S/PV.2040 Security Council

In accordance with decisions taken by the Council at its earlier meetings, I invite the representatives of Algeria, Botswana, Guinea, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia and Viet Nam to take the places reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber. At the invitation of the President, Mr. Bedjaoui (Algeria), Mr. Tlou (Botswana), Mr. Cumara (Guinea), Mr. Garba (Nigeria), Mr. Baroody (Suudi Arabia), Mr. Kamara (Senegal), Mr. Kodjovi (Togo), Mr. Mcstiri (Tunisia) and Mr. Dinh Ba Thi, (Met Nam) took the places reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber.

I should like to inform members of the Council that I have received letters from the reprcsentatives of Guyana, Lesotho, the Niger and the United Republic of Cameroon in which they have requested that they should be invited to participate in the discussion of the question on the agenda. In accordance with the usual practice. I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite those representatives to participate in the discussion without the right to vote, in conformity with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the provisional rules of procedure. 3. In view of the limited number of places available at the Council table. I invite the representatives of Guyana, Lesotho, the Niger and the United Republic of Cameroon to take the places reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber on the usual understanding that they will be invited to take a place at the Council table when they wish to address the Council. At the invitation of the President, Mr, Jackson (Guyana), Mr. Molapo (Lesotho), Mr. Poisson (Niger) and Mr. Ovono (United Republic oj’ Cameroon) took the places reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber.

Members of the Council have before them the revised texts of the four draft resolutions sponsored by the delegations of Benin, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and Mauritius in documents S/12309/Rev.l, S/12310/Rev.l, S/12311/Rcv.l and S/12312/Rev.l. At a later stage in our proceedings, I shall call upon the representative of Mauritius to introduce these drafts.

At the request of Ambassador Mestiri of Tunisia and the representative of Sri Lanka, Ambassador Amcrasinghe, and because of the prcssurc of the international community, the Security Council is meeting once again as the supreme organ for the maintetiancc of international peace and security in order to adopt measures following the resurgence of the violence upon which the racist Pretoria r@gime has embarked with unprecedented virulence against the native population of southern Africa. The information media which appealed for conciliation or demanded justice have, in a surprise move, been closed and their publishers threatened or gaoled. Faced with such outrages, even the traditional friends of South Africa have been forced to think seriously about the gravity of the problem. There is every indication that they will no longer remain unmoved witnesses of the African tragedy. Some have recalled their ambassadors for consultation in a pathetic gesture of repudiation of the out rages of unleashed racism. 6. It is a most interesting coincidence that, under the guidance of a representative of India, we are once more going to consider, at one of its critical stages, the question of South Africa. It was the immigrants from India who, under the leadership of the venerable Mahatma Gandhi, raised for the first time the flag of rebellion against the 7. Men and women throughout the world were disturbed and justly indignant at this new outbreak of aggression against human rights and fundamental freedoms on the part of the arrogant racists. The matter has become so grave that there is no longer room for palliatives or partial solutions. The Council has only one course before it, which is none other than to adopt energetic measures that will put an end once and for all to the killings and torture that have become institutionalized under the apart/& Government headed by Vorster. 8. We have listened most carefully to the statements made before the Council by the representative of Tunisia on behalf of the Organisation of African Unity [203&h meeting], by Mr. Sibeko, representative of the Pan Africanist Congress [ibid./, and by other outstanding sons of Africa. They have all 1nade a dramatic appeal that cannot be left without an adequate response by the Council. From what they have said, the conviction clearly emerges that any hesitation or abstention would only serve to encourage the fanatics among the white minority of South Africa to strengthen their repressive measures and further jeopardize peace not only in Africa but throughout the world. As we see it, the time for making amends is past. Now we must apply just measures to heal the open wounds of the African people that are the result of 1nore than 300 years of foreign and colonial domination. 