S/PV.1800 Security Council

The next speaker is the representutive of South Africa. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to muke his stutement.

Mr, President. 1 appreciate the opportunity given to me to ptrrticipatc in the Security Council. I wish to congratulate you. Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for the current month. It is a fitting mark of distinct& for yourself, for your cou?try und for Africa. 42. In opposing the decisions of the Security Council, South Africa has violated its obligations under Article 25 of the Charter, which demands from all the Member Stntes to agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Council in accordance with ,the Charter. And the racist ldgime of South Africa has done all this consciously, publicly and deliberately in the firce of Ihe Council and the general Assembly which have, in their numerous resolutions and decisions, called it to order and demanded that it should fulfil its obligations as a Member State. 49. Our position in regard to Article 2, paragraph 7, of the Charter is well known. It is on record and 1 need therefore say no more than that our participation in these proceedings, insofur as they relate tkl the internal affairs of South Africa, should not be construed to mean that we have changed OUI position in regard to that Article, but should be seen as flowing from our willingness to discuss our differences with other countries which are genuinely interested in a constructive solution of them and arc prepared to talk with us openly and objectively, 43. By its racist policy, illegal occupation of -Namibia,- intervention in Southern -Rhodesia -and violation of United Nations sanctions, its constant threat tothe security and independence of neighbouring African States, South Africa constitutes a serious threat to peace and security in the region, and qen beyond. S(L-lt is particularly to these countries-that we address ourselves !oday, and more especially to thr States of Africa, For we are an African State. It is-in Airica, where we live and where we belong, that our destiny lies. We have an important identity ot interest with the other States of Africa. It is with them that we must talk and we firmly believe that all of us in Africa can only gain by cotnmunic;ltion with one another. St. Let LIZ IlOl bwt alxxll tl1L’ busl1. ‘I’llC OlllL choice WC have hcfore us is ehhct to continue WI the prescnl ~krilc‘ COUI’W of confrontaGoti and I wt itiinia. tion. or to make ;I sincere et~deavour tk) get togelher, to listen to the other man’s point of vich with ~II oprn mind, and to try tu break Ihr ough the Iruspicioil!,. IhL nlisLlndcrst~lnrli~igs m.l the misconceptions which have for so lung divided us. Communicalion or 41. III ;~cio~~l;~~icc L$ itti oui policy of iioii-~~ligninetit. lx~setl 011 the d~~.i\ions 01’ the C’onfcrence of Ihe t tci\tt\ OI S~;I~C OI (ioVcl.nnlctlt of Non-Aligned C’out~l~ir’x ticld III ,\lgicrs from S to Y Septctnbet US, 53, The Council hus been asked to review the relationship between the United Nations and South Africa in the light of our alleged violation of the principles of the Charter undo ~of the Universal Declumtion of Human Rights, 54, What valid reason can be advanced for singling out South Africa’s relations with the United Nations for review by the Security Council? There is none. This is really just a political move in the vendetta being conducted by certain Members of the United ~~~tions_ug~~!ls~~rny~ G~o~ve~r~~m+& ~ _~~~I~,~~~ ~~ 55. I ask you to consider briefly some of the developments in the world in the period sirlce the United Nations has been concerning itself with South Africa’s affairs. Several wars have been fought on four continents; numerous governments have been -forced from office by unconstitutional means, frequently involving violence and bloodshed; countries have been occupied by the armed forces of foreign Powers; population groups in a number of countries have turned on each other with ferocity, and so on. in the most important spheres of human life the world is faced with a number of crises: underdevelopment, illiteracy. famine, pollution, and many I,elated socio-economic problems to which the world’s most responsible and best qualified commentators foresee no immediate solution. Many think we may be -on the brink of a world economic catastrophe of unprecedented proportions and -incalculable ~conseyuenceh, political as well as socio-economic, 56. -It is towards such situations and matters that one. in all seriousness, would expect the Council to tutu its urgent attention, not towards South Africa, which in no way constitutes a threat to intern;ltional pc;~cc. and where, although we have OUI pdhmls, we arc well on our way to solving them in il pYlCCl’liI IllitllllCI’. 57. II .is sitid 1l1at \\c’ hilvc di:rcgatdcd resolutions ul the United N~IIUII\ spurs. But next to nothing is s;jid ut the 11;1turc a11J quality ul’ the information and dl)cllnlct~t;llioll upun which those resolutions wcrc bil\ed. Closer analysis will shou that the material III quc3tion i5 ulibclicv&ly onc.sided, that it is unilo1~111l~ hostile IO South Africa. th:~t it is often com- 58. In consequence, the resolutions in question were based on inadequate, prejudiced and often grossly distorted information-information which was certainly not tested and objectively weighed in order to separate facts from ignorant or malicious misrepresentations. To say this is not to suggest that conditions in South Africa cannot be improved, or that we have not made mistakes, or that there is no need fur change there; but it does point up the complete one-sidedness of the virulent attacks made upon us in the Organization, 59. Members of the Council will better appreciate my point if 1 illustrate it. If one’s only source of information is the reports of the Special Committee on Apctrthid, and those other United Nations bodies which are continually discussing South African affairs, one must-inevitably be left with the impression of an absolute tyranny by whites over blacks in South Africa; of white South Africans dedicatedly -pursuing policies of genocide, slavery, torture, terror, persecution, hatred,forced labour, unmitigated racism, starvation and inhumanity against black South Africans; the impression that everything the South African Government does is inherently evil; that the policy of the Government is an international crime and a threat to peace; that it degrades the black man and consigns him to a destiny of poverty, want and illiteracy; that it holds out no prospect of improvement, no political rights; that it has no regard for human rights of any kind; that the whole system is cruelly enforced by a secret police force and a powerful army; and that it has as its object the perpetual entrenchment of white superiority. It is no exaggeration to say that that is the picture which emerges frqm the sources to which 1 @ye referred. 