S/32/PV.75 Security Council

As the events of the past month have once again demonstrated, the situation in South Africa has entered a crisis stage, both for the people of that country and for the international community. 2. Despite the numerous resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council condemning the practice of all forms of racial discrimination, and despite other international efforts to convince the Govern- ment of South Africa to alter its policies, that Government has persisted stubbornly in implementing its odious system of apartheid and in relegating the vast majority of the people of South Africa to the status of second-class citizens. Its callous and obdurate attitude has been iespon- sible for inhuman suffering on the part of untold millions of people. The policy of apartheid has separated husbands from their wives and children from their parents and has meant that black South Africans are treated as intruders in their own country. In short, as a result of this policy, black and Coloured South Africans are denied their basic and fundamental human rights. 3. The Indonesian people, with their own experience of t:'ulonial oppression and racial discrimination, deeply sympathize with the plight of the non-white South African people. In our view, the violation of the fundamental human rights and dignity of the black and Coloured people in South Africa constitutes an assault upon the rights and NEW YORK dignity of mankind as a whole. It should therefore be universally opposed. In this context, it seems important to my delegation to emphasize that the demands of the non-white pecple of South Mrica are indeed moderate. They simply desire the elementary right to live as free people and to control their own destiny-a right which has been recognized as a fundamental principle of justice and equity. throughout the world, and one upon which this Organization is founded. 4. Nevertheless, the South African regime has persisted in its policy of oppression and its refusal to countenance the just demands of the majority. Increasing repression by the apartheid regime has been met by increasing resistance by the non-white majority. Black South Africans certainly cannot be cowed by such repression. The disturbances in Soweto last year marked the beginning of a ne\ stage in the efforts of the majority to free themselves from the oppressive rule of the Pretoria regime. This spirit has manifested itself in a rising tide of protests and strikes and a new militancy on the part of the oppressed. The vicious repression with which the South African Government has met these demonstrations is evidence of its vulnerability to the actions of an aroused majority. Each week adds new names to the lists of martyrs who have been killed by the police or have died while in detention. The entire world has reacted with outrage at the news of the death of one of the latest of these victims, the outstanding African leader, Steven Biko. Hundreds more are arrested and sentenced to long prison terms and other critics of the regime, such as . the prominent black editor, Perey Qoboza, are subjected to iIldefinite internment. ::-. Despite the rising evidence of a militant resistance to its policies, the Pretoria regime has continued with its plan to enforce apartheid in South Africa. The keystone of this policy, .the establishment of the system of bantustans throughout the country;' was once again condemned by the General Assembly in resolution 31{6 A. It is significant that no member of the international community has recognized the independence of the first of the so-called homelands- the Tramkei. • 6. My delegation was most gratified that in response to the Pretoria regime's flagrant defiance of the international community, the Security Cc'UncH saw fit to invoke an arms embargo against South Africa in resolution 418 (I977). My delegation hopes that the resolution will be scrupulously implemented 'md that no loop-holes will be sought to subvert it. At the same time, however, my delegation feels that it should be recognized that South Africa has been able to continue its policy of oppression and violence primarily because it has received substantial support from certain members of the international community through eco- nomic co-operation. While many of those States publicly 7. While that large amount of trade and investment has been responsible for considerable progress in the economic well-being of white South Africans, its benefits have largely been denied to the blacks as a result of the apartheid doctrine. It is a fact that that economic advance has relied very heavily on foreign trade and.investment. In the light of this consideration, my delegation would like to take this opportunity once again to urge the trading partners of South Africa to use their influence to bring about a change in its policies. Indeed, it is our view that such nations have a special obligation to humanity at large to do their utmost and exert the strongest possible pressure on the South African Government to accede to the just dC!I1ands of the black majority. 8. tn this connexion, we must ask why it is that the violation of human rights of 20 million black people in South Africa is invisible to the Pretoria regime's trading partners. Whatever the reason, the intemational community can no longer tolerate the application of such an odious double standard where the fundamental rights of the black majority in South Africa are concerned. 9. It is also important to recognize, in the view of my delegation, that the situations in Namibia and in Zimbabwe are inseparably linked with that in South Africa, that they arise from and are the product of the same racist and colonialist mentality that has conceived and fostered the odious system of apartheid itself. It has been Pretoria's aid and support alone which have made the perpetuation of racist and colonialist practices possible in Southern Rho- desia ~ it has been South Africa's racist ideology and econ~ntic interest which have sustained its illegal occupa- tion of Namibia. 10. Faced with this increasingly serious situation, the international community has sought to take effective steps to aid the oppressed majority in the struggle to obtain their elementary rights. Perhaps most prominent among these efforts was the World Conference for Action against Apartheid conven~d in Lagos, Nigeria in August of this year. My delegation feels that the Declaration adopted by the Conferencel deserves the careful study of all the members of the international community with :- view to determining how each of them can best implement its provisions. 11. The consequences of failure on the: part of the international community to act against the racist policies of South Africa will be serious h"ldeed. Most sobering is the prospect that a desperate and defeated South Africa might resort to the use of the most terrible weapons of modem warfare with literally unimaginable consequences. It is therefore imperative that the international community take effective steps to remove that danger, for the time available in which to act is very short. Should the Pretoria regime 1 See Report of the World Conference for Acticn against Apartheid (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.77.XIV.2), chap. X. 12. For its part, and in particular as a member of the Special Committee against Apartheid, Indonesia will stead- fastly continue to provide political and material support to the struggling people of South. Africa. In this connexion I should like to quote from the message sent by President Soeharto of Indonesia to the Secretary-General and the Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: "On beHalf of the Indonesian people and on my own behalf, I reaffirm our historic commitment to the cause of freedom and racial equality and express our determina- tion to continue to assist those oppressed by racism and colonialism until the last vestiges of those twin evils are eradicated from the-face of the earth." 'B. Mr. MUSSA (Somalia): Once again th~ General Assem- bly is discussing apartheid in plenary meetings, a clear recognition of the fact that the situation in South Africa has entered a decisive stage, as a result of the intensification of the'struggle of the oppressed people of South Africa. 14. Ever since the item was brought before it three decades ago, the UnIted Nations has played and continues to play an important role in the struggle of the interna- tional ~ommunity agairl'it the pernicious practice of apart- heid. 15. The General Assembly has, in its resolution 3411 C (XXX) of 28 November 1975, reaffirmed the special responsibility of the United Nations towards the oppressed people of South Africa and their liberation movements. The Assembly has not only continuously cundemned apartheid but has also declared it a crime against humanity and a danger to international peace and security.At its last session alone the General Assembly adopted 11 resolutions [resolu- tion 31/6 A-If}, including the programme of action against apartheid, which are all aimed at· the isolation of the apartheid regime and the elimination of its heinous system. The efforts of the international community to wipe out apartheid were reinforced by the Conferences of Maput02 and Lagos, both of which produced declarations concerning the ways and means of removing the last vestiges of colonial and racial subjugation in southern Africa. The recommenda- tion of the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 2082 B (LXII) that 1978 should be designated Interna- tional Anti-Apartheid Year would no doubt maintain the momentum of the onslaught of the international commu- 16. The most recent action t~ken by the United Nations was the resolution on an arms embargo adopted by the Security Council in its resolution 418 (1977), which is a step forward and a significant developm~nt in the annals of the long and arduous struggle to bring down apartheid. However, my delegation believes that the measure adopted by the Security Council was not commensurate with the gravity of the situation in South Africa. As the Somali delegation stated in the Security Council.3 any measure short of complete economic sanctions as provided for in Chapter VU of the United Nations Charter goes against the stand of the ovenvhelming majo6ty of the international community and moreover would not produce the desired results. 17. The Security Councll's persistent procrastination and delay in taking action against South Africa, produced by the exercise of the veto power by certain countries, have enabled the racist regime tCl gain valuable time to amass and acquire sophisticated weaponry, including nuclear capa- bility, and to strengthen and consolidate its economy. Hence, in the wake of last month's Security Council resolution on an arms cbbargo, the radst regime has made abundantly clear its ability to withstand any pressu:e from any quarter and asserted its intention to continue on the disastrous course of the apartheid system. 