9. For years, the Security Council has been meeting to find formulas that would per1nit us to arrive at a solution of the South African problem. Resolutions have been adopted which exppress energetic condemnation of the racist regime and support of the victims of violence and oppression. Those resolutions demand that an end must be put to the crimes being committed daily against the native population both in South Africa and in the usurped Territory of Namibia. Those resolutions have also expressed the most energetic repudiation of the policy of bantustanization which, as is known, is no 1nore than a subterfuge, a trick, a vain attempt of the masters of apartheid to emasculate the rebellion of the African people. 10. As will be seen, the Government of the white minority in South Africa has turned a deaf ear to United Nations demands. It has not merely disregarded the organisation’s appeal to return to common sense, it has even mocked that appeal. Instead, its tyranny has become more iron-willed, more abusive and 1nore bloody. Students. newspaper reporters. f&mers. children. men and women have been victims of this racial madness which cries out to be halted by whatever means. 11. It has rightly often been said that the South African regime only exists because of the assistance it receives from other Powers, particularly in the economic field. That is why 1 venture to make a pressing appeal to Governments which maintain close relations with South Africa-some of 12. We do not wish to dwell on a lengthy enumeration of the crimes committed by the apartheid system; they are all so well known that to repeat them would not serve any purpose. I repeat that we are certain that the time for speeches and lengthy expositions on this distressing subject is running out; in other words, the time for decisions has come, and the delegation of Panama is able to support any proposal for arriving at those decisions and particularly for implementing thetn faithfully. 13. I conclude this brief statement by categorically stating that the Government and people of Panama, in a gesture of brotherhood, support the 20 million victims of apartheid and encourage them to continue the struggle in the certainty that victory is not far Off.

The next speaker is the representative of Guinea. 1 invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement. 1.5. Mr. CAMARA (Guinea) (interpretation fkom French): My statement this afternoon on southern Africa will be brief because almost everything has already been said, and said repeatedly, on this burning and topical question. 16. This month of October, which coincides with the anniversary of the birth of the venerable Mahatma Gandhi, is marked also by the accession to the presidency of the Security Council of the representative of India, a friendly country which. itnmcdiately upon its admission to membership in the United Nations, saw to it that the question of apartheid was placed on the agenda of the General Assctnbly. While addressing to you, Sir, our congratulations on this happy distinction, we should also like to express our satisfaction at the Friendly and fraternal relations existing between your great country and the Republic of Guinea. 17. The past year has marked a decisive stage in the history of South Africa, where, since the Soweto massacre on 16 June, resistance on the part of the people has spread throughout the country, 18. Although it is at bay and incapable of ordering its affairs or of maintaining peace and security, the South African rCgime has never ceased to commit the most barbarous acts of aggression against the neighbouring African countries while mercilessly crushing the black populations which have been reduced to the wretched status of slaves who can be exploited at will. But history teaches us that a man who exploits another, a man who oppresses his fellow, can never be a free man and that the 1nore the oppressive tnachincry of the apartheid r6gime is strengthened, the tnore terrible the anger of the people will be. Thus, in peaceful demonstration after peaceful demonstration, the fraternal people of South Africa has drawn the attention of world opinion to the hateful crimes daily perpetrated against it. As at Sharpevitle, the peaceful 20. My country, the Republic of Guinea, has always denounced the South African rCgime and my delegation has never ceased to advocate immediate energetic action by the Council, for Vorster is daily demonstrating that he is not prepared to heed his Western allies, and far less the United Nations. 71. Confroiited with this arrogance of the Pretoria GOVernmcnt, we approve the following measures: an arms embargo, an oil embargo, the breaking off OF all forms of co-operation with that hateful rCgime. 