60. But surely not even the most prejudiced Members of the United Nations can believe that a picture of -such unmitigated terror and oppression can really be true, for how can such a picture possibly be reconciled with the observable conditions prevailing in South Africa, with readily available and indisputable facts and figures, many of which emanate from technical and statistical documentation of. the Organization itself! 61. Why is it, if the position of the blacks in South Africa is really so intolerable, that hundreds of thousands of black workers from other countries of Africa voluntarily come to South Africa for employment--maliy of them entering the country illegally for that purpose’! Why is it that according to figures us at I January 1972. released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, US an unjustified antagonism and a lack of tolerance, of interest in and understanding of our ultimate objectives, They have, we feel, not responded to, nor given US any credit or recognition at ull for what we are trying to do ~-in order to give to every person in our country, black and white, a fair deal from life. On the contrary, many of these Mcmbcrs simply ignore the important changes which have occurred and are occurring in South Africa. Information about them seems sometimes to bc deliberately suppressed. 63. Is it not manifest that millions and millions of rand are spent in South Africa to provide free or virtually free medical services to the blacks? In the financial year 1972/73, $282 million was expended by public undertakings on health services for the black, Coloured and Indian peoples. Need it be recorded that South Africa has never experienced famine? South Africa is virtually self-sufficient in food-stuffs of a-quality comparable with the world’s best. 67. It would be naive to pretend thut I do not know why it is thai Members of the Organization, especially the African Members, display towards us this antagonism, this lack of good will, It is basically because these Members think that the whites of South Africa have some inborn hatred of and prejudice against the blacks, that they consider themselves to be superior to or in some way better than the blacks, and’that on these grounds they discriminate against them in order to deny them fundamental rights and freedoms. 64. -The school enrolment figures for black pupils more than doubled from 1950 to 1960 and more than doubled again front I%0 to 1973, so that even in a period of rapidly increasing population the percentage of children of school-going age increased from 45 per cent in 1954 to 75 per cent in 1974. The combined rate of population growth of the black peoples of South Africa is 3.23 per cent, which isamong the ‘highest in Africa. 68. I shall return to that point. For the moment Ict me just state categorically that whatever the attitude 01 the white man to the black man in the past might have been, that is not the attitude of the vast majority of white South Africans today. 69. I should first like to outline how our policy of multinational development cume about and on what it is based. I do so in order to put our policies in proper perspective. 65. We are accused of defying the United Nations and world opinion, of paying no heed whatsoever to resolutions of the Organization-indeed, of adopting a ,provocative and challenging attitude towards the world body. This is just not so. We are receptive to constructive criticism or suggestions from any country or body in the world which is genuhiely interested in the welfare of the peoples of South Africa-and that includes the United Nations. But would any Government anywhere react positively to the flood of accusations and condemnatory resolutions of the nature that I have mentioned, when it must be realised, even by circles in the Organization itself, thnt the allegations on which they are based arc cxaggcratcd, untrue and even wilfully misrepresented? 70. Towards the middle of the seventeenth century the white and black peoples of southern Africa converged in what was then an almost uninhabited part of the continent. On the whole the tendency was for the white pepple as well as the various black peoples to settle in distinct parts of the country. They we’re at different stages of development; all had their own institutions of government, land settlement and land ownership. traditions. cultures. IilIlgUilgC3 illld ccononiics: ;Uld fOl’ ;lllllC~St IS0 )Cill-S there was virtually no contact hctwccn hlnck ;III~ ’ white. 66. Not for a mment do I wish to pretend that everything in our country is right but to accuse us of’ the most evil designs and practices when we have improved the living conditions of all our peoples to the extent that we have, when my Government is mnkinp sincere and positive attempts to improve and develop the economic. socinl and political conditions of alI these peoples, not just some of them, and to 71. During ttlc ninctccnth ccnttlry. when Ihc C’ilX 01. Good Hope had bccomc ;I Hritish felony. the blilck i)l’l2ilS Of the eastern C:lpe Wel’l’ ~~llll~?;cd bg’ tllC British authoritics ~IICI the ;IiltionS concemcd WCI c henceforth administered scp;u~n~cly ilntl 1101 ;I\ intcpr;ll portions of the Cape Colony. This basic position remained Virlllillly iiiicli;inged until these Ililti~~flS wc’le wf’qqra~d their future. engenders the strongest suspicion that what some Members of this Organizttion nim nt is r&t so much the advancement given more xd more powers of sclf-~ovrl’[iiltellI I)\ the South African Ciovcrnmenl. One’ of thcxc II;IIIOII\. x dllllC.- 32. A historic movement called the Cireat Trek stcu-ted in 1836 .when white farmers of the Cape Colony moved northwards, passing around the southernmost black peoples ;md crossing the Orange ;\nd Vnal Rivers until they reached the Limpopo River in the north, the Kidahari desert in the west :Ind Natal in the east. The arees through which they trekked were for the most pivt completely uninhabited. These itre historical facts. This wits due to what the blacks of South Africa still cnll the “/~t/i~lirr/tc~“, which means “the crushing”. Over it period of I5 yeilrs, from npprOXitlliitely 1820, terrible d~VilStiltiOtl of these ;treas had taken place its ;I result of*witrs between the various black peoples, not between black and white. Mzilikazi, it lieutenant of the Zulu king, Shoka, who hiid fled from ibis former master, subsequently completed this dcvitstation~ and annihilated the African tribes living there. 73. The Trekkers did not by force or otherwise drive blacks awily from Iilnd occupied by them except in the cilse of Mzilikazi and his Matabeles, who fled to and settled in the present Rhodesia. In cBses in which there wils any doubt.i\s to claims to land, the Trekkers, ;tnd later the Governments of the Orange Free State ilnd the l’tansvual Republics, negotiated with the peoples concerned. 