhzatIon.. It IS a cn~e.agamst side world, especIally from those countries which are ~umamty. That. IS the verdIct of the entIre lDtemacollaborating with South Atlica. tlonal commuDlty. 186. Ethiopia believgs that the United Nations has 192. After t~e Sba~ville and Soweto massacr~s, a special responsibility to the oppressed people of t~e South Afncan regime revealed to the w,?rld Its South Africa. We believe it is that responsibility that hldeou~face. Even those wh~ hav~ not ~etermlDedto led to the creation of the Special Committee against en4 their bla~ew~rthyrelatl!lns w~th thIS loathesome Apartheid. In thi& connection, we wish to ray a wellregime try to Jusufy, them.wIth qUIbbles that they d.o deserved tribute to the Chairman and al the other not themselves be,lleve; mdeed, they declare theu' members of the Special Committee as well as to the hatred for the regIme. !Jnited Nations .Cei!tre agt,_ ·~t .Apar!heid for th~ir 193. But at this very moment this policy-unani.. mvaluable. contrlbutl~n t'? ble hberatton struggle. m mouSl, condt:mned and universally abhorred-is South Af~lca, a contrlb~tlo~ they mak~ by ke~pmg terror;,zing and killing with such savagery and hatred the questton of apartheId high on the mternatlonal IS have rarely been equalled. The black people of agenda. South Africa are counting their dead in the hun(lreds, 187. I should like also to reiterate Ethiopia's deep. cv. in the: thousands, following the demonstrations Iy-felt frustration at the failure of the Security that in recent weeks have shaken the dormitory- Council tu adopt effective enforcement measures town$ of th~ African townships. thl~ Ite~ to. r~lter~te BoliVIa s constan~ rejectIOn of escalation of threats to the fundamental rights of the racla~ dlscnmmatlon wh~ther as an Idea O! as. a people of South Africa, the stability or southern Pf~c~ice,. and.more espe~iaiiy when such r~clai dlS- Africa and international peace and security. cnmmatu:lD IS the b~sls. of a system aImed at 228. My delegation has studied closely the report of perpetuatmg the explOItatIon of man by man. the SpeCIal Committee against Apartheid [A/39/22] 219. Apartheid constitutes a crime against mankind and has listened attentively to the poignant and and it is for that reason that the constitutional eloquent statements made before the General Assem- Government of Bolivia, faithful to the principles of bly since last Tuesday, and we have nothing to add in democracy and of respect for human rights, last year the facts and the complete and detailed analyses deposited the instruments ofaccession to the Internawhich have been presented. We only wish to join our tional Convention on the Suppression and Punishvoices and our indignation in the universal condemment of the Crime of Apartheid [resolution 3068 nation of this monstrosity which is the regime of the (XXVIII), annex]. That act was carried out in accordracist colonialists in Pretoria-a monstrosity which ance with the traditional policy of the Republic of still weighs heavily on international civilized society Bolivia which, since 1946, has expressed its repudiaand the conscience of our time. tion of that disgrace to humanity which is apartheid. 229. At the same time, my delegation takes this 220. My delegation cannot understand how for 38 opportunity to express once again the vigorous years, the Republic of South Africa has continued to support of the people of Viet Nam for the just and mock the international community, violating the heroic struggle of the people of South Africa to rid principles of the Charter of the United Nations, itself of the yoke of apartheid. ; with9ut .a fitting punish~ent that would bring it to 230. Having had to endure colo~ialist domination, modIfy Its brazen behaVIour. exploi~ation and repression for a long time, and 221. There is no doubt that over those 38 years the having had to conquer and defend its independence international community has become fully cognizant and freedom in long wars of resistance, the people of of the significance of that sinister practice. This has Viet Nam is profoundly at one with the legitimate bee~ possibl~ thanks to t~e efforts of the United aspirations of the fraternal. people of South Africa, NatIons whIch has effectIvely responded to the and has every reason to believe ID that pepple's final mandate of the Member States to' carry out this victory in its heroic struggle to overthrow the regime praiseworthy task. of apartheid. +"'~"'4 ,..