12. My delegation unconditionally supports the proposals contained in the draft resolutions submitted to the Council by Benin, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and Mauritius. We regard these measures as a minimum to be given to the martyred populations of southern Africa, where the black man is reduced to the status of a beast of burden in his own country by cynical usurpers and is deprived of all rights. 23. The countries opposed to armed struggle now see that option vindicated, for it is the only way of avenging the victims of apartheid and restoring the black man of South Africa Lo the freedom and dignity wrongfully confiscated by the assassins of Pretoria. 24. Thus, while vigorously condemning the racist rCgimc of South Africa for the massive repression and for the acts of violence perpetrated against the African populations of the region, my delegation reiterates its entire support for the provisions in draft resolutions S/l 2309, S/12310, S/ 123 11 and S/l 23 12 of 79 March 1977, which were issued today in a revised version, My Government hopes that the members of the Council will heed the appeal of the world community, so that freedom, equality and juslicc may at last triumph in South Africa and that the true sons of that country may regain their inalienable rights. 25. The responsibility for safeguarding world peace and security, which is the very reason for existence of the Security Council, must be shouldered with courage and determination. No consideration, of an economy or any other nature, must stand in the way of the adoption and strict implementation of measures to safeguard world peace. 27. The next speaker is the representative of Guyana. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement,

Mr. President, let me first of all express the thanks and gratitude of my delegation to the members of the Council for allowing me to participate in this debate on the situation in South Africa. I wish also to say how pleased my delegation is to see you, presiding over these debates. For, among other things, it was your country, India, which, as far back as 1946, first raised in the United Nations the reprehensible character of the conduct of South Africa. We are confident that in your superintendence of the work of the Council during the month of October, the exercise of your responsibilities will be informed by the attributes of geniality, of wisdom, of tact and of diplomatic skill with which you are SO generously blessed. We are confident as well that your own commitment to pursue what is right and what is just will make its mark on the decisions which the Council will adopt at the conclusion of these debates. 29. As everyone knOWs, the United Nations has been concerned with the phenomenon of apartheid for a generation. During that period, the archives of the Organization have accumulated years of documents and resolutions which chronicle the activities of the apar?heid rigime at Pretoria and which contain the conclusions and decisions of the Organization. Those documents, those resolutions, those decisions, reflect the abhorrence of peoples the world over of apartheid Many have been the entreaties and exhortations to the South African rBgime to mend its ways. Many have been the condemnations of its actions. Suffice it to say that the reaction of the racists at Pretoria has been arrogant an? brutish. The response has always been the ruthless repression of the voices within South Africa raised against oppression and clamouring for freedom. and the contumacious defiance of the Organization by the apurtheid rCgime. 30. Three years ago, in October 1974, the Council conducted a thoroughgoing debate on the future relationships of South Africa with the United Nations. The Council was unable to take a decision as three vetoes were cast: by France, by the United Kingdom and by the United States. I do not recall those debates now in order to reactivate the proposal then made for the expulsion of South Africa. I recall them really in an effort to recapture the mood prevailing at that time and to review some positions then heid concerning the dynamics for change in racist South Africa. For I believe that such an analysis, enriched by a perceptive appreciation of subsequent developments and the interplay of forces which those developments encompass, can usefully inform the Council as to the option for action which it can and should exercise under the provisions of the Charter. 31. Speaking in the Council on 24 October 1974/1800/h meeting], the representative of the racist minority clique, 31. Within the Council at that titnc there were members who viewed those effusions with sotnc degree of optimism. The then representative of France, now Minister for 1:oreigti Affairs, said /180&h rllceting/. ‘I . . our world is developing and the situation of Africa is developing. It has changed since last year in the imntediatc vicinity of southern Africa. There are new factors appearing and those wlto are stubbornly opposed to change must take them into account. Perhaps they are doing so already, and perhaps they tnay be led to do so through our unanimous impatience.” 