74. Thus, the foundations were laid for future political developments. In the I’riInsVaiIl il Convention Was signed in 1852 betw’een the British and Beet leaders acknowledging the latter’s independence. A Convention of 1854 granted independence to the Pepublic of the Orange Free State. 75. In 1899, war broke out between Britain and the two Boer Republics. For almost three years South Africa became the scene of one of the fiercest struggles ever waged on the African continent. When peace crime in 1!MI2. the two Republics had lost their independence. Almost 35,000 Boer men, women imd children died in that war while Britain suffered 9X,000 C:lSllillliCS. ‘l’hc two Iiepllhlk~ \\clT ill Iuili\: IllC COSI Of tk Will IO I‘liClld illlll IClC \+;I\ illliiic’llsc’. I his is iiot the ~01~1 of conl’lapr~~tiorl \\‘e cker u;Illt IO WC l~epc~ltcd. 76. ‘I‘hlls. ilt the hcgiiiniiig of lllc twentieth CClltlll~ the whole of the southern part of ihc Afric;iiI cuiitiiIciit c;IIiic’ tliidcr ttic.jii~isili~tioti ofolie I’owcr. It comprised the C’iIi?C i111d Niltill cdollics. II~c I\\ o C~lll~ll~Tl~d HoeI’ I~el~iiblics of tlic ‘I‘~xti~v:~i~l ;111d thr ( )I~;III~C F:rcs St:Itc. LIS well :Is three bl;~~li pl.clIectl~l’;lI~‘~: S\\:l/ilillld. I~cclItl~11i;il;1n~1. ;~iid I3a~iitol;iilil. Hriti4l So~lh .1li io. 2% il w;14 c:illctl. ~l~c:ul o\ci Ilic ~11~11~ ,lili~~~~nIiiici11. I Iii\ Imp2 ;II’C;I \L;IS thcii IIIC IIOIIIC 01‘ ;I INIIII~~CI~ 01 77. In 1910 the Union of South Africa wi\s created when an Act of the British Parliament. united the four colonies of N;ltal, the Transvaal, the Orange Free State und the Cape, The British Act noted the filet that the three protectorates of Hasutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland formed an economic ;md geogriiphic whole with the Union. Constitutionally, this Union was to ;I large extent itn artificial creation. Excluded were the three protectorates, but included were nine other black peoples and theill territories, ii8 well as the whites. 78. In regard to the remaining black territories within the Union, an Act was passed in 1913 to define and schedule some 8.9 million hectares of land in the four provinces as inalienable black areas. This was the recognition of an historical fact; it was not done for ideological reasons, just as Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland were not created for ideological reasons. In 1936, iI further 6.3 million hectares of land were earmarked for -addition to the black territories. 79. It is true that the black territories consist of only about 13 per cent of the land area of the present South Africa, but it is also true that this area includes nearly half of the country’s most fertile soil. And it is further~true that if~the total area of the former British South Africa is taken into consideration, .black territories comprise almost 50 per cent of that area. The black Africans, furthermore, never occupied the more than 250,000 square kilometres of arid and semi-desert areas known as the Karoo. l’he Krirou contrasts strikingly with, for example, the Tugela River basin and system, which flows for a considerable distance through the areas of South. Africa’s largest nation. the Zulus. It hns been estimated that this river system has sufficient water to supply 14 cities the size of Johannesburg, leaving enough at the river’s mouth to meet the needs of iI city the size of GIUW I.orldon. For ;I country like SWIII Afl ic,I. whcW2 WiIICI’ is sc;iicc’. this is c~msitlcr;Iblc. X0. l.:ll~gL‘ :II’CilS Of tllc hlxk tcrlitcliies iA11 uitliin the rich Illill~l~ill belt raiigiiig froliI 111~. noi ll1c1.11 ‘I r;i~i~\a;d to the north-wcsten; C;~pe. 111 lxt, nest of the bl;lck tcrritorics are rc;~so~lably u.clI endowed with il wide range of V:lluablc mincr,~l It’s~iIii~u~~s. I’ll~lligll the Xtlos:l ;lI‘c’LIs of ttw e:r\tc1 II (‘;ll’c illc’ IeW iill~tllllilt~ iii this respccl. ItIcy Ilakc ~~~iizid~:i:~I~Ic +Gxllrii;il lk~tciitial. Y 89, We are constantly charged with a calluuh disregard for the feelings and the welfare of the people-even a hatred of them. As I have shown. South Africa is presented in the Organization as a racial cauldron where the whites are obsessed with animosity towards the blacks and where the whites dehumanize and degrade and illtreat the blacks. 83. -1 mention these facts in bare outline. To really grasp South African circumstances would require a far longer exposition of history. I mention these facts merely to indicate something of the historical background to our problems, 90, I do not deny what unsavoury and reprehensibls incidents between black and white do occur in South Africa, incidents which no civilized man can defend, indidents which I cannot condemn too strongly. These incidents receive prominent attention in the South African press and, through the South African press, in the outside world, and they are often seized upon by this Organization to further its campaign against my Goyernment . 84. The divisions which exist in South Africa today thus came about naturally and historically, through sociological affinities and not as a result of an ideology. We believe that the objective of selfdetermination for all our peoples will not be best achieved by attempting to force all of them into an artificial unity. Too often has the world seen the tragic consequences of attempts~to ‘force unity upon two or more divergent peoples, and we see it still today. 91. 1 leave aside the ironical fact that this refutes anotherpopular accusation against my Government, namely, that it does not allow freedom of expression. There are not many countries in the Organization where the press comments on and criticizes lo~itl conditions and government as freely as it does in South Africa. 85. A policy such as ours, which is designed to avoid disaster, to eliminate friction and confrontation between different peoples, to eliminate domination of one group by another, and to give to every man his due, can surely not be said to run counter to civilized concepts of human dignity and freedom, 92. ‘Be that as it may, the picture presented in the Organization of racial relations in South Africa. is distorted out of all proportion. Of the real position we read and hear nothing in the United Nations. .X6, Our policy is not based on any concepts of superiority or inferiority but on the historical fact that different peoples differ in their loyalties, cultures, outlook and modes of life and that~fhay wish 30 !etain them. 93. Our detractors purposely seek to conceul the noodwill which exists between black and white in South Africa in their day-to-day contact. They never mention the numerous incidents which attest to this goodwill, They never mention the appeals made by my Government and my Prime Minister for harmonious human relations between the-black and white peoples of South Africa. The Prime Minister has frequently and forcibly condemned incidents between black and white which involve bad manners or humiliating treatment-and has appealed to all South Africans to respect the dignity of every person irrespec.tive of his r&e or colour. 