~ A ..:n... ~.:ft:... AC _4_....4... so-called "elections". The second resolution reiterat- 288~\J Th~";;~d~uiiu~l;;r·~·h~·;,ui;·the yes of the ed -ihe -CounCil's -condemnation .o{ the--policy--of P . I' h l'. • • • apartheid and called for an immediate cessation of retona regime, t ere are lour classes 0 citizen ID the killing and for the immediate and unconditional South Africa and that their rights are correspondingly release of all political prisoners and detainees. graded. In first place we have the whites, who, although numerically in the minority, have and can 295. Towards the end of September, at the current exercise all rights. The second place is occupied by session, the General Assembly reiterated its rejection the Coloureds and the third by the Indians and of the so-called "new constitution" and once again, Asians. The fourth and last place is held by the in resolution 39/2, declared it null and void. blacks, who do not have or exercise any rights as 296. The States Members of the United Nations South African citizens in spite of the fact that they have had an opportunity to express their rejection of are the majority and the indigenous population. those measures, which are aimed at consolidating the 289. The exclusion of that majority of the popularacist and terrorist system of apartheid. None of tion is disguised by the creation of so-called bantusthose resolutions, however, has had the support of tans in which, supposedly, blacks can exercise their the United States, which thus demonstrates the political rights and their rights as citizens. Whereas falsity of its "lessons in democracy". approximately 87.5 per cent of the territory of South 297. To date, we have heard no statement from Africa has been declared "white South Africa", the Washington to the effect that the so-called constitublacks, through a process of despoliation and expultional reforms and elections in South Africa were a sion, have been shunted into 10 bantustans-in other ".farce. Why is it that, if the United States feels it to be words; 12.7 per cent of the land has been allocated to its responsibility to overthrow Governments around 10 million blacks. Furthermore, the land allocated to the world, it does not give its assistance to the black the blacks is for the most part arid and subject to patriots of South Africa in their struggle against the erosion. e' heinous apartheid regime? 290. In'point offact the blacks cannot exercise their 298·. How can we explain the fact that for the rights, both because of their exclusion from all the United States there are no "freedom fighters" in the political. and legal systems of their natioJl and national liberation movements? With regard to the "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has also been a major source offinance for the leading international financial institutions. During 1974-82 period, Saudi Arabia has supported the activities of the World Bank by providing SUS 4 billion in loans. It has also provided nearly SUS 16 billion to the International Monetary Fuud."* 312. After hearing those facts no impartial person can accuse Saudi Arabia or the other Arab countries that contribute equally towards co-operation with the fraternal African countries 'Of not being generous, in the way suggested by the sophistry of the Israeli representative. 313. It is not surprising that a Government that flouted all the norms and committed all kinds of crimes against the Palestinian and other Arab countries should distort the facts elsewhere, especially in the General Assembly, which has had sufficient evidence of the Israeli crimes.

Three speeches made in this debate require a brief comment in exercise of the right of reply. 315. The Soviet Union again seized upon the subject of apartheid to indUlge in gratuitous, extended attacks on the United States. We find that odd, coming from a country ostensibly pledged to d6tente in an institution pledged to resolving disputes rath~r II)See A/38/4S1-S/16009, annex. 1I0fficial Records of the General Assembly, Twenty-fourth Se.~­ sion, Annexes, agenda item 106. document A/77S4. -Quoted in English by the speaker. than exacerbating them. These attacks upon us NOTES 'The delegations of El Salvador and Mauritius subsequently informed the Secretariat that they had intended to vote in favour of the draft resolution. 2See ElCN.1, '1984/8/Add.1. 3E1CN.4/Sub.2/425/Add.7. sThe delegation of El Salvador subsequently informed the Secretariat that it had intended to vote in favour of the draft resolution. 'The delegation of Mauritius subsequently informed the Secre- tariat that it had intended to abstain in the vote on that part of paragraph 12 of the draft resolution. 'See A/40187, annex,· para., 18.