33. Ambassador Ivor Richard of the United Kingdom also spoke on this aspect of the question. In giving a reason fat his C;overttment’s stand against the expulsion of South Africa, he said /ibid./: “It would tnake it difficult, if not impossible, for the Organiiiation to explore and exploit the recent statements made both here and in South Africa which hold OLI t some hope of change in the right direction ” Later in his statctncnt, Ambassador Richard had this -to say: “In the statement we heard from the representative 01 South Africa on 24 October, we were told or progress towards ending racial discritnina~ion. WC were give11 to expect more progress.” Atnbassador Richard then spoke of Lhe Ggime’s attitude to two other questions which pedli3pS concern us only tangentially at this stage. Iti referring to hints given concerning those questions, Ambassador Richard said: “‘Let those promises be redeemed; let the hopes then aroused be Fulfilled: let South Africa fit its actions to its words. The time is very late: but in our view, it is not too late.” Finally, in conveying the reluctance with wliich his Govertrtnent decided to oppose the proposal for expulsion. Ambassador Richard said: “In so doing we are giving South Africa a further opportunity of putting its afi‘airs in order. I hope it will recognize the weight of international opinion that is opposed to its policies, I hope it will heed the voices we have all heard in this chatnber. I trust it will act accordingly .” 34. On his part, Ambassador Scali, speaking on behalf of the United States, observed/ibid./: “We are heartened, indeed, by some encouraging words in this chamber voiced by the representative of South Later in his speech, iti arguing against exi~ulsiot~ as a desirable means of securing the compliance of the I’returia rdgitne with United Nations resolutions. Ambassador S~tli said: “My Government believes that this kind of all-or-tiothing approach would be a major strategic mistake, cspecinlly at a time when we at-e hearing what may be new voices of conciliation out of South Africa. These new voices shc~~tkl be tested.” 3.5. Thus, three years ago, expectations were harboured by some members of the international community, including some permanent members of the Council, that the tnjoritY expression of abhorrence of aprtkicl, that the pressure of condemnation by the United Nations, that a system of voluntary arms embargo, and that the assertions ol‘ good intentions by spokesmen on behalf of the Vorster regime would induce a change in the policies of the Pretoria rkgime. 36. More recently, in March of this year, the Security Council debated the situation in South Africa. 7’110s~ debates were, it is true. inconclusive. Ycl there was a residual mood of optimism in sortie quarters tllilt scltllc changes would be cvidcnt. There should not there cannot---be tnany today who stilt feel such a mood. The rcccttt severe repressive actions of the Vorster rEgime should shatter the confidence of even the most ardent faithful. 37. Viewed objectively, the immediate reasons which cause us to be here today are but a part of ;t continuum. For, in 19h0, Sharpcvitte etched itself cntdcly in the pqges of history as an episode of the inhumane limits of apartheid; and Soweto, in 1976, dernonstratcd the fortitude and determination of the young to breach and dismantle the fortifications ofapartheid. 3X. The recent actions of the minority rdgime at Pretoria aimed at frustrating the forces for freedom in South Africa therefore represent only the latest manifestation of aportheid and the extent to which that rCgime is prepared to go to sustain that system. For the white tribe in South Africa. which has ctnbraced that belief system, has equipped itself with mechanisms designed to perpetuate the structure of apnrtheid. Whatever else apartheid is, it is not, as its followers proclaim, separate development. It is, itt reaiity, the advance and development of the whites and the suppression of everyone else. It is a serious attempt at the institutionalization of white domination in South Africa. 39. Guyana believes that a period or three years, when taken in conjunction with the flow of events since, is more than sufficient time in which to test those “new voices” which some heard in October 1974. Nor does C;uyana believe that, although the time was very iate in Octobet 1974, it is still, in October 1977, “not too late”. Further. 