87. Nor is our policy inflexible; it postulates a certain broad direction the end of which is sovereign independence for the peoples concerned. There is no question whatsoever of forcing together peoples who do not wistl.to be joined. Equally, the&s no question of keeping apart people who wish to come together. The real point at issue is, therefore, not one of objective but of method: the best practical way of en’iurillg tclf-dctel niiriation and hunran development. We believe. particularly in the light oievents elsewhere in the world, that our approach is better calculated to achieve the common objective than the alternative of forcing the various peoples of South Africa into 94. And for every unsavoury incident which rn;~y occur, there are many more which ncgilte the accusation that the whites of South Africa have ;I callous disregard for the dignity and feelings 01’ the blacks. Had anyone here heard the st)l>ntilncotls and resounding ovations which black athle& received from thousands of white bpectaturs at the last South African Games. or the cheers I’or blrrck South Africirn boxers fighting white oppor~ents from over.- seas, then that person would at once have knowI that allegations that the whites in South Ali ica h:ltcJ ihc blacks were just so much rubbish. ;III artificial entity which will lead to friction and $11 if’c 1101 dy between white and black but also bcrween hlaik ;~nd black. xx. I.et mt’ p111 it very clearly: the whites of South Africa ;IS well a\ the Ciovernment of South Africa TIC ;I\ much cuncerned about the implementation of human rights. human freedoms, human dignity and IO Y6, I wonder how many members of the Council. are aware of the many instances where whites have -risked their lives to save the lives of blacks and vice versa’? I could give members many examples. Instead, 1 merely ask: Do you really risk your life for somebody you despise or hate? 97. In 1968, 82 white South African farmers, in a voluntary human gesture, loaned 230 tractors to plough the lands of nine border villages in Lesotho shortly before the maize season. And South Africa has on several occasions come to the help of its neighbouring countries when famine has threatened them. Newspaper reports of a person in need of help 01 a victim of disaster often bring forth a flood of generous and sympathetic assistance-and it matters not at all whether the person is black or white, 98. ~White South African businessmen some years ago already introduced to ‘Swaziland and Lesotho visiting health services which operate by air from various centres of South Africa. The services were recently extended to the Transkei. Under these schemes white medical practitioners, specialistsurgeons and nurses voluntarily give up their week. ends and work extra-long hours treating and operating mon.the peoples of these countries. All travelling and subsistence a!Jowances were paid by the businessmen concerned. ~9. In our largest province, the Transvaal, it was decided to introduce an African language as a -compulsory subject in white primary schools, in the ~belief that this would contribute to better under- -standing and co-operation between white und black :in S+h +fr!ca. 100. These are only a very few isolated examples, but I think they show clcnrly that it is very 1’:~ Icmoved from the (tuth to say the whites of South Africa hate the blacks, that they are devoid of feelings of common humanity towards them, or that they are brutal-as is so often alleged here. The fact of the rnitttet’ is that we are all IltI~~~a~~ beings end. with the exception of cerlain elcmelns which one will find in ittly cottl~tl~y, white South AI.1 IC;I~~S have lht! ~;lmt’ feelings of hUl~lilllity tl~WilltlS il IhCl\ IK'rsol\ ;lC lht?y do I0 ilny other person. 101. Despite this, I know very HCII that I~;III~ Members of the Org;miz;~tioll will wy to us: “Well. that all sounds very fine. hut if you really feel as you 102, We do have discriminatory practices and we do huve discriminatory laws. And it is precisely because of this that the greatest misunderstandings occur and our motives are most misrepresented. 103, But that discrimination must not beequated with racialism, If we have that discrimination, it is not because the whites in South Africa have any tfe~~~~t*o/~ complex, We are not better than the black people, we are not cleverer than they are. What we can achieve, so can they, Those laws and practices are part of the historical evolution of our country-they were introduced to avoid.friction, and to promote and protect the interests and the development of every group-not only those-of the whites, 104. But 1 want to state here today very clearly and categorically: my Government does not condone discrimination purely on the grounds of race or colour. Discrimination based solely on the colour of a man’s skin cannot be defended. We shall do everything in our power to move away from discrimination based on race or colour. May 1 refer to just one example. the field of sport. l‘o use the words of my Minister of Sport a few days ago, he said: “If by trpcrrthitl in sport is meant discrimination on grounds of colour or race, then upcrr.rltc~id is disappearing and will disappear from sport in South Africa.” 105. I would mislead members if 1 implied that this would happen overnight. There are schools of thought, traditions and practices which cannot be changed overnight. But we are moving in that direction. We shall continue tc..do~so. 106. South Africa and the United Nations have for a long time been at odds on the question of South West Africa. The United Nations has sought to create the impression that South Africa has adopted an obdurate and intransigent attitude to this question. Let us look at the facts. 107. In 1951, South Africa proposed a new agreement in pl;lce of the Mandate, with the remaining principal allied u~d ussuciiited Powers. This was rejcctcd by the General Assembly. 108. Despite this, South Africa reconfirmed its ~4lliiigncss to iWiVc Ll1 all iInliCnble ilrl’;ingenicnt; and towards lhe end of 192, iI United Nations Comrni~tec cauld ~cpurt agleemelit in principle on live points.’ The C.‘umrnittee itself’ expressed its appreciation 01 South Al’rica‘s effort\. but regarded itself bound by ils 11’1‘1115 Of rrfcrerice 10 the CXkllt thilt II COUld II 110. Although a deadlock appeared to have been reached, South Africa remained willing to find a basis for discussions and received the Carpio-Martinez de Alva mission in 1962.