In adopting this report, it was not our intention to swell the archives of the United Nations, which already contain considerable documentation on the question of South Africa. We have tried to present a detailed report so that the Governments of the Member States and the whole world may know of the gravity of the situation in South Africa and realize the imperative need for urgent action to put an end to the fire raging in that country. Let no one say tomorrow that he did not know the facts, that he was not warned of the imminence of a violent conflict whose consequences will be irreparable.
The United Nations has been discussing the question of apartheid for 18 years and we are no nearer a solution today then we were in 1946.
The South African regime was an anachronism in the United Nations in 1946, an Organization born out of the world's bitter experience in the war against Nazi racism. Today, it is not only an anachronism, but an outrage and a threat to the very existence of the United Nations.
We have said again and again - and we will not tire of repeating - that what we are facing here is not a simple problem of adjustment, by some Whites, to the new realities in Africa and the world. This adjustment may be difficult but we are prepared to deal with it with sympathy and understanding.
We have said in this report that we seek a peaceful settlement of the problem and that we would welcome steps by the South African regime to determine the country's destiny in consultation with the genuine representatives of all the people of the country as suggested by the Group of Experts. We have said in this report that "the United Nations seeks the security and prosperity of all the people of South Africa including the White people in a non-racial society."
This is not very new, for we have said it before, perhaps in different words. But I should like to say here that, as an African, I subscribe to this statement fully and without hesitation.
However, the regime in South Africa prefers to go on applying its fascist policy and, in so doing, not only does it oppress the non-Whites and even the Whites who stand up for racial equality, but it also endangers the security of the White population by kindling and fanning the flames of racial hatred. Even if the apartheid system had no other consequences than the danger in which it places the Whites, it is our duty to act to rescue them from the hands of the clique now governing the country.
We have now reached a critical point, for it is not only the future of South Africa but also the viability of the United Nations itself that is at stake. The United Nations cannot coexist with rampant racism in South Africa which casts its shadow far beyond that country's borders. We have passed resolutions. We have appealed to the South African regime, condemned its policies and called on it to change them. We can no longer afford to accumulate useless resolutions. As I said a few days ago, after the events of the past year recorded in this report - and particularly after the execution of Mr. Vuyisile Mini, Mr. Wilson Khayinga and Mr. Zinakile Mkaba - only those who insist on remaining blind can continue to deliberate whether simply another appeal or condemnation should be issued or other steps should be taken under Chapter VI of the Charter, or whether it is time to take action under Chapter VII.1
At this juncture, I wish to appeal to the Great Powers, namely, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and France, and to the other major trading partners of South Africa whom we have mentioned in our report, to think of the survival of the United Nations and their own future relations with the rest of the world. We believe that the problem of apartheid will be solved whatever the means and the consequences; and I should like to say to the abovementioned States: if you cooperate with us, you can help to solve it through the United Nations, by peaceful economic means and without bloodshed. If you do not cooperate with us, there will be no other way out but violence that cannot be controlled by the strength of the South African Whites or even by the Great Powers. This is the lesson of history and especially recent history.
And if we let this situation deteriorate until it is finally settled outside this Organization, it is highly probable that there will be no more flourishing trade, and no more handsome profits for anyone. So let us have an end of mere words. of useless advice and of empty sermons in these halls, but rather let us take stock of the action that has been taken, is being taken and should be taken. Let it not be said that South Africa has accomplices here in the United Nations who derive such great profits from apartheid that they will paralyze any action that should be taken.
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