40. New voices are indeed being heard within Azania. They are not, as my delegation sees it, however, the same voices as those identified by Ambassador Scali in October 1974. The voices we hear today arc those of the young black people of that unhappy land. Some, like Steve Biko, have been silenced for ever. But there are many more in continuous resonance passing the messages of freedom one to the other. Linked together. those voices illuminate the real path to freedom. In unison, those voices form the unshakeable guarantee for the recovery of the dignity of the oppressed masses in Azania. 41. As I said in the debate on Namibia in the General Assembly a week ago: ‘I . . racists never undergo self-induced change. History has attested to this verity no less within societies than in relations which extend beyond national boundaries. Those who practise racism have to be pressured inlo accommodating to change.“1 Change in South Africa will come about when, in support of the struggle by the oppressed people of Azania. unrelenting pressure is exerted on Pretoria in all fields: moral, political, military and economic. 42. Over the years, concerned citizens, non-governmental organisations, individual States Members of the United Nations and all those who form part of the pan-hfricanist movement have been active in this regard. Their persistent work has contributed significantly to the unfolding of the true dimensions of apartheid and their dedicated efforts have assisted in the creation of a widespread and appreciative public opinion fully committed to the eradication of the evil and abhorrent system that is apartheid. Above all, their basic humanistic concerns, rooted in moral conviction, have given such citizens, groups and States a finely focused perception of the remedies to be taken, remedies which are as ncccssary as they are appropriate. 43. The non-aligned movement, side by side with the Organization of African Unity, has been in the forefront in pointing the way to correct solutions to the tragedy which the racists in South Africa hove imposed on the oppressed people of that country and to the challenge which those racists have thrown down to the international community At the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Coordinating Bureau of Non-Aligned Countries at New Delhi, the capital of your own country, Mr. President, we reaffirmed our full support to the people of Azania and reiterated our oft-expressed conviction that the United Nations, and the Security Council in particular. should utilize all the means at its disposal to bring the South African racists to heel. 44. There have been other collective expressions of sup port. At the Summit meeting of the Commonwealth 45. Apartheid stands universally condemned; no one-- apart from the racists themselves--defends it, The critical question is what effective action the Security Council should take to hasten the dismantlement of the apparatus of apartheid, a result which is desired by the overwhelming majority of the people of South ‘Africa and the international community. Thus, the Council is today faced with a grave responsibility: it is to decide what action it can best take at this moment that would advance the cause of freedom in South Africa. 46. In the final analysis, it is the people of Azania who will wrest their freedom from the racists and who will ’ recover their dignity. The task is essentially theirs. The members of the international community, individually and collectively, must discharge their obligations to put pressure on the Pretoria rCgime and isolate it, and, in that regard, the Council must act decisively. It should no longer defer to the “whitemail” of South Africa; nor indeed is a commitment to be committed enough. 47. In a display of courage to decide and commitment to act, the Security Council excrciscd its authority in 1968 when it invoked the provisions of Chapter VII of the Charter in applying mandatory sanctions against Southern Rhodesia-Zimbabwe. Today the Council is faced with an even graver situation in South Africa. It should no longer equivocate; it should no longer hesitate at the door which leads to decisive action. Guyana calls for the application of mandatory sanctions against South Africa. 48. Many peoples with representatives at the United Nations are working resolutely for the early attainment of such an objective. People all over the world desire such action-not least among them are those of the black diaspora. 49. The questions of freedom and human dignity have been part of the international agenda for a long time. Guyana hopes that the decision the Council will take on the issue of South Africa will be informed by the example of dedicated individuals and the actions of mature statesmen who choose no other course than that which pursues justice and that which requires courage founded on conviction. SO. When the history of this period is written, the achievements of those people who have fought for and stood steadfastly by principles will be recorded no less accurately than those who have abandoned those principles on the altar of short-term needs.