18. We are all fully aware that the racist regime ofPl'etoria has stepped up its reign of terror, the wanton murder of thousands of defenceless men, women and even school- children, as well as the assassinatic.n of political detainees in prison cells and torture chambers. Since the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, the international community has been shocked by the atrocities at Soweto, Langa, Cape Town and in many other parts of that unfortunate part of the African continent. In his statement in the Security' Council in March 1977, Mr. Olof Palme of Sweden, described those atrocities: "According to Police Inspector Gerber at Soweto, more than 16,000 bullets were rued at Soweto alone from 16 June, when the protests started, to 16 September. Those bullets killed and wOlL"lded 1,611 persons, while another 1,229 were killed and wounded by 'other causes'. According to Professor S. J. Taljaard, who examined 229 of the people killed at Soweto, two thirds of them had died from bullet wounds. Eighty per cent of those killed were shot in the back. A doctor at the Peninsula Maternity Hospital at Cape Town stated that, in his hospital alone, 70 infants died from tear-gas poisoning."4 19. However, these atroeities and the barbaric behaviour of the racist regime in Pretoria could not stem the hurricane of change that is blowing in South Africa, thanks to the iron determination of the black people to destroy the last bastion of racial and colonial domination. "In Sharpeville we overcame the fear of the conse- quences of disobeying the Jaws ..• It became respectable to go to gaoJ and emerge as what Kwame Nkrumah called 'a prison graduate'. We stripped the white man of that weapon against us. The white man now in Soweto had to fall back on l}.is ultimate weapon, the gun •.• Soweto has been a lesson in overcoming the fear ofthe gun. And now that he relies on the gun and we, too, can get the gun, confrontation is inevitable." 21. The world is witnessing that the oppressed people of South Africa are rising to the occasion by shaking apartheid to its foundations to the extent that Pretoria has resorted to the murder of detainees in prison ceJIs, including that of the dynamic leader and hero Steven Biko. We heard only this morning that the murder of yet another nationalist detainee, Mr. Malaza, has taken place in prison. According to recent reports the apartheid regime has rounded up 6(){' black South Africans, including 200 children. Their fate will not be less frightful than the fate of those already langUishing in prison cells. 22. The recent orders of the apartheid regime against a great number of organizations and newspapers opposing the system should be an eye-opener to ~outh Africa's tradi- tional friends and trading partners. 23. The lesson to be drawn from these events in South Africa is that the oppressed people of South Africa are preparf'd more than ever before to offer the supreme sacrifice for their inalienable rights to freedom, dignity and equality. Indeed these ev~nts confirm the irrefutable fact that apartheid is based on violence and should be removed through armed struggle and by the complete isolation of Pretoria from the world community. 24. The illegal occupation of Namibia by the apartheid regime and the extension of its heinous policies to that country has been the subject of grave concern and condemnation by the international community. The racist regime. moreover, aids and abets the illegal minority regime in Southern Rhodesia, without which the people of Zimbabwe would have achieved their inalienable rights long ago. 25. Economic and military co-operation btween Israel and the apartheid regime in South Africa has been increasing by leaps and bounds. The common feature of these two regimes is that they deprive the oppressed peoples ofSouth Africa and the Palestinians of their inalienable right to self-determination and deny them their right to the land of their birth and its resources. In accordance with the mandate given by the General Assembly, the Spedal Committee against Apartheid has submitted to this session a report [A/32/22/Add.3/ based on concrete facts, which therefore calls for strong action. 26. In conclusion, the Somali Democratic Republic, as a founding member of the Special Committee against Apart- heid and also as a member of the AdHoc Committee on the Drafting of an International Convention against Apartheid 27. My AYOUB (Sudan) (interpretation [rom Arabic): The General Assembly meets now to di§cuss once again the policies of apartheid of the Government of South Africa at a very crucial period in tim~ This debate is of great significance in \(iew ef the fact that it comes after the great international Conference held in Lagos last August which unanimously agreed on a Declaration which was a positive turning-point and a historic act in support of the struggle of the oppressed people of Azania. The provisions of that Lagos Declaration, taken in conjunction with the arbitrary measures taken by the rccist Government of Pretoria against the African people in that area, impose on this Assembly the obligation to take specific decisions and measures aimed at eradicating the policies ofapartheid. 28. Today we are more convinced than ever that the racist Government of Vorster will not willingly heed the appeals . a~ld advice of the international community. We believe that. the Vorster Government will flout all the reJ:ltutions of the United Nations because it is continuing its policy of flatly ignoring aU the resolutions that have been adopted pre· viously. We also note that those who in the past supported that Government are beginning to agree with us since Vorster and his clique have conclusively proved that they will persist ill their arrogance and intransigence, strengthen their police institutions and maintain their positions so as to increase their repression of the black majority of Azania. 2? Security Council resolution 417 (1977). which was adopted unanimously, indicates that the Government of South Africa is a racist regime which should be replaced by black majority rule based on the principle of equality to resc..ue our continent ;rom torture and suffering. We think also that Security Council resolution 418 (1977) on the arms embargo adopted on 4 November i977, though late and incomplete, has achieved the unanimity which should direct our decision towards a more positive and effective action which will have some impact on the structural existence of the racist regime in South Africa. 30. Our goal is, by adopting specific measures, to reassert the authority of the General Assembly and Security Council, to oblige the Government in Pretoria to set aside the policy of apartheid. We should mention in this regard that it is in the economic aspect that apartheid is most criminal and dangerous an9 it is there. too. that it is most vuh1erable and must be most ferociously attacked. What is more criminal than giving 80 per cent of the resources of the country to less than 20 per cent of the population, chosen on the basts of race? No specific measure aimed at putting pressure on the Government of South Africa should fall short of mandatory and comprehensive economic sanctions ag~inst that Government. 31. Wc believe that, had -a resolution cailing for the arms embargo been adopted when the question ofapartheid was 32. Sudan remains convinced that the solution of the policies of apartheid and the replacement of the white minority regime by black majority rule cannot be achieved outside Azania. The solution will come from the hands cf tl:e struggling masses and their two liberation movements. the African Nation~ Congress of South Africa and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania. Members are aware of the assistance provided by the Organization of African Unity !OAU! to those two movements and the backing which they receive from friendly cotlntries and numerous interna- tional organizations. We would request the United Nations, therefore, to increase its efforts and assistance to the liberation movements to enable them to wage an armed struggle against the racists and their Government in Pretoria. 33. Before concluding, I should like to comment on the bilateral relations that exist between the Pretoria Govern- ment and certain nations. The Sudan noted with great satisfaction what the representative of the Netherlands sr.id last Tuesday !70th meeting]. That satisfaction is a resu~c: of the great decision of his Gov('rnment to break off its economic relations with the Vorster Government, as well as its other decision to terminate in the future its cultural agreement with that Government. We have also noted that several delegations have referred to the adoption of similar decisions, discouraging their citizens and institutions from entering into any transactions with the racist re~ime in the future. 34. While we recognize with satisfaction the extent of the isolation of the South African regime with respect to some countries, we find that the Government of Israel has completely the opposite attitude and continues to increase its collaboration with the Government of Pretoria. Sudan, more than anyone else, is aware of the reasons why South Africa and Israel co-ordinate their political, economic, cultural. military and nuclear policies: that collabci'ation is based on the racist nature of those two countries. While South Africa keeps the black people of Azania under repressive rule, we note that Israel is colonizing Palestine, from which it is deporting the inhabitants and preventing . them from setting up their own State. These two countries are living like parasitic plants in Africa and the Middle East as they are trying to fasten themselves on Western civilization, since the inhabitants of their own two regions have rejected them and refuse to deal with them. The report of the Special Committee against Apartheid concern- ing the relations between Israel and South Afr;ca!A/3.2/22/ Add.3j should be studied and analysed. Israel endeavours to assist South Africa militarily to crush its citizens, in the 35. I am speaking today on behalf of the 30 non-aligned countries concerning draft resolution A/32/L.21 of 17 November 1977. This draft resolution concerns the Interna- tional Anti-Apartheid Year. The sponsors believe that the best method of eliminating apartheid and to liberate the black majority in South Africa is to step up the interna- tional fight against the Vorster Government and its henchmen and to increase their isolation. 36. The first paragraph of the preamble of this draft resolution refers to the Lagos Declaration, which was adopted by the World Conference for Action against Apartheid and which recognizes the imperative need for stepping up the international campaign against the Govern- ment of Pretoria. 37. The second paragraph of the preamble refers to resolution 2082 B (LXII), adopted by the Economic and Social Council on 13 May. 38. The third paragraph of the preamble refers to resolu- tion CM/Res.59 I (XXIX) adopted by the Council of Ministers of the OAU at its last session regardiilg the designation of 1978 as International Anti-Ap(lrtheid Year. 39. Operative paragraph 1 proclaims 1978 International Anti-Apartheid Year. Operative paragraph 2 endorses the programme recommended by the Special Committee against Apartheid in its special report IA/32/22/Add.2/. Operative paragraphs 3 and 4 request all Governments and international organizations to observe International Anti- Apartheid Year and to provide the necessary assistance for its observance. 40. The sponsors of this draft resolution believe that their appeal is in keeping with the resolutions adopted by the United Nations and in particular with those which state that apartheid is a crime against humanity. That is the reason why we hope this draft resolution will be adopted unanimously.