> That history is still in our memories and I need not go into details. We all know how the United Nations reacted to the joint communique issued at the conclusion of their visit, which refuted charges, often heard in the United Nations in those days, concerning a threat to international peace, genocide and militarization in the Territory. .The communique was not to the liking of the majority of the Members Andy,-_therefore,+was received with shock-and disbelief. 115. The South African Government welcomes this development, which is fully in accord with its view that it is for the inhabitants of South West Africa themselves to decide their own future. Those who have left the Territory and wish to return in order to participate in elections or gain positions of leadership with a view to participating in the discussions will have the right to do so, provided they do so in peace. It does not matter to what group or party-they belong. They will have the right to propagate any constitutional changes they like, provided only that they do so within the requirements of law and order. 111. The Judgment of 1966 of the International Court of Justice,4 which was generally in South Africa’s favour, was simply relegated to the wastepaper basket. Instead, the majority in the Assembly, again ignoring the wealth of fact and legal argument presented to the Court, proceeded to take the law into its own hands. 116. It is on record that during the contacts with the Secretary-General the South African Government had anticipated that on the basis of developments at that time it might not take longer than IO years for the population of South West Africa to reach the stage where it would be ready to exercise its right to self-determination. In the light of the new developments in the Territory, the Government now believes that this~st>ge may be reached considerably sooner. I 117. The South African Government has ntways recognized that South West Africa has a distinct international status. We have no designs on it. The administration of ~the Territory has heen directed towards achieving the greatest good for the greatest humber of the Territory’s peoples. And they. are exceedingly dispel!ate as to their cultures and $;elopment. May I just give :I few figures to illustrate . ’ 112. More recently, there were’the contacts with the Secretary-General. They held promise. Morr was achieved in the 14 months of the contacts than had been achieved in all the years that-this iSsue has been on the Organization’s agenda. , ‘113. But it seemed that South Africa was reqpired by certain Members to do all the compromising, that South Africa was expected to abandon its position completely without the United Nations conceding anything. Some progress was made. That is apparent from the Secretary-General’s three reports on the contacts [S/IO738 qf’ 17 Ju/y 1972, S/l0832 oj’ I5 Notwth~r 1972 ~ttd S/IO921 qf‘ 30 April IY73]. But the attitude of :I majority was uncoml”ornising, and cvcu before the Security Council met in Cccembellast year calls were being n~atlc to termin;~te the . 118. ‘An invcstrnent corporation for blacks bus tlraw~ up a11 economic programme with the object ol creating 5,000 employment opportunities for lhc blacks of South West Africa during the period tY72- tY77, entailing ii capital inve~liilcnt of o~wi 22 million txnd. contacls. 114. Nevertheless, as :I result of those contacts, an Advisory 13oard of re,presentativcs of all groups in the Territory. III&X the chairmanship of my Prime 119. A total of I< 139 milli~~ii has so 1:,lr been spent 01i 177 domestic water supply schemes consti.ilclcJ ~llld OtWl’;ltcd by ttlC S(iLle ~tllUUgtlOUl ttlC ‘t‘ei~ritory. t 20. The n~111lbe1~ ot‘schools for ht;icks and Coiou~uls has increased l‘iuii~ 3 t 3 ill tYh(i to SY2 iii 1973: the 122. Total investment in respect of fixed and movable assets of the South African Railways amounted in 1973 to R 170 million, Total expenditure on roads -from 1953 to 1973 amounted to R 243 million. The value of telephone, telegraph and radio installations in the Territory amounted to R 35 million in lY73, The total cost of running the Territory now amounts to R 341 million per annum. In evaluating these figures. it should be remembered that the total pi-cscnt population .is only 850,000. ’ 123. It is not for South Africa nor for the United Nations but for the peoples of the Territory themselves to decide upon their political future. And all options are, open to them in this regard, 124, It is unfortunate that, for obviously political reasons, few, if any, of South Africa’s critics in the -United Nations have ever given it credit for its administration of South West Africa. It is also a matte1 of regret that all of South Africa’s efforts towards a solution of this hitherto intractable problem have been thwarted by those elements among the membership of the llnited Nations which are intent upon casting doubt on South Africa’s ho~cr .fit/r,s, Each new attempt on the part of the South African Government to reach an accommodation has been thwarted in turn. In the circumstances, charges that South Africa has adopted an intransigent attitude ~r$ qgi!c.unjust~ifiable. , 125. A development of considerable importance to southern Africa was the change of Government in Portugal on 25 April 1974 and the resultant change of Portuguese policy towards its African Territories, particularly Mozambique and Angola. This has been wrongly represented in some quarters as a setback and a threat to South Africa, partly on the basis of a theory that South Africa has hitherto relied for its own security upon a so-called “buffer zone” of States around.its borders-a zone which, they say, is now disintegrating. 120. Dcsitlcs thib, in number of irrcspo~isiblc allegations have been ~nadc about South African i~ilciitions and activitich-for exaniplc, that we were forncntinp unrest or suppoding factions in Mozilnlbiquc. 