The next speaker is the rcpresentative of Lesotho. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement. 51,. Mr. MOLAPO (Lesotho): Once again this august Council is discussing the malignant cancer of apartheid 53. It is perhaps fate that has destined YOU, Mr. President, a great son of India, to preside over this very important and historic meeting. It was your great leader, Mahatma Gandhi, who first led an organized opposition to the apartheld and racial discrimination of South Africa. It is India, your great country, which has been in the forefront of the fight for respect of basic human rights in South Africa; indeed, it was Indja which raised the question of u~artheid and racial discrimination at the United Nations. WC should like to extend to you oqr sincere’congratulations on seeing you preside over the current deliberations of the Council. We are confident that your background and your well-known diplomatic skills will enable you to guide these deliberations to a successful and effective conclusion. 54. We should like to thank you, Mr. President, and through you the other members of the Council for allowing my delegation to participate in this debate. 55. The military, political and emotional cross-currents now sweeping across South AFrica are an echo of the salient and shrill wailing of this era’s greatest human tragedy. The era 1 refer to is that of the United Nations. The wailing I refer to is that of 22 million South Africans, which has echoed inside and outside the walls of this most imposing institution during the past 20 years. The tragedy now glaring the Council in the eyes is that South Africa is seized with desperate irrationality. determined as it is to cause more misery, more bloodshed, more social and political instability than already exists. The echo is salient and shrill because the problems of racism and aparfheid have been brought to the United Nations with ever-increasing urgency and frequency for the past 30 years. 56. The Government of Lesotho wishes to remind every member of the Council that the United Nations was founded and built on the ruins of a war triggered by men subject to the same kind of illusions and irrationality as now characterize the leadership of the racist rCgime in South Africa. The irrationality and illusions of that minority lie in the belief that 22 million South Africans must be condemned to prison without trial, massacred and murdered in cold blood, denied their basic human rights and forcibly uprooted from their homes to live in desolate reserves called bantustans. 57. The actions of that frightened minority, buttressed as they are by a twisted religious, historical and economic ideology of sorts, are in many respects similar to those of the irrational clique that plunged the world into a war in SC). During the same period, South Africa went ahead with its primitive experiment of physically, morally and emotionally separating the peoples of South Africa into bantustans. During this period, when practical apartheid was forcefully applied with solemn and definite ruthlessness, South Africa has never breathed freely. Thousands of men and women have spent their lives in the nightmarish prisons of South Africa, fearful that like Steve Biko and others, the strong-armed Boss would batter them to death. WC in Lesotho, whose task and responsibility during this entire period have been to act as wakeful witnesses to this monstrous system, have become heirs of all that spiritual strength, human dignity and political morality which has been fostered by our resolve to fight against that monstrosity. 60. It is my Government’s view that the past 30 years of persuasion, encouragement and even cajoling on the part of the Organization must now be viewed in the current perspective of the developments in South Africa. The most basic condition for all political life in South Africa is that the African majority must now have their fundamental and inalienable rights of freedom of speech, religion, movement and assembly as all free men have in their own countries. 61. In the past 11 years, since Lesotho has been a Member of the Organization, it has been Lesotho’s constant wish to arouse and to sensitize the international community to the dangers posed by racism and apartheid. 62. The present clamp-down on black opposition elements in South Africa must be seen in the broader context of the grand scheme of the South African Government to stampede the Asian and Coloured populations in that country into the mainstream of the laager mentality of the South African National Party. The Pretoria regime has taken those drastic steps as a new platform on which Mr. Vorster plans to seek the mandate of the white electorate to carry out his design to revise the Constitution of South Africa so as to grant token political rights to the Asian and Coloured populations, thus undercutting their contribution to the resistance movement. 