The discussions of the racial policies of South Africa almost span the lifetime of this Organization. This is a point often made as a negative commentary on the effectiveness of the Organization in dealing with issues of common concern. It is indeed distressing to note that the weight of world opinion against apartheid echoed over three decades in the halls of this 42. The United Nations, it must be recognized, has developed its own peculiar way of achieving results which often does not conform to conventional norms of cause and effect. It can thus be said that the cumulative effect ofthe pleas, admonitions, sanctions, condemnations and all other expressions of indignation which have been put into a body of United Nations resolutions over this period of time has helped to form a climate which tends to suffocate apartheid rather than allow it to flOUrish. It is no doubt true that progress towards the elimination of that e\il practice has not measured up to the speed with which most of the other legacies of the colonial era were disposed of. Yet, given the singular complexity of this issue, one can note the progress achieved, no matter how minuscule, and be cautiously optimistic as to its prospects. 43. At the international level, for example, we observe that world thinking has shifted from a passive mood in which verbal condemnations were readily handed down to an assertive mood reflecting a new global consensus on taking specific and compulsory steps towards effecting a peaceful change in South Africa. The recent Security Council resolution instituting a mandatory embargo on the export of arms to South Africa reflects this new climate of opinion. Honest men could doubtless differ over the practical value of that decision, yet one can hardly deny it.s political significance and the fact that it represents, in the words of our Secretary-General, "a new and significantly different phase of the long-standing efforts of the interna- tional community to obtain redress of these grievous wrongs".5 44. At the local level we find growing evidence of . enlightened opinion among moderate black leaders and progressive white activists converging into a consensus on peaceful change. 45. These positive trends encourage my delegation to come to the rostrum once again to reiterate the position we have repeatedly voiced and firmly upheld since the very inception of this debate three decades ago. On numerous occasions we have expressed our abhorrence at this most flagrant deprivation of human rights, which is sanctioned by law. We ha1le joined unreservedly in the universal condemnation of this practice. This position is based not only on the age-old tradition of tolerance practised in our country but more on our fervent desire for peace and stability in southern Africa and for prosperity with justice for all its inhabitants. white and non-white. 46. In the course of the general debate this year, my Foreign Minister, reflecting on South Africa. summed up the position of Iran in the following terms: UIn southern Africa millions of Africans live in circum- stances of degradation and racial d 3crimination. In South Africa itself the policy of apartheid, repeatedly con- 47. More specifically, the head of the Iranian delegation to the thirty-first session of the General Assembly expounded our position on various facets of the problem of apartheid in six concrete points which I shall refrain from repeating since they are already recorded in the relevant verbatim record of the thirty-fIrSt session ofthe General Assembly.6 48. Thanks largely to the efforts deployed at the United Nations, and in particular through the devoted labours of the Special Committee again~'t Apa:'fheid, the many facets of this problem have been individually identified, and that has allowed the treatment of each within its specific context. 49. I wish on this occasion to renew our warm tribute to the selfless efforts of the Special Committee and its Chairman, as well as to the Secretariat unit that provides it with support and assistance in its task. 50. The eradication of apartheid as a chronic social evil has thus become a matter of the utmost urgency. There may be differences among the Members on methods for its eradication, but there is certainly no division as to the need for the total r(;noval of this evil, which has cast a blight on So~th Africa and on the African continent and has infuriated the conscience of man everywhere throughout the world. 51. In conclusion, let me say that it is our earnest hope that the Government of South Africa will reconcile itself with these realities and heed the voices of reason and moderation both within and outside that country before it is too late, before the whole of South Africa is engulfed in bloodshed. 52. Allow me once agaill to echo the thoughts expressed by our esteemed Secretary-General on this very theme. Commenting on the Security Council resolution on 4 November, he said-and I think I can support his remarks unreservedly: "It is ... unfortunate that the situation in South Africa should have deteriorated to such a point that the Council "We can only hope that the gravity of the Council's decision will be fully recognized by the Government of South Africa and that it will therefore begin without delay the process of restoring fundamental human rights to all the people in South Africa, without which there can be no peace."7 53 Mr. KENNEDY (Ireland): On Tuesday, 15 November {70th meetingj, the Ambassador of Belgium, speaking from this podium on behalf of the nine members of the European Community, expressed the deep concern and indeed the revulsion of our family of nine nations at the policies of apartheid followed by the Government of South Africa. [f I speak to the Assembly now in the name of the Government of Ireland, it is to voice our full agreement with what was said then on our behalf. But in addition I wish to emphasize certain significant elements in our approach to the problem of apartheid which have been mentioned consistently by successive Irish representatives in this tragic d~bate' over the years since Ireland became a Member of the United Nations in December 1955. 54. As Ambassador Andre Ernemann of Belgium said last Tuesday, the latest report of the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts on Southern Africa of the Commission on Human Riihts [A/32/226] and, of course, the report of the Special Committee against Apartheid itself[A/32/22 and Add.l-]] have provided us with the most disturbing accounts of brutal police repression, which is still increasing in South Africa since the Soweto massacre The death in detention of the Black Consciousness leader Steven Biko on 12 September, and the evidence now emerging of the distress- ing conditions in which he met his death, link his fate with over a score of deaths of black leaders in detention in South Africa during the last 18 months. "His death", said the Minister for Justice of South Africa, "leaves me cold". But [ venture to suggest that there is not a delegation here at the United Nations which has been left cold by what happened to Steven Biko before his death in captivity. 55. As if that were not enough, the South African Government, in a planned pre-dawn crack-down on 19 November. banned virtually every major black organization, closed the two leading black newspapers, raided the homes of black leaders and the offices of black movements and church bodies, detained more than 50 of their leaders and ordered house arrest for some of their liberal white sympathizers. And against this background of oppression and humiliation, in defiance of the resolutions of the General Assembly, the South African Government has steadily consolidated its policy of bantustanization and is pushing ahead with its plans for the so-called independence of Bophuthatswana in December. Might I remind this Assembly that the nine members of the European Com- munity have already refused to recognize the Transkei, that they oppose the. policy of creating Bant~ States and that 57. Our Foreign Minister, Mr. Michael O'Kennedy, during the general debate, asked here on 5 October: "Is it any wonder that younger black South Africans and the movements througll which they express them- selves have turned more militant and that other African countries feel bitter? Indeed a major part of the world community would itself be classed under South African law as non-white and racially inferior .. .".[20th meet- ing, para. 45./ Nor is it any wonder that in these brutalizing circumstances there is a rising sense of revulsion throughout the world against the system of apartheid. That feeling is shared unequivocally in Ireland and we sense it in the foUowing significant events. 58. In the first place, the World Conference for Action against Apartheid, which met from 22 to 26 August in Lagos, brougl'lt together representatives of 112 Govern- ments and more than 40 Foreign Ministers and other cabinet members. It condemned apartheid as a crime against the conscience and dignity of mankind and reaffirnled the commitment of Governments and peoples of the world to take action to contribute to the eradication of that system. Among the many significant provisions in the Lagos Declaration for Action against ApartJzeid was a solemn caU upon all States to cease forthwith all sales and supplies of arms and military equipment to South Africa. The Irish delegation to the Lagos Conference was led by Mr. David Andrews, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and in his speech in the general debate in Lagos he supported that arms embargo in the fGllowing terms: ••As long ago as 1960 the Security Council called upon South Africa to initiate measures aimed at bringing about racial harmony based on equality. South Africa ignored this appeal and from 1963 onwards the Security Council urged Member States to embargo the sale of military equipment to South Africa. Ireland fully supported the embargo and applied it strictly. Unfortunately, South Africa continued to obtain military equipment and was encouraged in the view that United Nations action was mere rhetoric. In 1974 Ireland supported a General Assembly resolution calling on the Security Council to consider whether a mandatory embargo should be imposed. The internat~ :lna~ ~ommunity is now virtually unanimous in opposing the supply of arms to South Africa. Ireland fmds the arguments for concerted and binding action compelling and fa';:>Urs the imposition of a 59. In the second place, I should like to refer to the impressh'e number of measures and decisions taken by the European Community in relation to South African policies, so ably listed here last Tuesday by the spokesman of the nine countries. On 27 October, for instance, the nine members of the Community made ~ firm collective demarche in Pretoria demanding the immediate relaxation of restrictions on bI3.ck organizations and the opening of a constructive dialogue with their leaders. The CommlJnity's aid to victims of apartheid is well known and its code of conduct for compa.nies operating in South Africa [see A/32/267/ will, we hope, encourage the growth of an open trade union movement free of racial discrimination. The Community is continuing to examine, with the co- operation of all its partn'ers, ways and means in which the collective weight of the nine countries can be brought to bear on the GDvernment of SO~lth Africa so as to induce it at last to re-examine and fundamenta.lly change its policies, as announced in the common statement of the Community to the Lagos Conference. -60. In the ....lird place, the recent vote by the United States House of Representatives, which passed by 347 votes to 54 a resolution which "strongly denounces'" the GO\·ernment of South Africa for "repressive measures against black and white opponents of its apartheid policy"',8 is a significant development. I understand that it marks the first time that the United States Congress has formally spoken out against South Africa, and it clearly reflects that growth of international concern and pressure for change to which I haY already referred. .. 61. But, in particular, my delegation would wish to emphasize the significance of the Security Council resolu- tion unanimously adopted on 4 November imposing an arms embargo on South Africa on the ground that shipments of arms and related materiel to that country threatened international peace and security. That grave step was rightly described by the Secretary-General in the Council as a "historic occasion"9 as it marked the first time in the 32-year-old history of this Organization that such action had been taken under Chapter VII of the Charter 62. We believe, in fact~ that it is not too late for the South African Government to conduct that Hagonizing reap- praisal" for which the Community spokesman called earlier this week in the course of the present deb2.te. The supporters of apartheid have claimed that it provides a harmonious, peaceful path to national stability. Yet, surely they must now realize that~ as the Secretary-General recently said at the Lagos Conference: "... afXlrtheid has engendered-both inside and outside South Africa-,hate and bitterness, violence and bloodshed, tension and insta- bility".I 0 The opponents ofapartheid within South Africa. both black and white, have shown great patience in the face of great provocation. When they have tried to reason and persuade, they have been ignored or imprisoned. If now, their leaders turn towards violent means, they do so from a sense of growing hopelessness and biUer frustration. And yet, as I have said, it is not too late to seek a peaceful, constructive solution in the interests of all the inhabitants of South Africa. The United Nations and the OAU have consistently advocated peaceful pressures to secure freedom and equality in South Africa. The Lttsaka Manifesto of 1969,11 endorsed by the OAU and the General Assembly itself, remains a clear affirmation of the desire and commitment of the international community for a peaceful. just and lasting settlement. I should like, in this connexion, to thank the Secretary-General for reminding us at the Lagos Conference that when the Security Council studied the racial situation in South Africa in 1964, a group of experts~ appointed through a decision of the Council, urged that South Africa be called upon to convene a national convention composed of the genuine represen- tatives of all the people of that country" to chart a new course for the future. What is so desperately needed now is an agreed forum where the leaders of all secticms of a tragically sundered people could come together in condi- tions of equality~ justice and humanity and attempt at last to piece together the tom fabric of South African society. 63. Those of us who are distant from the scene may be accused of offering gratuitous opinions and advice. But we speak out because we are convinced that. althoug~ the hour is now very late, reconciliation between black and white is still possible; that the various streams of identity and background can come together, as in other nations, to form a true national identity; and that South Africa can, instead of being an object of condemnation. emerge to play its true