127. This lint 01 thought bc~rays a I;~ck of undc~~slmdinp of Sonic of lhc most Imic clcnicnlS 01 South Africa’s politics. In the first pl;~cc, South Africa has ncvcr identified ilsclf with, and hoI& no hricf lill.. cdoni;llibm in ;llly SllillW 01’ f0lTll. lniiceil. :I\ ;~l~-oadv in~lic;l(ed. SOII~II Afric:lnS of an c;lrlicr 128. We are surrounded by black Governments, and we are ourselves in the process of creating more, by leading our black Territories to- -independence, As my Prime Minister has said: “We are not interested in th, personel of the Government of Mozambique. All we are interested in is that, for their sake and ours, !hey form .a stable government,” And expressing concern about the incidence of unrest in theformerPortuguese Territories, he-said:-- ~. “Whoever takes over in Mozambique has a tough task ahead of him. It will require exceptional leadership. They have my sympathy and 1 wish them w&” 129. The Prime Minister also made it clear that South Africa was prepared to help financially and in other ways in the development of Mozambique, just as we are prepared to assist other African countries to the best of our ability. South Africa and the people of Mozambique have co-operated to the advantage of both, in the use of the port of Lourenco Marques and of the railway line linking it to South Africa since the last century. Over the years, thousands of Mozambicans have worked in or visited South Africa and, conversely, many thousands of South Africans regularly enjoy Mozambique’s outstanding holiday facilities. More recently, co-operation between us has permitted the realization %f the enormous Cabora Bassu power and irrigation project, which will open up a vast area of Mozambique for development. South Africa’s willingness to buy power to be generated at the dam has contributed to the scheme’s feasibility. A co-operative project of a similar order is the Cunene dam in Angola. 130. I should like to turn now to the subject of Rhodcsi;i. As far as Rhodesia is concelned, my Prim Minister only yesterday stated in the South 4fliCilll Scnale: “I have no Gut’ whatsoever to argue this c:tSe 011 behalf of Rhodesia 01’ allybody else. It must ;IISO IJL’ fully undcrstoocl Ihilt 1 Cl0 IlOt Willlt tO illtCifl?l’e in any way in the inter’ml affairs of I<horlesi;~. Nothing that I might say this ;~ficrnoon musk I~c 50 conStrued. I believe that. with goodwill. thix iii;~ltcr can IX ~ctllcd. ;ind I helicvc rhat an 134. Being an Ai’rican country, we are very much aware of the problems of our region and of our continent. We 'maw, as most African countries would known, that there is hard work ahead for all of “However, 1 must also say that I know it is being said in some quarters, on the one side, that South Africa is holding the Rhodesian Government hack, In fact, this accusation has been made, and will be made more and more, and I want to say that this is not so, as anybody in Rhodesia, or elsewhere, who knows anything about this position, will be able to tell. On the other hand. there are ZANU [Zkhrkwe Afiktrtt N~~timtd IJtdottl and ZAPU [Ziml~rrl~w~~ Ajhwtr People’s Utrh] leaders outside Rhodesia who are suspected-.-l am not putting it higher than that for the purposes of my nrgument-of exerting influence on black Rhodesians not to come to terms. .~ “I believe that now is the time for all who have influence to bring it to bear upon all parties concerned to find a durable, just and honourable solution so that internal and external relations can be normalized. Africa, and for that matter southern Africa, must not become a trouble-torn continent or a subcontinent. It must, if it I can be avoided I sincerely believe that it can be avoided-not become an area of conflict.” us. We are facing severe problems. We share many prohlems, many intcrests. Above all, the security of Africa certainly is a matter which demands the common concern of all of us, irrespective of whether we are white, black, Coloured or Arab, The South African Government has clearly indicated its willingness to C~IIC~II~C a non+ggression pact with any African Government. We have in many ways indicated that WC’ consider stabdity on our continent as a most important factor in achieving development Andy prosperity for all Africans, 33.5, ~Physical territorial security and stability are of course not the only aspects of the concept of security, but certainly without that there can be no progress at all. Security cannot end there, however. Peace and political stability must be translated into development aimed at increasing our standards of living. We in South Africa are deeply concerned about the many problems facing Africa in this regard. As my Prime Minister said yesterday: I:!1 . Calls have been made in the Council for the expulsion of South Africa from the Organization. In other organs of the Organization attempts have been made to prevent South Africa from exercising its rights and privileges of membership, something which is not only manifestly illegal but which sets a dangerous precedent. With specific reference to sou!)ez~ Africa the Prime Mini+S!atp_?: * 132. But more than that, what, may I ask, is to be gained by-courses of action of this nature? The short answer, Sir, is certainly “absolutely nothing”. It will get us nowhere. Who will benefit thereby? Perhaps one or two countries remote from the region ?vho pursue political grand designs on a global ot tcpional scale for purposes of their own; certainly not anyone ih South Africa itself and least of all the people in whose name and supposed interests this totally negative action is urged. Both black and white South Africans emphatically reject it. 133. As 1 have shown, the situation in Solllh.Africa i\ changing; moreover. iI is changing in a peaceful ,IIKI orderly way. And if the United Nations genuinely w;lnts to see these changes take place, the way to tlo iI i\ to encourage them by cominuIlic;llion. by div. ir\ion illld understanding. not by thrc;1(4 antI ;I “South Africa is prepared, to the extent to which this is.asked of if, and to which it, is its duty, to play its part in and contribute its share towarcts bringing and giving order, development and technical and monetary aid, as far as this is within our means, to countries in Africa and particularly to those countries which are our close neighbours.” . “It is, clear to all of us that for a decade or more southern Africa has unfortunately been characterizcd by violence and strife, Violence amI strife do riot necessarily bring development and progress I;! their wake. On the contrary. In most cases they have precisely the opposite effect. The best example, I think, which we can find in this regard is Mozambique. Therefore, I believe that southern Africa has come to the cross-roads. I think that southern Africa has to make a choice. 