63. Even under the new constitutional arrangements, whites in South Africa will still wield the preponderant power, white blacks are relegated to impoverished homelands which will serve as reservoirs of cheap labour. The harsh measures taken by the South African rdgime are only a signal for worse things to come. Mr. Vorster is now seeking the mandate of his white electorate to challenge the 65. Recent provocative actions of South Africa--namely, the murdering of prisoners like Biko, the imprisonment of Qoboza and 50 other African leaders and the banning of black organizations and black newspapers--are goading the Security Council and the international community into taking some punitive action against the South African @ime. It is unfortunate that the world community has allowed the present racist minority leadership at Pretoria in its arrogance and intransigence to call down upon itself and the innocent people of South Africa this painful course of action. It is also unfortunate that, by those actions, South Africa is technically passing on the effects of whatever action the Council will recommend to independent African countries in the region, countries such as my own, Lesotho. 66. It is, however, important for the Council to be mindful of the fact that my Prime Minister, Mr. Leabua Jonathan, as long ago as 1972, warned that, unless a negotiated and peaceful solution of the problems of South African apartheid and racial discrimination was pursued with the urgency it deserved, the world would have to face a drastic and dangerous situation in which violence would be resorted to. We are all witness to the fact that it is the South African r&me, and nut the black oppressed masses of South Africa, which has intensified its resort to more concerted and brutal violence against South Africans. It is those masses which are being forced to take up arms in self-defence. Whenever a veto is cast by orle of the permanent members of the Security Council on the question of South Africa, the racist rbgime and its collaborators sing and make merry, because a veto to them is an approval and an endorsement of the upartheid racist policies of South Africa. 67. South Africa portrays itself as a beleaguered country up against a world of hostile nations all poised to strike at it at the first available opportunity. Recent happenings, however, reveal that quite the contrary is the case. What we see is a country determined to violate every single moral principle that guides and is held sacred by all civilized societies. No, the world is not out Lo get South Africa; it is South Africa which is saying “to hell with the rest of the world”. 68. The problem posed by aparfhcitl may be an academic one to some members of the Council, but to us in Lesotho it is a very real one indeed. Each time there is a massacre in South Africa, be it in Carletonville, Sharpeville or Soweto, we in Lesotho must update our statistics on widows and orphan children: we must tlig a few more graves. Because of our geographic location, hardly any economic or political decision can be made in South Africa which does not directly or indirectly affect us. Needless to add, any joint 70. The first of these myths comes from the South African Government itself. According to this myth, South Africa is portrayed as the last bastion of Western democracy and the “free world’s” last stand against the encroachment of “communism” on the continent of Africa. Under normal circumstances, we would have simply chosen to ignore and dismiss South Africa’s proselytizing attempts as the idle musings of sick minds; but unfortunately the South African Government does stem to have succeeded, albeit partialIy, in making the Western world bclicve that there is a “communist” scare in that continent. 71. To those whose credulity South Africa has taken advantage of we need only point out who these supposed Communists are. They include those children of 8 and 9 that were so brutally gunned down in Soweto; they even include such organizations as The Christian Institute of Southern Africa. Need we remind you that the South African Government would even have us believe that communism enjoys the support of a few United States congressmen who are bent on the destruction of that country? 72. The second myth can be attributed to apartheid’s apologists who in one breath condemn the system, yet in another say corrective actions would be counterproductive because the victims of apartheid would be the hardest hit. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The people of South Africa live with suffering every day of their Iives and would certainly withstand a little more in order to rid themselves, once and for all, of the evil of apartheid. These apologists hate npartheid but love the profits which accrue to them as a result of the system. Yes, they are very much like people who love to eat meat but cannot stomach the view of the slaughter. 73. It is my delegation’s hope that the Council, in formulating its final decision on this issue, will not allow itself to be misguided by these stunts. 74. Mr, RAMPHUL [Mauritius): Before I go into the four draft resolutions, I should like, on behalf of my African colleagues on the Security Council, to request formally that the text of the Lagos Declaration for Action against Apartheid should be circulated as an official document of the Council, I shall await your decision, Mr. President, before I proceed.

The representative of Mauritius has proposed that the text of the Lagos Declaration for Action against Apartheid should be circulated as a document of the Security Council. As there is no objection, we decide accordingly (see S/l 24261.