Once again the ques· tion of apartheid has come up for our consideration in the General Assembly. Much has already been repeatedly stated in this forum on this problem. However. this year my delegation cannot let this opportunity pass by without adding our voice of concern to it. The campaign of brutal repression of the anti·apartheid population recently carried out by the Government of South Africa, which received much publicity all over the world. has provoked universal anger and condemnation. This sad event should spur us on towards greater effort by this world Organization to bring apartheid to an early cnd. 65. The most recent report t)f the Ad Floc Working Group of Experts on Southern Africa of the Commission on Human Rights IA/32/226/. drafted in accordance with resolution 2082 A (LXH) of the Economic and Social Council. gives us a most distressing picture of police·State conditions prevailing in South Africa. particularly after the Soweto massacre. The strange and untimely death of the young black leader. Steven Biko, is still a mystery and has yet to be explained satisfactorily by the authorities concerned. For those who fought courageously for equal rights, the South African Government's repressive reply was the closing down of 18 organizations and of two leading newspapers. the banning of more than 70 leadir.g personal- ities~ and the arrest of over 650 persons. 66. On the international scene. there is at present a new awareness in the world of the urgency and extreme seriousness of the problem. During the past year. there have been significant developments in the international campaign against apartheid. Of major importance among them was the World Conference for Action against Apartheid organ- ized by the Special Committee in Lagos, Nigeria from 22 to 26 August this year, in co-operation with the OAU and th~ Federal Government of Nigeria. My Government gladly and proudly participated in this Conference~ which was held in accordance with the resolution adopted by this General Assembly in 1976 {resolution 31{6 GJ. This World Confer- enc~ provided an opportunity for a large number ot Governments and of both inter·governmental and non- governmental organizations to demonstrate the solemn commitment of the international community to support the oppressed people of South Africa in their struggle for liberation. The Conference also produced the Lagos Decla- ration. adopted by consensus. which marked an important stage in the international effort to eradicate apartheid and constituted an important appeal for common action by all nations and men ofgoodwill everywhere. 67. The 64th Inter-Parliamentary Conference of the Inter- Parliamentary Union, held in Sofia from 21 to 30 Septem- ber this year, in which my country participated. also issued a resolution calling on the parliaments and Governments of all countries to repel categorically the practice ofapartheid 69. Though elsewhere violations ofhuman rights continue to exist. the case of South Africa is a special case because these violations have. sadly. been institutionalized. The pra~ticc of such flagrant and inhuman racism is totally unac~eptahle t\) us. 70. ~1y delegation equaIl} rejects the subterfuge of the bantustan policy~ which cannot but reinforce political. economic and social inequality and deprive the majority of the pt)pulation of South Africa of their legitimate rights. In short. the policy of bantustanization. aiming at preserving and ensuring the permanency of the system of apartheid. must be strongly opposed My Government has refused to recognize Transkei. since we wish to refrain from any action which might contribute to the maintenance or development ofthe policy of ~antustans. 71. Thailand does not have diplomatic relations with South Africa. We ha\e also refrained. in many instances. from participating in various activities. ~mong them sports. \\;th the South Africans. 72. In the "iew of m) delegation. the international community must continue to apply furthe~ pressure on South Africa until this policy of racial oppression is totally eradicated. Since the authorities there have so far turned a deaf ear to the voice of reason pressure should also be applied to give weight to the words. 73. Lastlv. I wish to commend the Special Committee for its detailed report. The Committee deserves our tribute for the good work done during the past year to help unmask the racist regime in South Africa as well as to mobilize world public opinion against the practice of apartheid. 74. We believe that a rapid change in South Africa could avoid much bloodshed. misery and tragic consequences and we continue to hold on to the hope that a peaceful and timely change may still be possible; but if South Africa remains recalcitrant and clings to its obnoxious policy of apartheid a racial conflagration seems inevitable. Even the most ardent supporter of apartheid should by now realize that in the reality 'of the present world of the twentieth centuI)' apartheid cannot and will not endure. There is not much time left for them. and further delay will prove fatal. 75. Mr. BIKOUTA (Congo) ,'interpretation from French): The duratio'1 of the phenomenon that we are considering is 76. If we go back over the course of history, we shall certainly go back to British colonization and the coioniza- tion of the Dutch Boers, among others-the white trekkers, who were so devoted to the philosophy of the infernal period of Western military and mercantile adventurism, the time of the frantic development of the system of slavery, which has caused so much grief in Africa and which so seriously disrupted our continent for many decades, leaving it humiliated, alienated, and stripped of its best sons. 77. The United Nations. whose establishment was con- sidered to reflect progress over the previous gunboat eras, is still affected. in my delegation's view. by the atavism of the imperialist Powers. which have always found it to their advantage to see that things do not c:'ange. or at least very little. 78. Thus the evil continues in 1977 and has become a shameful shackle immobilizing the Unit'~d Nations through lack of the ability. or rather the will, to eliminate it by the most appcopriate means. In the end, this has become intolerable to the consciences of millions of men and women of our times. 79. Apartheid-for that is what we are dealing with here~-has, of course. already been declared by the United Nations to be a "crime against humanity", but the reality of this moral discourse disappears when the time comes for action. as if morality and fine sentiments were what were most lacking in our charters, our resolutions and our various sincere professions of faith. 80. This year again, the Lagos Conference has given rise to a current of sympathy on the part of the majority of Governments. which stand in solidarity with the struggle of the people of South Africa, a martyred people if ever there was one. In reply to this universal demonstration, the apartheid regime has begun to intensify the terror. Political prisoners have been summarily assassinated, as was the case with Steven Biko. Frenzied arrests have been carried out on a vast scale, sparivg neither women or children. Institutions, even mere associations. and the press and anything else that might represent a possible source of mere criticism of the hateful system have been outlawed in the concentration camp society of Vorster. 81. Thus today we fmd, on the one side, the courageous South African people, determined to carry the struggle to every corner of its territory, even into the sections recently considered the sanctuaries of the sacrosanct system of apartheid. and on the other. moved by the instinct for self-preservation, the white racists feverishly seeking to invent the most devilish obstacles to the irreversible dynamics of history. 82. It is this fact that my delegation would like to dwell on, however briefly, in reiterating once again its opinion on 83. As everyone knows, the system of apartheid is the material projection of that philosophy which consists of extolling the merits and the pseudo-superiority of one race while giving official status in the most brutal manner, to the denial of the fundamental rights of other races. Thus this is a phenomenon that goes beyond what is called more prosaically "racism". Racism is an evil present in the collective subconscious of the countries which are support- ing South Africa. 84. South Africa is the country which, in the best Fascist tradition, which is truly characteristic of imperialism, is fighting .a rearguard action by proposing to the world, as if we w{,ce still in the paternalistic times of slavery and colonialism, the lasting respectability of a political system based on the-racist premise. 85. The anachronism of this ideology and its intrinsb impotence are so clear today that the South African delegation, after having been condemned by a broad majority of this Assembly, saw fit to abandon its sear among the other Member countries, as if it clearly felt that its evil policy put it outside the pale of the international community. 86. Thus, South Africa is prar,tising an ostrich policy and because the last phalanx of its unconditional allies is daring today cautiously and with an abundance of pointless warnings to tell South Africa the truth, the Vorster regime wishes to play the modem Don Quixote, assured as it is of the military strength with which the Powers of the so-called "freen world have so generously equipped it. 87. Now, in regard to South Mrica, we should not imagine that we are dealing with a unique case. This racism, it must be stressed once again, enjoys the secret support of certain countries supposedly respectable ones which are encouraging Vorster in his devilish enterprise. Those coun- tries have fashioned the racist regime of South Africa; and naturally it is to them that South African propaganda is exclusively addressed when it boasts of the incomparable standard of living of the whites, the gold mines, the gentle climate, the cheap labour, the complete social stability and the great profits for businesses. With this conjuring trick, Vorster has succeeded in lulling himself and his allies with a false sense of security, those allies which have made available to him enormous means by sending settlers and mercenaries and by erecting a thousand obstacles to any attempt at action against the apartheid fortress. 88. In view ofthe fact that they share the same outmoded philosophy and the same sordid interests, who can doubt that the imperialist Powers in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization consider South Africa as one of the surest bastions of sacrosanct Western democracy and of the original values of the Judaeo--Christian civilization? 89. There was a time when all these facts were carefully kept hidden from the public in certain countries because of the imaginary dangers that the Western whites saw fit to perceive in the other so-caned "coloured" races, even when 90. In fact-and this can never be sufficiently stressed-.; e relations that so trouble the world's conscience and that exist between certain States Members of the United Nations and the apartheid regime find their justification in the complicity that assumes m~my forms, both racial and economic or political, between the arrogant minorities in southern ACica and their Western accomplices, whose comprehenrJve support has always been guaranteed them in secret, despite their hypocritical verbal denunciations. ql. Thus, faced with a choice between the rights of 18 million Africans who are asking only t9 live in peace in the land of their an~estors and the excessive privileges of 3 million white fanatics with bloody hands, everyone knows on which side the Western scales come down. This is something that had to be said in order to reveal the vast anti-African plot that underlies the system ofapartheid and to stress the need for us Africans to take up the challenge by epcouraging every initiative designed to make the liberation struggle of the peoples of southern Africa daily more relentless. 92. With regard to action, my delegation thinks that since Ne are dealing here with the survival of thousands of people, we should no longer beat aboJJt the bush. The United Nations has :already descrilY.:d this system of extolling racism and plundering human beings as a "crime against humanity". With regard to the theory, there is really very little that can be added. 93. Any valid move must now aim to halt any develop- ment of the infrastructure that underpins the infernal machine of apartheid; South Africa is about to join the ranks of the nuclear Powers, with the active collusion of all those "Pontius PiIates" we know about. What remains to be seen is how the international commtL'lity will be able to thwart the devilish cycle of murderous madness that threatens to begin in that part of the world. 94. In this connexion there is a disproportion between the measures taken by Pretoria to strengthen its system and the mini·embargo of six months duration, which j~ no more than dust in the eyes, which certain Powers, the permanent members of the Security Council, have been so kind as "generously:' to concede at the demands of the interna- tional community. I am referring, of course, to Security Council resolution 418 (1977). 95. In the view of the Congolese delegation, only a decision involving a total and imal embargo with regard both to military and economic or rmancial collaboration, as well as an effective oil embargo, would have some sem- blance of credibility and might make the war-mongers of Pretoria aware of the danger of their reckless plans. 96. Because, as I said at tile outset, more than ever before, at the practical level, the means of torture of the racists of South Africa have today reached an unprecedented degree of perfection. The policy of bantustanization. is. bei?g feverishly pursued with the collusion of certam Fasc~st regimes, such as the bloody regime of Chile, which, despite 97. The seriousness of the situation in South Africa must compel the United Nations as an essential ir:;trument of peace, justice and freedom to decide where its duty lies. My delegation thinks th'at only action on all fronts, supported by Pretoria's main partners. will compel Vorster and his group of criminal racists to put an end to the ~ordidsystem of apartheid, and thu£ avert pointless suffering for the int~rnational community and for those who, over there, daily are paying heavy sacrifices. For our part, we do not believe in an anti-apartheid action limited to mere moral exhortations, because there is no morality in the country of apartheid. This would be to act like those who formerly went to fight Hitler with flowers on their rifles. And we know today how bitter their awakening was. 98. In conclusion, we should like to stress that what is at stake in Zimrabwe and in Namibia, in that tormented region of southern Africa, is very closely linked to the internal situation in South Africa. T~1e national liberation movements of Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa are today asking with the greatest urgency that, before it is too !ate, the elaboration of a practical plan ofcampaign for the final overthrow of racism in southern Africa should be given top priority among the concerns of our Orgazization. The age of innocence is over; instead of letting oUi'selves sink into lassitude and paralysis we must all, every one of us, avert tht: dangers which are already looming on the horizon and put an end to the terrifying march ofviolence in southern Africa. By this appeal, we wish to avoid the head-on collisions, which. if nothing changes, will become increasingly inevitable, increasingly hard. The legendary equanimity of the South African Nazis and the despair of the last prisoners of Africa are now part of the literature of a past on which the peoples of southern Africa have inexorabiy turned their backs. Tomorrow. unless we are careful, there will be a thousand Sowetos in this stormy region. 99. But I am not foregetting that we are here to seek together the best means of building peace and understand- ing among peoples. That is why I shall conclude my :.~atement by quoting the solemn commitment made by Nelson Made1a, a leader of the African National Congress: "I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and enjoy equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an: ideal for which I am prepared to die."