1 think thal that choice lies hctween peace on the one hand 01 an escalation of strife on the other. The consequences of an escalalion are easily foreseeable. The toll of major confrontation will be high. I would go SO far a> to hily that it will he (00 high fat <olllhcrn Africa to pay. If one adds to that the 136. I shall conclude. Are we or are we not conscious of the intractability and gigantic dimensions ol’ the problems with which our world is confronted ilnd which will have to be solved if mankind is to have (I future at all-not to speak even of a future free, or relatively free, from poverty, disease, famitle and despair? - 137. Can we afford the time to dissipate our energies in the pursuit of controversial political objectives when the problems of the world are so pressing as to threaten untold misery in the remaining decades of this century? And, may I ask sincerely and seriously, if my country ls expelled ~from the Organization, what exactly will have been achieved? Will the Organisation then be one step nearer a solution of the world’s problems? No. I say it will not. It will merely have made it more difficult for :I country equipped and prepared to play a positive role inths developtnent of-$outhern Africa to do so, 138. South Africa can certainly be expelled from the Orgunization, hut not from the planet, Those who ;itIvocate this course serve the interests of neither tbeblacks nor-Lhe_whites-af_Salrth-Africa. _--- -~ 139. In the light of the realities of the world today and of the substantial eroaress we have made In South Africa in ‘the “field bf -human upliftment, and in’ the light of the obiectives of my Government’s policie‘a, the record oi’ South Africa can be measured hcmoural~ly iy;;linst the ideals set out in the ‘Charter. We hilVe IIOI violated them. We have not waged \\‘ilI’ ;rgainst black Africa or against anyone. We were 1.11 ~;K:I the tirst African nationalists. Black Africans ti& not conduct it freedom struggle against my Government Iseiny ;w African country, we under. :,I;IIK~ African aspirations. We have stolen Innd ~rorn nobody We have conquered no people, We threaten no one. We have ebsolutely no designs of ~~ggr:rrlriize~r~clII. 142. The PRESIDENT (irtlelpr’e/ct/ic,/r./i’cl/,l i;r~cwlr~. The next speaker is the representative of Cuba. I invite him to take a seat at the Council table ar_ld tc! -make a statement. 143, Mr, ALARCON (Cuba) (k/c~~/~~a/trliorl ./iw~r Spmish): First of all I should like to thank YOU, Mr. President, and through you the members of thr Council for having given us this opportunity to participate in the discussions being held on the important question of the relationship between the United Nations and South Africa. I should like aIs0 to express the profound satisfaction of my delegation at attending the Council under your presidency. because between our peoples there are. and thero have been traditionally deep bonds of friendship and solidarity, which attained their most complete expression recently with the decision of the two Governments to establish fully diplomatic relations. 144. Cuba comes to the Council as ;I socinliwt. non-aligned country which attaches great importance to the development and strengthening of internatiomrl solidarity, and to support for the struggle fol emancipation of the people* of the third world: hence we consider it to be our most elementary duty to associate ourselves completely with the claims of the African countries, and in particular with their demand for the expulsion of the South African r6gime from the UntedNations. - 145. owe also come here with our inherited convictions as a Caribbean country situated at wh;it was a cross-roads in history, where people from UII parts of the earth converged and mingled in the meltinkpot of centuries of fighting for freedom. thus forming a mixed race of which we are proud. and which leads us to abhor. any form of racial &crimination.or subordination. 146. The Council is meeting as d result 01. in initiative taken by the General Axhembly in iI% historic resolution of 30 September last. an inttiall\~l: which, as every one knows. wiis the elinlns of a kw: process of discussions and decisions of the GCncri~l Assembly, always adopted by the affirmalive vole 01 the immense majority of its nienihers. which I~~~~~ldi;~l~~~ the practices of the txci5t Government of South Africa, its repressive policy towards ~hc 4f1icarl peoples beyond its frontiers, iifld its illcgill ~lCCIl~%lli01’ of the internation: ‘ferri1ot.y of N:mubr;~. ‘1’112: repudiation took a more spec~l’~c Ii,! I~I MI Itw ~LIV four years. when IIll! Ci~llelal A~\~‘I1.11)1~ (IL’\ Idd, again by an overwhelming majority. 11) IC~CCI th ClVdC~~lids Of lhe SWth Afl’icilll iklc’gdI1~~Il P~OCCSS. itnd the Council must therefore discharge its responsibilities in a manner in line with the consideration that the international community has already given to the item we are discussing, 148. In our opinion, despite everything just snid by the Pretoria rcprescntative, South Africa has violated and continues to violate the Charter of the United Nations. That violation did not just start; it did not start when South Africa illegally seized Namibia; it did not start with its illegal behaviour in recent times: South Africa has been violating the Chartcl from the very moment it subscribed to that instrument. In fact, the South African @ime has always been beyond the pale of the United Nations; it should never have been part of the Organization. Above all, we must bear in mind Gat the Charter, in its very Preamble, refers~ -to the peoples of the United Nations and that all the Member States have in one way or another condemned the policy of (rptrrt/rc+l, which essentially is a policy under which the South African rigime claims that it can govern only on behalf of n minority, explicitly excluding the will and the right to-representation of- 83 per cent of the population. 152. ‘[‘he representative of South Africa stated that his Government was not concerned about the existence ,of il black Government in Mozambique. Obviously, however, it is concerned about the existence of a black Government in South Africa. And what is at stake is precisely that. The international community has categorically stated and reiterated year after yeal its opinion that South Africa must he African and that the United Nations must provide the means to garantee the right of the African population of that ~territory to self-determination and to he represented in the international community. not by those who are exploiting that population, denying its rights and excluding it, but by its legitimate representatives. 153. The rcprcsentative of South Africa teferred ~nlso to the situation in Rhodesia. He tried to convince us hy quoting a statement by Mr. Vorster that hi5 Government had no interest in intervening in the ;Iffnirs of that country, and he suggested that he wnh in favour of a search for u peaceful solution to the .Khodesian problem. There is no need to repeat that -the Pretoria rCgime is the only one which officially and focltially advocates the violation of the sanctions voted by the Council. Moreover, recently we have read in the United States press that the South African authorities have imposed censorship on all information relating to the repressive activities by Soltth African military units on Rhodesian territory. That means that what South Africa wants is not that it should not intervene in Rhodesia but that the United Nations should not intervene -in regard to South Africa’s’violations of the decisions taken on Rhodesia. Strictly speaking, what South Africa wants is that the United Nntions SIIOIIIJ pivc it a free hand to continue 149. It seems to us obvious that it was. not th*: intention of the drafters of the Charter and those who approved it to refer to us the peoples of the United Nations. with the exception of the people of South Africa. Rather, they had in mind that among all the peoples that would sign that ipportant document there was one represented by the South African State in respect of~which it was understood that it must exist, from the moment that State signed the Charter, as an African South Africa-that ‘is, as Azilnia-in conformity with the purposes and principles of that Charter. Any other interpretation would make us accomplices of rrpcrrtltrid and of the notion that when the Charter was adopted in San Francisco me of the peop!es of the United Nations was being excluded from the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. I50. Sotlth Africn continues to ciolntc lhc Chat&. ;Itlll, moi0)vcr. lo jcoperdi/.e illtc:l’ll~ltio~lill pcacc 2nd \cct11 it! tlv it\ L‘onstnnt. decades-old dt.?l‘iiltlCC! 