I am grateful to members of the Council for having acceded to my request. 78. At this stage, I only wish to remind members that the Council remains seized of the four draft resolutions which were submitted jointly by Mauritius and my African colleagues on the Council, namely, Benin and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, on 29 March 1977 and which are contained in documents S/ 12309 to S/l 2312. We all know in what circumstances those four drafts were not put to a vote at that time, Today, some seven months later. we, the African members of the Council, have updated the four drafts. I shall now proceed to draw the attention of members of the Council to the revised texts of those drafts, which have been circulated as documents S/l2309/Rev.l to S/12312/Kev.l. 79. 1 shall first refer members to document S/l 23091 Rev.1. We have added some words to the third prcarnbular paragraph. The new paragraph reads as follows: “Gravely concenzed over reports of torture of political prisoners and the deaths of a number of detainees,“--and this is where we have added some words-“as well as the mounting wave of repression against individuals, organizations and the news media since 19 October 1977”. Regarding operative paragraph 3, we have added a new subparagraph (I, which reads as follows: “Abrogate the bans on organisations and the news media opposed to apartheid”. In the last operative paragraph, paragraph 6, the date has been changed and now reads “I 7 February 1978”. 80. As regards draft resolution S/l 23 1 O/Rev.l, there is a minor updating here in operative paragraph 4, where the new date is “17 February 1978”. 81. I now refer to document S/1731 l/Rev.l. We have added two preambular paragraphs. ai’ter the fourth paragraph. The first new paragraph reads as follows: “Taking note of the Lagos Declaration for Action against apartheid”. The second new preambular paragraph immediately follows the one I have just read. I reads: “~LZVdJ~ cmccrned that South Africa is at the threshold of producing nuclear weapons”. We have added a new operative paragraph 2. lt reads as follows: “CM~ uporz all States to take measures to revoke contractual arrangements with South Africa and all existing licences granted to South Africa relating to the 82. I now refer to document S/l231 ?/Rev.l. Operative paragraph 1 a is somewhat changed; we have added the words “or any export and import credits”. Thus. the whole subparagraph reads as follows: “To refrain from any investments in, loans 10, or any export and import credits to the South African racist regime or companics registered in South Africa”. There is a change of date in operative paragraph 3 and it now reads “1 April 1978”. There is also a change of date in paragraph 4 which now refers to “1 May 1978”. X3. Those are all the changes and updating WC have carried out. 84. It is the wish of the African members of the Council that these four draft resolutions should be put to a vote iIS early as possible, preferably tomorrow morning.

There are no more speakers. I have heard what the representative of Mauritius has said, that his preference is for a vote tomorrow morning. My preference is otherwise because I do not think all .the members of the Council have yet had an opportunity to speak. There arc also some non-members of the Council who have expressed their desire to speak. As members are aware, the Council, us previously agreed, will take up the question of the exercise by the Palestinian people of its inalienable rights tomorrow afternoon. So my own inclination would be not to have a meeting tomorrow morning in order that members may have an opportunity to engage in informal consultations on the draft resolutions now submitted and any other proposals they may have. 86. If‘ this is generally acceptable we shall not meet tomorrow morning, but we shall meet tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. as previously agreed and the next meeting of the Council to continue consideration ol‘the question of South Africa will be un Friday at 10.30 a.m. 87. Mr. I<AMPMUL (Mauritius): Mr. President. tlrc African members of the Council will, I am sure, want to co-operate with you but, since you mentioned that some members of the Council had not yet spoken and that there might be consultations, are you in a position to inform us whether you have received any indication whether other members of the Council will be speaking or whether they will bc consulting with African members‘?

My information is that there will be some speakers on Friday morning; three have already inscribed their names and I expect more. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PIJBLICATIONS Unitv I Nations publications may be obtained from hookstores and distributors throughout the worltl. Consult your bookstow or write lo: IJnited Nations. Sales Section. New York or Genevn. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS IJNIES Les publications des Nations Units sent en vente dam les librairies et Ic-s agenccs d6positaires du montlc entier. Informs-vous auprh de votre libraire 011 ;~drcss~~-~~~~ P : Nations Unies. Section rles ventes. New York ou GenPve. COMO CONSEGUIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las pubiicnciones de Ins Naciones Unidns esl;in en vrntn en librerias y casas distribuidarns en todas partcs de1 mundo. Consulte a su lihrero o dirijase a: Narionrs Unidas. SccciBn de Vcnlas. Nuevn York o Ginebra. Litho in United Nations, New York Price: $U.S. 1.00 (or equivalent in other currencies) 77-70001-October 1978--2,200