The current session of the General Assembly and its debates afford us yet another opportunity to deal with a question that has long been ofconcern to our Organization; quest~on, will agree with my delegation that this is not a new question, since as long ago as 1946 one of the first questions that it had to deal with was apartheid. Thus, since the inception of the United Nations t~e General Assembly has over the years been regularly seized of the que"tion of apartheid, which has become the major problem of our time as a result of the reckless irresponsibility of the Pretoria administration and, above all, as a re5ult of the increasingly Draconim a.11.d inhuman measures .taken by that administration against the South African people. 102. It is true that our Assembly has attempted to rInd appropriate means to put an end to the ~gregat.Jl1 that is rife in southern Africa, segregation that is uIl,!uestionably a serious vio;ation of the law. the morality and th'" principles that gave rise to the founding of our Organization. Vhy is it that, despite the efforts made by the United Nations since 1946. t~Le policy ofapartheid continues to be the subject of our debates and to threaten the very existence of African States and the dignity and even the life of millions of their inhabitants. 103. It is first ofall because for mote than 14 years-from 1946 to 196D-the South African Government, using trickery within our Organization and brutality within South Africa's frontiers, exerted itself ttl de~y what has become today an undeniable and irrefutable reality, that is, the orgamzed resistance of the Azar.ian people, the result of the oppression, exploitation and discriminatiol~ that the Pretoria regime has attempted and still attempts to "'xercise over millions of Africans. It is, secondly, because from 1946 to 1960 our Organization was not what it is today and because throughout that period a handful of ccuntries had arrogated. to themselves the right to speak on behalfofthe international community as a.whole. It is, fmally~ because the United Nations Charter was so written that the South African regime, could for a long time, through the support of only a few countries, safely challenge almost the whole memb~rshipof this Organization. 104. It was the accesSion ~o independence of many States in Africa, Asia and Latin America since 1960 and, above all, the Sharpeville massacres at about the same time, that opened the eyes of the international community to the brutality, savagery and inhumanity of apartheid and to the dangers that that system represents for international peace and security. This awareness became more acute after the creation in 1963 of the OAU, whose members solemnly undertook to unite their ~fforts to put an end to the policy of apartheid and to the nefarious consequences that that policy engendered in Africa and elsewhere in the world. True, on 6 November 1962 the Special Committ€e against Apartheid was created under General Assembly resolution 1761 (XVII); but the work of that Committee acquired true meaning and dynamic content only with the arrival of the States ofthe third world on the international scene. sion~ including: .orQ J Legislative. administrative and other racially dis- criminatory measures in South Africa and their effects; "(hI Repression of opponents ofapartheid; ..tcJ Efforts by th(~ Government of South Africa to extend its l inhuman policies of apartheid beyond the borders of South Africa; ""(d) Ways and means ,-,r promoting concerted interna- tional action to secUf'~ ~he e.;mination ofapartheid". 106. There has been no improvement in the situation in South Africa since the establishment of that Committee; quit/; to the contrary. the Pretoria regime, scorning the appeals to reason of its friends and the decisions of our Organization, has inc:reased its repression to the point of tnnsforming South Africa into a veritable concentration l:arup. The massacre of 400 blacks on 16 June 1976 in S(:w~tG bears witness to the increasingly serious state-of affairs. While the international community has protestec agaitlst these practices and has shown indignation at these barbarous act~ perpetrated against the South African people. the Soweto events undoubtedly marked the signifi- can~ and decisive tUfi..nr,point for the Azani:m people and its determination henceforth to defend its dignity if necessary by force ofarms. 10". The protest of the international community and its c.."Ondemnation of the policy of apartheid following the Soweto massacres have not prevented Vorster from taking further steps to !.uppr~ss all .~ 'eedom of assembly, of information and of association of black South Africans whiie muzzling without further ado some of the informa- tion media in South Attica whose only offence was faithfully to descri1bed the repression that had befallen the Azallian people smce the Soweto events. It is because they were profoundly roused to indignation by the repressive measures in South Africa and because the situation in southc"n Africa reached an unprecedented point that the United Nations felt it necessary to organize a world conf.!'nmce to adopt dynamic and specific measures against aptN'theid. That Conference was held in Lagos, the capital of the Federal Repuh-c ;- of Nigeria. from 2:! to 26 August IQ77. IO~. The important decisions taken during that Confer- ence have placed a distinguishing seal on the concern of the world ~ornmtinity in the face of the danger that the policy of apt1Ttheid of the South African Government represents for interrational peace and security. IQ<). In this connexion I should like to quote paragraph 5 of th~ Lagos Declaration for Action against Apartheid: ".4?tlrtheid. the policy of in~tituLlonaliz.~dracist domi- natitn and exploitation, imposed by a minority regime in elem~ntary human rights to the great majority of the population. as well as the vioiation of the inalienable right to self-determination of all of the people of South Africa. This inhuman policy has been enforced by ruthless measures of repression and has led to escalating tension and conflict." 110. Such a decision, full of meaning in every sense and adopted unanimously by Members of our Organization. should have led the Vorster regime to greater moderation and understanding. But, as the saying goes. habit become second nature. Ill. In fact. the ink was barely dry on the Lagos Declaration when the Vorster regime, in the month of October. embarked on new acts of repression. The Rand Dai~v ~lfail of,20 October described them as follows: "Bannings and detentions decided on by Justice Minister Kruger and particularly his actions against the press, represent the most serious authoritarian measure ever taken by the South African Government, and if anyone had any doubts about the fact that South Africa is moving iOwards an era of dictatorship. those doubts have now been dispelled." 112. The French newspaper Le ~1{}l1de, in its issue of 21 October 1977. included the following statement: "The wave of repression. of a scope unprecedented since t~,: prohibition in 1960 of the African National Congress, l 1Ieashed on 19 October by the Pretoria authorities constitutes a twofold challenge. Internally, the brutal hardening of the regime arouses rage and stupefac- tion a:nong all those who still wanted to believe in a 'reforming' evolution of its leaders. Abroad, the escalating authoritarianism in Pretoria is an insult to the feelings of the international community. already hostile to a regime which. while purporting to be the 'defender and cham- pio·n of Western civilization' flouts the elementary princi- ples of democracy." I1 3. It was as a result of these events that the African group in the United Nations on 20 October last called for a meeting of the Security Council to consider anew the situation in South Afr;ca. The seriousness of those events after the Sharpeville and Soweto massacres shouid normally have led the Security Council to take concrete and effective measures at that meeting to compel the Vorster regime to put an end to its policy of genocide. 114. Indeed, the non-aligned countries proposed a number of draft resolutions containing a series of measures whose adoption by the Security Council would have been fully justified. Unfortunately, however. once again, some members of the Security Council felt it necessary to rob 115. The arms embargo on South Africa decided on by the Security Council in its resolution 418 (1977), although it represents an appreciable stcp forward in tcrms of the attitude of countries which traditionally support South Mrica, nonetheless amounts to little more than whistling in the wind, since South Africa is capable at present of producing all the weapons it needs to defend itselfor even to embark on a war against the African States. 116. It is worth while in this connexion to recall recent rumours, cchoed by all the mass media, according to which South Africa is now in a position to acquire nuclear weapons. Some Governments of the Western countries and even of the socialist countries have. because of the seriousness of those rumours. pressed the Vorster adminis- tration for explanations. Be that as it may, it is to be feared that because of the co-operation between the racists of Pretoria and the Zionist regime of Tel Aviv, what appears to be fiction today may tomorrow weII become a fact fraught with serious consequences for the entire international community. 117. Today the Assembly is the sole judge of the situation, and to this body rather than to any other f:111s the difficult and delicate mission of finding a solution to what is one of the most persistent chaIIenges of our time. In this connexion, a number of solutions have been submitted to it. The first is to endorse resolution 2082 B (LXII) of 13 May 1977 of the Econom:c and Social Council, wherein the council recommends that 1978 should be declared Interna- tional Anti-Apartheid Year. The second is effectively to implement the suggestions contained in the report of the Special Committee against Apartheid concerning Interna- tional Anti-Apartheid Year / A/32/22/Add.2j. The third is to demand that the Security Council take all the measures envisaged in the Charter to eliminate the threat that the South African administration poses to international peace and security. These measures would have the merit of clearing the impasse and would effectively meet the wishes so often expressed by the international community. 118. In any event. the dawn of resistance that broke in the skies of Azania after the Sharpeville events, ushered in a new era. an era of unflinching sacrifice, but al~o an era of glory for the hundreds of martyrs who preferred suffering to resignation, death to the abandonment of their legiti- mate and most profound aspirations. Those among the freedom fighters who fell on the battlefield did not die in vain because the noble sacrifice they made by giving their lives is a precious example and a beacon that will light the way of future generations. 