01 the &&tons of this Orpnnizntion and the Intcrnation:ll ;ilid cvcll expand ith rcprc!,hivc policy against lhc c\t’ricntl people, including WCII thohc living hcyond it4 frcinticrs. Rut obviously the duty oi‘ the SCCIII it)’ Council is prcci.~t~ly Ihis: to tilkc ;lppl0pl’iillC (To:I~I ot Just& with regnrd to Namibia. Specifically, II violatcr the tleclGons of this very Security ~.~UUIICI~ r‘\t;lhli\lllii~! lllillltl:ltol’y satictioiis against ttw lllCiI\tII’L!\ to Ctlf’0KX the CCbSilliW Of tl! ’ ~y~tcriialic violation of its dcciGon.4 uid lhc rccolillllr:ncl;ilic,lls 01‘ the (~IICI-;I~ Asscmhly. Khdcwv ~et~in~c. 155, In this connexlon, we emphetlcally wish to affirm thut, precisely In order ‘for that prlncipje to -be implemented In regard to South Africa, it is -necessary to exclude from the Organization the minority group whose very presence in the United Nations implies the exclusion of 83 per cent of the population of that country, Precisely in order to ensure the universality of this Organlzt\tion.in regard ~to South Africn, the only solution whiuh seems to us to be logicul and acceptrtble would be the expulsion _of the r8gime that denies the population of the ~terrltory Its right to express itself freely and an invitation for its place to be taken by the legitimate representatives of the mqjority of the African ,popu!tition, 156. It might perhaps be alleged--ilnd -the repre. -7sentative of South Africa himself has suggested -it-that expulsion of that regime from the United Nations would affect the role thut the Organization should play in order to secure, through conciliation and negotiation, peaceful solutions to international disputes. We wish to affirm, however, that if one -thing has been proved by the lengthy debate we have had on South Africa. which is as old as our Orgenization itself, it h& been the example of patience, maturity and desire for peace which the African States have shown. until when, we wonder, should we have to continue the process of reiterating -resolutions, reaffirming principles and making appeals to a regime which constantly, here in this Chamber and outside it, proclaims its refusal to accept the unanimous view of the international community? How many resolutions of the Council, the General Assembly and other bodies would be necessary to persuade those who are not convinced that South Africa is nat going to alter its attitude graciously? ...~- --- ~-- 157, -On the contrary, for the Organization to be able to exercise an effective rolbin the Quest for peaceful solutions, it must, above all, strengthen its moral authority, it must a,‘firm its principles, it must defend them firmly; it must clearly indicate that it is not prepared Ir; remain impassive towards a Member which persistently and openly, ever since it sign4 the Charter, has ‘gnoi ed it and violated it and iiit0lds lo continue to do so. 158. At this time, when the threat of fllscism and of the imposition of reactio\lnry and repressive rCgimcs is taking dram;ilic &pe in mory parts of the world. eft‘cctivc measureb art required from the Organiz;\tion so ;IS at Icast IO make iI cle:u IO the 159, I should like to mnke u final comment in regard to something which has been present in this debate since the time when the Council started -consideration of the situation in South Africa: thut is, the possibility that the African position would not lead to u hvourable response from the Council because one of several Powers thst have the ability to do so would exercise the veto, In this connexion, I should llke to point out that it is obvious that the Powers which huve that privilege also bear B special responsibility which should compel them to exercise thtrt power cautiously and with wisdom, A veto cannot be tl weapon to impose situations which are in violation of the Charter, It should not be an Instrument against the will of the immense mdority of the Member States. The position of the overwhelming mrljority has been manifested not in ;I circumstantial or casual manner but with patience and eqtmnimity throughout the years, The veto, if cnst in these circumstances, would be morally null. If we reach the point where the only ~thing that can keep South Africu in this Oryanization, despite its express repudiation by the immense majority of its Members, is the veto,, this would place the one that cast the veto in a position which might be described as that ol’ a party to the dispute. That, morally at the very let&, should compel that Power or Powers to refrain from ptlrticipating in such u Security Council decision. 160, The procedure of expulsion as provided for in the Charter confers on the General Assembly the ultimate decision by a special two-thirds mdority on the basis of the recommendation of the Security Council. In this case-and I come back to my initial words-when the Council meets it can already forecast quite clearly the feeling of the General Assembly, which was reiterated on 30 September la&as-it-has-been-doing for the pas> four years. 161. Let us imagine: that, in spite of this, the Council were not able to take the appropriate decision and recommend the expulsion of South Africa. WC: might enter into a stage where that regime would remain here in this Orp.anlpa&ll kind would thus be imposed by the will of ;nly the one or the ones that vetoed R m:t.iority decision of the Council. In that case,’ it would be obvious thal the main political and diplomatic support of the South African rCgime would from that time 011 be the Power or Powers which by its veto prevented the Council from taking ;I $ISI decision and would, as I ski earlier. place ttic~u iu the position of being parties LO the dispute between the Cinitcd N;~lions and South A+iicu. IX --- ---. -.-.- ----_-----.-~ -.--.._ -------.. _- _-_. -_-~..-_.- Litho in United Nations, New York 00400 74.82001- May 1983-2,200