119. South Africa believed that thrOU1.1 the volleys of SharpeviIIe and the indiscriminate maS.lcre of women. children and old people, it had ended the resistance of the people of Azania. But now in Soweto the voice of the same Azanian people is heard even more clearly, and there is growing up in the towns and the villages. in the fields and in 121. Mr" SIAGE (Syrian Arab Republic) (interpretation from Arabic): The international community is deeply concerned at the series of acts of repression and terror perpetrated by the system of the white racist minority in South Africa against the African majority of the people of Azania. Indignation continues to. grow, and the interna- tional community is calling for the end to the terror and the abolition of the apartheid regime to permit the people of South Africa to exercise their inalienable rights to freedom. equality and justice. But we can only expect increased repression and defiance, because of the inherent nature of the minority white Fascist and racist regime. 122. However, any political regime which grants freedorns and rights selectively and has recourse to the criterion of race or of religion for that purpose will rmd it~lf fa~ with a choice. ,md there will be no ~'JHter~way o~ut: it will either have to give up its racist policy or maintain its rule of . repression and terror. Throughout history, the white minority regime have always opted for repression, repres- sion and repression yet again. But history has also taught us that faced with that repression and defiance the will of the people will triumph in the end and the regimes of aggression and tyranny will finally collapse. 123. The cause of human dignity and man's fundamental rights is not a matter which concerns one people to the exclusion of others; it is a common responsibility which we must all assume. When the dignity of man is trampled underfoot and his fundamental rights are disregarded in any country of the world. mankind as a whole unites to rise in defence of the cause of man, of his rights and ofhis dignity. That has been proved by the revolt of peoples against tyranny and racist. Fascist and colonialist regimes. If our world today is based ~n the principl~s of independence, sovereignty and freedom. that is the result of that pro- longed conflict. 124. A brief glance at the situation in South Africa shows us that the regime of exploitation an(~ colonization in that country remains as it was~ it has not changed, and its future is either dictatorship or revolt. 125. In an article published by Le Afonde diplomatique in the month of September 1977, entitled "The choice between dictatorship and revolution", a scientist of the French Centre national pour la recherche scientifique wrote the following: The author of the article went on to say: UBut it would be useless to believe that that policy will encourage tlte development of public freedoms, in con· trast to the trend which has marked the history of political development in South Africa. Today, deprived of a basis for parliamentary democracy, the South African choice i.; likely to be between dictatorship and revolu- tion."l2 . 126. The resolution recently adopted by the Security Council on the military embargo against South Africa, resolution 418 (l977) cans for the bare minimum of measures to be taken by the international community to bring down the minority racist regime in South Arica. I should like to state here the official position of the Syrian Arab Republic on this mMter, and to read aloud certaip paragraphs from the official communique issued in this respect. This is what it says: "The Security Council adopted unanimously on 4 November 1977 a resolution in which it affirms that the acquisition of weapons and military equipment by the Republic of South AfrIca is a threat to international peace and security. In this resolution it deCides that all States shall cease forthwith any provision to South Africa of arms and related materiel of all types. It calls on all States to review all existing contractual arrangements with and licences granted to South Africa relating to the manufacture and maintenance of arms, ammunition of all types and military equipment and vehicles, with a view to terminating them. In addition, it decides that all States shall refrain from any c<roperation with South Africa in the manufacture and development of nuclear weapons." 127. This resolution represents the fIrSt time sanctions have been imposed by the Security Council against a State Member of the United Nations. Under the provisions laid down in Chapter VII of the Charter. Despite ihe fact that these sanctions come a little late, nevertheless it is true that they represent a praiseworthy development in the process of safeguarding international peace and security against the racist regime .:Jf South Africa; the resolution supports the struggle for freedom, independence and self-detennination waged by the people ofSouth Africa. 128. Those sanctions that have been imposed on the racist Government of South Africa also represent an indirect blow against any regime which bases its existence and power on imperialism,' colonialism 0 and racism. In that sense, the sanctions serve as a warning to Israel, whose regime may be thus defined. That country has driven the Palestinian people from their homeland, has resorted to measures of expansion and occupation and has relations with its counterpart, the racist system ofSouth Mrica. 130. The leaders of the two regimes meet frequently to co-ordinate their co-operation.' They excel in the use of repression, in racial discrimination and in establishing settlements, to such a degree that the two countries have been isolated internationally and condemned by the United Nations and its various bodies and specialized agencies because their policy constitutes a threat to international peace and security. Yet the two countries persist in their violation of the.United Nations Charter and continue to reject United Nations resolutions and to defy the interna· tional community. i 131. At a time when the isolation of the Pretoria regime is increasing internationally, we can, as I have just said, see that the regimes are stepping up their co-operation and increasing their reliance upon each other. The clearest proof we can give of this.can be found in the communique of the Syrian Arab 'Republic which refers to the increasing co·operation and the alliance bctween Tel Aviv and Pretoria, which has caused the Special Committee against Apartheid once again this year to adopt yet another report of relations ·between South Africa and Israel."The Chairman of that Committee, Mr. Leslie Harriman, the representative of Nigeria, has on various occasions called for condemna-' tion of that co·operation. 132. That report of the Special Committee against Apart- heid sta'es: "The Special Committee has followed with gravc concern the continuing and increasing collaboration by the Government of Israel with the apartheid regime in South Africa in the military, nuclear, political, economic and other fields." [A/32/22/Add.3, para. 1.} The report also states: "On the recommendation of the Special Committee, the General Assembly, in resolution 31/6 E of 9 Novem- ber ·1976, strongly condemned the continuing ane increasing collaboration by {srael with the racist regime of South Africa as a flagrant violation of the resolutions of the United Nations and as an encouragement to the racist regime of South Africa to persist in its criminal policies. "Thc Government of Israel has, however, defied this resolution, and the condemnations by numerous Govern- ments and organiLations all over the world, as well as the South African liberation movements, and further ex· panded its collaboration with the apartheid regime." [Ibid., paras. 3 and 4./ This report of the Sub·Committee on the Implementation of United Nations Resolutions and Collaboration with South Africa [ibid, annex] contains many proof$ of this co·operation. We think its most dangerous form is co- operation in two fields-the military and nuclear fields. The 133. But we are all aware of the nature of these "defence supplies". Israel is not content to sell arms directly to the racist regime in South Africa. It has even gone beyond that and is now playing the role of intermediary by providing military materiel to the racist regime through third parties. Reference to this can be found in the report of the Special Committee's Sub-Committee. 134. Last but not least, paragraph 11 of the annex to document A/32/22/Add.3 mentions that many observers have expressed concern at the fact that scientific and technological co-operation agreements concluded between Israel and South Africa in 1976 have established closer ties between the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Israeli National Council for Scientific and Industrial Research with a view to the transfer of nuclear know-how, and the report of the Committee goes on to say that Israel may be supplying nuclear technology to South Africa in return for enriched uranium. 135. A well-known American professor, Mr. Ronald W. WaIters, on 21 June \977 told the Sub-Committee on Africa of the Committee on International Relations of the United States House of Representatives that Israel would help South Africa to complete its work in the nuclear field. I will leave it to the Assembly to interpret that statement. 136. Those who have followed this session's General Assembly debates on the policies of apartheid of the Government of South Africa can clearly see that there is unanimity aI1long the international community in con- demning Jhe apartheid regime. However, the peoples will not obtain their rights through verbal support but rather through struggle and practical support for liberation move- ments, the application of military and economic sanctions to ensure the total isolation of the white minority regime with a view to its final elimination, and the taking of necessary and urgent measures to that end. The first such measure, in our view, should be the creation of a body to verify the implementation of the recent Security Council resolution on an arms embargo and any other resolutions that may be adopted on the subject. 137. The struggle of peoples against apartheid. racism and racial discrimination will inevitably succeed. The march of history is never reversed. We wish once again to affirm that the Syrian Arab Republic, which has the honour of being a member of the Special Committee against Apartheid and of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Drafting of a Convention against Apartheid in Sports, will continue to give total support fo the struggle of the peoples of Azania to 139. The representative of Israel tried to sow discord between the Arab countries and the African countries. But Arab-African solidarity is a fact. I would remind him of all the communiques of Arab-African summits and other conferences of the OAU that have condemned his country.

The General Assembly has once again taken up in its plenary meetings the question of the policies of apartheid of the Government of South Africa, in order to focus the wofld's attention on the existence in this supposedly enlightened age of an odious system that denies that people are created equal. The racist . regime in Pretoria has formulated the philosophy that black people are inferior, has built its economic, social and political institutions on that formulation and has the audacity to ask the world to accept it among the community of nations. 141. But the community of nations has time and again expressed its abhorrence of apartheid and has refused to accept the Government of South Africa in its midst. Fortunately for that racist Government, however, there are still a number of.countries that believe that as long as they can make some profit from the system they can come to its rescue every time the anger of the world rises and the cry goes out, "Let us stop it". It is in that context that my delegation has interpreted the recent triple veto of the African draft resolutions in the Security Council. 142. How else can we explain the unwarranted shielding and protection by some of the Western countries of the racist regime for so long a time? How else can we explain Vorster's arrogance and adamance in spite of the anger of the world? How else, indeed. can we explain the reluctance of the bourgeois world, which is so shrill in its cry for human rights, to live up to its own standards'? The only explanation we can think of is that these same ~urgeois countries of the Western world make their pea,:'.;.. even with a system like apartheid as long as it assures them of easy 143. The General Assembly and its committees have been issuing resolutions and decisions condemning apartheid as a barbaric crime against humanity. After so many years of deliberations and resolutions, the problem of apartheid in South Africa remains unsolved, with each passing year marking the escalation of repression ·and a constantly increasing menace to international peace and security. 144. (n the course of this year alone, the international Conferences held at Lisbon,13 Maputo, and Lagos and the Declarations they have issued have clearly manifested an awareness on the part of the international community of the need to intensify the efforts to put an end to institutionalized barbarism. The racist Pretoria regime must be forced to realize that three quarters of the population of South Africa cannot be foreigners in its own country. 145. Events in South Africa itself demonstrate the fact that apartheid cannot withstand the inevitable tide of history. The South African racist minority regime is today besieged by its own brutality ~md the determined resistance that it has engendered. In a vain attempt to continue its # anachronistic and unparalleled form of racist domination, the regime has transformed South Africa into an armed police State condemned by the international community. 146. The Pretoria regime's arrogant defiance of the inter· nationai appeal has strengthened the determined struggle of the oppressed people and the liberation movements of Sout.h Africa. The response by the racist regime has consistently been to resort to more brutal repression. Parallel to that, the liberation struggle continues to gather momentum and strength. South Africa's intensification of its repressive machinery, intimidation and terror have. in direct proportion. reinforced the determination of the freedom-fighters to resist against all odds. The liberation of Mozambique and Angola and the victories being increas- ingly gained in Zimbabwe and Namibia have opened the way to a direct confrontation with South Africa. 147. The mainstay of the arrogant obstinacy by the Pretoria regime is the support and assistance in the military. economic, trade and other fields it receives from its collaborators in the West. Security Council resolution 418 (I977). of 4 November 1977. imposing a mandatory arms embargo against South Africa was made possible by the conviction that racist Pretoria is armed welt beyond the requirements of its repressive system and that the main- tenance of that system is no longer directly dependent on arms shipments from the 'Capitalist West. If these major collaborators of the abhorrent system of apartheid are serious in their oft-stated concern for achieving a solution to the problem, they must withdraw ~heir investments in racist South Africa. Ethiopia appeals to the international community for a complete and total isolation of South Africa in the military, economic, political and cultural fields. bantust~nization,a system of social grouping based on only one criterion: that only people of the same tribe can make up a nation. The application of this system is fragmen ting the black people of South Africa into a number of weak entities. This dangerous idea-the idea that different tribes cannot be moulded into a nation- is. unfortunately for Africa, gaining new recruits even in other parts of Africa. In this connexion, we regret to note that the Government of Chile, in the face of the total rejection of Transkei by the international community, is developing relations with that apartheid creation. My delegation not only strongly opposes any such dealing with that entity, but condemns any direct or indirect association by any country with the so-caned Transkei. 149. In the effort to mobilize all forces in the fight against the heinous system of apartheid, the Ethiopian delegation strongly supports the designation of 1978 as International Anti-Apartheid Year. [t is our firm conviction that the Year will contribute towards the further mobilization of world public opinion and increased moral, material and political support to the struggle of the people and liberation movements of South Africa. 150. The commitment of Ethiopia to the complete eradi- cation of apartheid is unequivocal, and it is on that ground that Ethiopia stands firmly behind the African call to intensify the armed struggle. The necessity of the armed struggle is made clear by the most recent atrocities perpetrated by the racist regime. The murder of Steven Biko and the subsequent mass arrests, further murders and the banning of individuals. anti-apartheid organizations and newspapers clearly indicate the desperation of the Pretoria regime as the resolute struggle of the South African people enters a new ph8se. 151. Although for a long time peace-loving people have advised against the unnecessary loss of life and property. Vorster's defiance and arrogance have forced the black people of South Africa to die a little in order to gain a lot. The armed struggle has begun and it will intensify until apartheid· crumbles and South Africa becomes a nation of equal citizens. 152. Until that day arrives. the people and Government of Ethiopia will continue to offer their solidarity and support to the people of South Africa. Until that day of- freedom and dignity arrives. we call on the people of the world to intensify their struggle against racism. colonialism and imperialism. Until the total destruction of apartheid, we shall continue to regard any failure by the Security Counci! to impose comprehensive economic sanctions against South Africa in accordance with Chapter VII of the Charter as nothing but a calculated plan to shield and protect the racist regime of Pretoria. 153. Mr. [PSARIDES (Cyprus): This year, more than three decades since the founding of the United Nations, the annual consideration of the situation created by the policy of apartheid in South Africa assumes an additional signifi- 154. The condemnation of that abhorrent doctrine and policy. which constitutes a dire denial of the most fundamental values of the Charter. namely. the worth of the human person. the equality of an persons irrespective of race. colour. creed or ethnic origin and the right of peoples to self-determination. is virtually universal. Not only is apartheid denounced by practically all shades of opinion represented in the Charter and in this Organization as a gross violation of human rights. but also an overwhelming majority has been indicating for some years that the situation brought about by the application of that doctrine presents a grave threat to international peace in the African continent and the world at large. It is very significant in this respect to note that even those States which opted to ignore this great danger until now have now recognized that to a great extent because of the mounting explosiveness created by the armed resistance of the liberation move- ments the situation is indeed a grave threat to peace and security in the world. and have decided to impose the long-overdue mandatory arms embargo against South Africa. 155. Yet. the fact still remains that the situation in South Africa continues to deteriorate. This deterioration is high- lighted by the culmination of the oppressive measures of the regime and the move by the regime to proceed with the fraudulent establishment of the s~caned independent bantustans. which amounts to nothing more than a fraud of self-determination and constitutes another effort at Balkan- ization by the scourge of white minority domination which has been aptly described in this Assembly as "settler colonialism". 156. Despite all the efforts of the United Nations. which. for the past three decades. has accepted the responsibility of acting to combat and eliminate apartheid and of keeping the international community apprised of the heinous nature and effects of that policy. the developments in South Africa show that the South African regime has not accepted the prerequisites of a peaceful solution. It is therefore imperative to step up concerted action to promote libera- tion and thereby avert a wider conflict. It is this situation. in its twin aspects of gross violation of human freedoms and of the right of self-determination. on the one hand. and a threat to peace. on the other. that we are considering. 157. This Organization. which finds itself gravely chal- lenged and unable to bring about the implementation of its most fundamental objectives. has solemn responsibilities in this respect with regard to South Africa. 158. As members of the international community. all Member States must apply themselves. individually and collectively. to meet this challenge and. with imagination and determination, do their utmost to bring about the realization of the principles of the Charter and the implementation of United Nations objectives and resolu- tions with regard to South Africa. 160. In this respect. Cyprus welcomes the long-overdue unanimous d~cision taken by the Security Council on 4 November. imposing a mandatory arms embargo on South Africa. as a positive step. It is, however. by no means sufficient~ it is absolutely necessary to create the appro- priate machinery for following closely the effective imple- mentation of this embargo. 161. The Cyprus delegation is not so naive as to suppose that what has proved ineffective before will prove effective now. The experience of the past is far from encouraging. That is why we firmly support the thesis that it is absolutely imperative to supplement the anns embargo with comprehensive mandatory economic sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter. in order to give real content to the general attitude against apartheid. Only if those who practise this pernicious policy are denied and deprived of" the means of doing so by being placed in total and complete isolation can we expect me'tningful results. The hyena of apartheid will not disgorge its plunder because of symbolic actions or mere words containing condemnations. In this respect, my delegation earnestly appeals to those States, which, by trading or fmancially collaborating with the South African regime, encourage it in its course, to place the dictates of conscience above economic considera- tions and other expediencies and to throw their meaningful weight into furthering the common effort. The mandatory arms embargo is a step in the right direction, but it will be by no means effective if not complemented and supple- mented appropriately by further comprehensive economic sanctions. 16:!. In this way~ and by effectively supporting the liberation movements and the struggle in South Africa, the Pnited Nations can expect to achieve positive results. It can thus drive home to the racist regime that if it continues its present policy it will inexorably find itself on the collision course of racial conflagration-which no one would wish- with catastrophic consequences, and that in the end it would be wiser and more beneficial even from its own point of view to revise and reverse its attitude. 163. The Cyprus Government is fully committed to the principle of racial and ethnic equality in every country, and is ready to support. as it has unfailingly done ~o far on all occasions, not only by word but also by deed, ?.1I United Nations initiatives aimed at remedying the situation in South Africa. In this respect. my delegation has carefully n0ted and agrees with the conclusions and constructive 164. Cyprus, for its part, has no relations whatsoever with South Africa, having since its independence imposed ~mprehensive trade, economic and other sanctions against the South African regime and prohibited any air or sea communications with it. We do not maintain any diplo- matic, consular, cultural, sporting or other relations what- soever with it. Moreover, within our limited potentialities we are contributing regularly to the United Nations Trust Fund for South Africa and the other United Nations funds for South Africa, as well as to the United Nations programme of scholarships to the Non-Self-Governing Territories of southern Africa. On this occasion we solemn- ly declare that, as regards this modest fmancial and educational contribution, my country will continue offer- ing it, despite the unprecedented and devastating tragedy and destruction which for more than three years now have been inflicted on our country and people and still continue, as a result of foreign aggression and continued military occupation. 165. The aim in South Africa, as elsewhere in the world, should be the abolition of artificial and unwarranted distinctions between people on racial or ethnic criteria that divide them into separate and distinct categories for the purpose of domination. 166. In this respect we strongly condemn the policy of bantustanization for what it is: a fraudulent self-determi- nation. The case of the bantustans presents an example of an obnoxious tactic, with the disguised aim of-dividing the people, perpetuating domination by "settler colonialism", and depriving the vast indigenous majority population of their legitimate rights to their own country. 167. The mass transfer of populations and the forcible uprooting of people with a view to the artificial demo- graphic dismemberment of a country violate its territorial integrity and are contrary to the cardinal principles of the Charter. Moreover, such action infringes the most basic human rights and fundamental freedoms and serves the political aims of a privileged minority as against the legitimate rights of the people as a whole. In the words of General Assembly resolution 2775 E (XXVI) on the bantu- stans, it jeopardizes "the principle ofself-detennination ... the territorial integrity of the countries and the unity of their peoples". 168. The essence of the question of South Africa can perhaps be summarized in the words of the President of the African National Congress of South Africa, Mr. T2mbo, who stated on 26 November 1976 before this Assembly: "•.. an incontrovertible part of the demands 0; our people is that there shall be one united and democratic South Africa. We will never abandon our birthright to the ownership and control of the whole territory of our country nor countenance any attempt to Balkanize it and 170. Human rights and justice are universal in their application. The ultimate aim in South Africa, as indeed anywhere where the same situation may exist, should be that its people should be able to attain majority rule, based on universal suffrage, with full guarantees of the rights of all its citizens, in accordance with the generally accepted democratic principles enshrined in the Charter. To this end we should all st.rive sincerely and forcefully, both indi- vidually and collectively.

The next speaker is the represen- tative of Yugoslavia, to introduce draft resolution A/32/L.22.

I should like to introduce, on behalf of the sponsors, the draft resolution on trade union 'action against apartheid. 173. In addition to the WClrld Conference for Action against Apartheid held in Lagos and the Conference held in Maputo, the important Second International Trade Union ~onference for Action against Apartheid was held in Geneva on 10 and 11 June 1977. The Conference was attended by nearly 400 representatives ofover 300 it:lterna- tional, regional and national trade union organizations representating about 200 million workers. The Conference declared its unflinching support for and lasting solidarity with the workers and peoples of South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. 174. The apartheid regime has denied all trade union rights to Africar~ workers and is subjecting them to brutal repression, as it realizes that the struggle for trade union rights in South Africa is inseparable from the struggle for freedom and human dignity 175. The General Assembly, at its thirty-first session, adopted in the annex to resolution 31/6 J a Programme of Action against Apartheid, which in paragraph 25 called upon trade unions in particular: "(a) To· organize rallies and information campaigns among the workers to make them fully aware of the problem of apartheid and to secure their collaboration in industrial action against South Africa; "(h) To support internationally co-ordinated boycotts ofSouth African goods; "(c) To organize international trade-union action to ban the handling of goods going to and from South Africa". 176. Economic exploitation and, in particular. the eXi'loi- tation of cheap labour continues in South Africa. Workers 177. The solidarity of the working class throughout the world and of their trade unions with the struggle of the workers of South Africa. as shown by the Second Confer- ence in Geneva, is constantly growing and becoming an important factor in the struggle for the elimination of the system ofapartheid and exploitation 178. Draft resolution A/32/L.22 states in operative para- graphs 1 and 2: "I. Commends the resolution adopted by the Second International Trade Union Conference for Action against Apartheid to the attention of all Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations; u2. h"xpresses its appreciation to the trade union organizations for their action against apartheid, particu- larly for the world-wide observance of the Protest Week against Apartheid in January 1971".

I call on the representative of Zambia to introduce draft resolution A/32/L.25.

Zambia is honoured to introduce to the General Assembly draft resolution A/32/ L.25 on military and nuclear collaboration with South Africa, on behalf of the sponsors, which are drawn mainly from the non-aligned movement. 181. To us in Zambia, any measure that can be taken by the international community with a view to eradicating the obnoxious policies and practices of apartheid in South Africa is more than welcome. We strongly believe that the international community represented here has a bounden duty to help to eradicate apartheid, that ~rime against humanity. 182. Zambia, southern Africa, all African States and peace-loving countries all over the world have been alarmed at the desperate efforts of the racist regime of Pretoria to acquire a nuclear capability. We all know that South Africa could not have developed that capability without the fullest collaboration of certain Western· countries. Those are the same countries which have armed apartheid to the teeth to the point where South Africa can now manufact1lre aero-engines, warships, military electronics, guided missiles, armoured fighting vehicles and military aircraft under licence; yet some of those States are purported to be opponents ofapartheid. 183. Naturally, the sponsors welcome the imposition of an arms embargo by the Security Council; perhaps it is better late than never. This remains to be seen. However, the sponsors and other well-meaning States express serious regret that Western permanent members of the Security Council continue to oppose the imposition of a comprehen- sive embargo against South Africa. Worse still, major exporters of nuclear material and equipment remain adamant over nuclear collaboration with South Africa. Surely, there is something wrong somewhere. 185. Zambia and the sponsors appeal to all States to adopt this draft resolution unanimously.

I call on the representative of Nigeria to introduce draft resolutions A/32/L.24, A/32/ L.26 and A/32/L.27.

I have the honour, on behalf of the sponsors, to iniroduce the follOWing draft resolutions: A/32/L.24 on the subject ofpolitical prisoners in South Africa, A/32/L.26 on economic collaboration with South Africa, and A/32/L.27 on the dissemination of infonnation on apartheid. These three draft resolutions are simple and clear. They follow the recommendations of the Special Committee against Apartheid. There is hardly any need for me to explain the pr<;>visions of these draft resolutions, but I should like, however, to make s0l!1e comments. 188. Let us be clear that when .we speak of political prisoners in South Africa, we speak of men and women who have risked their lives and liberty for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. We speak of the genuine and authentic representatives of the people of South Africa, and not of a minority clique of settler colonialists. 189. Two years ago, on the thirtieth anniversary of the United Nations, the General Assembly adopted resolution 3411 (XXX) A and B, in which it proclaimed the special responsibility of the United Nations and the international community towards the South African political prisoners. It is a solemn responsibility. . 190. The apartheid regime has, however, sunk to lower depths of savagery since that time. Numerous political prisoners and detainees have been tortured and killed during these two years. Even today, while we are discussing this matter, it has been reported that one more detainee has been killed. The inquest over the death of Steven Biko, which has been much talked about, has shown the world in these past few days that the gaolers of South African patriots are of the same breed as the Nazi criminals. We cannot allow patriots of South Africa-men, women and children-to be at the mercy ofthese fiends. 191. A few weeks ago, on the Day of Solidarity with South African Political Prisoners, the Special Committee against Apartheid sent an appeal to all heads of State to 193. The Special Committee, for its part, will do all in its power, in the spirit of this draft resolution, to keep alive , the cause of these political prisoners. 194. The dr,lft resolution entitled "Economic collabora- tion with South Africa" [A/32/L.26/ calls for action by the Securit} Council, Governments, trade unions, churches, anti-apartheid. movements and other organizations for economic sanctions against South Africa. I should like to recall th.!t as early as 1960 the African States advocated economic sanctions against South Africa. In 1962 the General Assembly in resolution 1761 (XVII) endorsed economic sanctions. In 1964 the International Ccnference on Economic Sanctions against South Africa, held in London from 14 to 17 April 1964 with the participation of . the Special Committee, concluded, after consultations with outstanding experts, that economic sanctions were politi- cally timely. economically feasible and legally appropriate. 195. In the same month, as the Commissioner of External Affairs of Nigeria pointed out at the beginning of this debate {67th meeting/. a United Nations group of experts on South Africa. chaired by Mrs. Myrdal, reported that if the South African regime did not agree to consult the genuine representatives of the people towards a new course. the Security Council "would be left with no· effective peaceful means for assisting to resolve the situation, except to apply economic sanctions"'.1 5 196. In 1965 the General Assembly decided in resolution 2054 A (XX). which was adopted by an overwhelming majority. that "universally applied economic sanctions are the only means of achieving a peal:eful solution H _ To this day the Security Council has been prevented by the Western Powers-particularly the three permanent members--from taking action Meanwhile. they have. in utter disregard of the opinion of the overwhelming majority of States, continued to increase their economic involvement in South Africa and to profit from the blood and sweat of the African people. I do not intend to go into statistics~ but we all appreciate that, with less than $500 million invested at the time of SharpeviIle in 1960, the present level of investments has exceeded $5 billion for the United King- dom and approximately SI 0 billion for all countries involved. 197. We believe that we must again demand that the Security Council and the Member States concerned take action to stop economic collaboration with South Africa. The arms embargo will be of little effect unless it is 199. In operative paragraph 3. the draft resolution makes particular mention of several concrete and partial steps that all States can and should take immediately. [ should like to take thiS' opportunity, on behalf of the Special Committee against Apartheid, to commend all countries that have broken economic relations with South Africa and all trade unions, churches. anti-apartheid movements and other organizations that have played an important role in mobilizing public opinion against the nefarious activities of transnational corporations in South Africa. We look for- ward to their continued and increasing co-operation. :wo. Finally, I come to the draft resolution on the dissemination of information on apartheid IA/32/L.27/. The Special Committee has constantly emphasized the importance of information on apartheid. The draft resolu- tion is a complement to the efforts towards sanctions against the apartheid regime and assistance to the national liberation movement. The struggle against apartheid is the concern not only of Governments but also of all peoples, not only of institutions but also of all individuals. It is a struggle for humanism. 201. World public opinion must be fully informed of the inhumanity of apartheid, the struggle of the oppressed people under the leadership of their national liberation movement and the activities of the United Nations and the international community in this direction. It must be encouraged to take action in accordance with United Nations resolutions and in solidarity with the national liberation movement. Public information is particularly important in those countries that continue to collaborate with the apartheid regime 202. Moreover~ especially because of the escalating repres- sion in South Africa~ the United Nations must reach the people of that country by radio broadcasts and other means to inform them of the solidarity and backing of the world with the liberdtion struggle in which they are directly involved. 203. I should like to commend the Centre against Apartheid and the Office of Public Information in the United Nations Secretariat, UNESCO and other specialized agencies and many non-governmental organizations for tht"ir efforts in this respect. But much more must be done in the present critical and crucial situation. 205. With these comments I commend the three draft resolutions to this Assembly. The meetingrose at 6.45 p.m.