Introduction
The International Seminar on Apartheid, Racial Discrimination and Colonialism in Southern Africa is convened by the Secretary-General in pursuance of a General Assembly decision which arose from a recommendation of the Special Committee on the Policies of Apartheid of the Government of the Republic of South Africa. It is, therefore, appropriate for me to recall the reasons why the Special Committee proposed such a Seminar.
The Special Committee has felt, for some time, that the racial and colonial problems in southern Africa are inextricably interlinked and that the explosive situation in the whole region was assuming more and more serious proportions because of the failure of the international community to take effective action toward the eradication of racism in South Africa. It is convinced that the South African problem which was entrusted to it for consideration, should itself be seen in the wider context of the whole of southern Africa and that the United Nations should attempt to deal with the crucial problems of this region as a whole rather than piecemeal.
The conviction of the Special Committee was strengthened by many factors: first, the development and consolidation of the "unholy alliance" of racist-colonialist forces in southern Africa; second, the South African support for the rebellion of the Ian Smith clique in Southern Rhodesia; third, the accession of Botswana and Lesotho to independence under difficult circumstances making their governments subject to intense pressures from South Africa; fourth, the defiance of the United Nations by the South African regime throughout the region and its frantic efforts to extend its influence beyond its borders in order to break the great tide of liberation in the African continent, at least to counter it and retard it.
In July 1966, the Special Committee devoted special meetings to the consideration of the effects of the apartheid policies of the South African regime on adjacent territories in southern Africa.
The United Nations Human Rights Seminar on Apartheid, held in Brasilia in August-September 1966 on the recommendation of the Special Committee, also emphasized the need to consider the situation in southern Africa as a whole. The participants in the Seminar pointed out that apartheid had become expansionist and infiltrated beyond the territorial limits of South Africa, encouraged by the failure of the world community to put an end to apartheid in the land in which it had been conceived. They felt that a conference should soon be convened to consider the problems of southern Africa in their totality.
The Special Committee on Apartheid took note of the report and recommendations of the Brasilia Seminar in its own report of 21 October 1966 to the General Assembly and the Security Council2 and emphasized "the importance of co-ordination in all United Nations efforts dealing with the problems of racial discrimination and colonialism in southern Africa."
It gave careful consideration to the proposal for an international conference on southern Africa and made the following recommendation:
"The Special Committee feels that an international conference or seminar on the problems of apartheid, racial discrimination and colonialism in southern Africa would be useful in promoting effective United Nations action and recommends that the Secretary-General be requested to organize such a conference or seminar, as soon as possible, in consultation with the two Special Committees of the General Assembly. It further recommends that the report of the proposed conference or seminar should be submitted to the General Assembly for consideration at the twenty-second session."
In deciding to formulate such a proposal, the Special Committee had in mind the need for the holding of such a conference or seminar with the least delay, in view of the rapid aggravation of' the situation in southern Africa and the importance of taking urgent and effective international action on this matter in order to safeguard the authority and prestige of the United Nations.
The recommendation of the Special Committee was considered by the General Assembly and led to the provision in operative paragraph 6 (a) of resolution 2202 A (XXI) of 16 December 1966, requesting the Secretary-General:
"To organize as soon as possible, in consultation with the Special Committee on the Policies of Apartheid of the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, an international conference or seminar on the problems of apartheid, racial discrimination and colonialism in southern Africa, and to transmit the report of that conference or seminar to the General Assembly at its twenty-second session."
The two committees concerned felt that a Seminar, with the participation of a representative group of Governments, the African liberation movements and other non-governmental organizations concerned, would be most appropriate to ensure a thorough and comprehensive discussion of the problems and the formulation of' concrete recommendations for action by the international community.
The generous offer of the Government of the Republic of Zambia to act as the host country for the Seminar has enabled it to be organized in this newlyindependent state, geographically so close to the subject of this Seminar and so devoted to the liberation of the peoples of this unliberated part of the African continent.
The Situation in Southern Africa
I need hardly elaborate on the situation in southern Africa, as it is described in grim detail in numerous documents of the United Nations and will be dealt with in several papers of the Seminar. I will merely draw attention to a few main aspects of this situation.
First, the situation in southern Africa today is not only intolerable for the oppressed peoples of that area, but constitutes a grave threat to international peace and security. There are already raging deadly wars in Mozambique and Angola where the forces of liberation are confronting colonial armies whose strength and whose equipment, obtained from NATO, are an indication of their intention to crush all resistance. Numerous incidents in Southern Rhodesia, South West Africa and South Africa point to the determination of the peoples of these countries to secure their liberation at all cost. If these incidents have not yet developed into large-scale combat, and the massive military forces of the racist regimes seem to be able to maintain control, that should not lead to miscalculations. The rulers of South Africa, who have increased their military budget six-fold since 1960, know and admit by their acts, which are even more eloquent that their words, the existence of an explosive situation. The history of liberation of colonial peoples in the recent decades shows that the people will find ways to overcome reverses, to regroup and resist even the mightiest of the armies of the oppressors and win the battle of liberation.
Second, a violent conflict in southern Africa cannot remain local but is bound to have grave international repercussions. It will undermine the efforts of African States to build non-racial societies and will damage prospects of international cooperation, an essential factor for peace and progress in the world. African and other States will inevitably be forced to intervene in various ways according to the needs of the African and Asian masses of South Africa. There is also reason to fear that certain Western Powers and other Powers which have been collaborating with racist-colonialist forces face strong pressures by vested interests to induce them to intervene in one way or another against the liberation force on the fallaciously humanitarian pretence of protecting their nationals or economic interests.
Third, it must be recalled that the responsibility for the constant deterioration of the situation in southern Africa rests largely with the Western Powers which have always resisted all effective international measures which have been suggested to solve the problem. There is no doubt that the consensus which has developed in the United Nations against apartheid and colonialism remains rather hollow so long as meaningful action is not taken. The Western Powers (and Japan) bear a special responsibility for the serious crisis of southern Africa because of the dependence of the racist and colonial regimes in southern Africa on continued economic relations with them. The co-operation of these Powers is indispensable for the imposition and implementation of international economic sanctions which remain the only peaceful means for a solution. These Powers, however, have greatly increased their economic involvement in this area. Even the arms embargo, a very first step which they ostensibly supported, has not had much effect because of contravention by some Powers, such as France, loop-holes in the embargoes by others and open co-operation lent by several Powers toward the development of an arms industry inside South Africa. In these circumstances, it is essential to conclude that the only peaceful solution, which could have been achieved by mandatory economic sanctions, has become increasingly utopian and unrealizable.
Fourth, among the forces which play the inglorious role of resisting the liberation of southern Africa, a prominent place is occupied by the numerous international corporations which have become involved in the area in the search for quick and exorbitant profits. They assist the racist and colonial regimes by loans end investments. They help develop arms and strategic industries to enable these regimes to resist sanctions. They help build oil refineries in the area in order to circumvent the oil embargo against the regime in Southern Rhodesia.
Beneath the "unholy alliance", there is the giant economic complex, the "Cape to Katanga axis", which dominates the entire area. The big corporations of South Africa play a prominent role in this axis and international corporations participate in it, to a great extent, through subsidiaries and affiliates in South Africa.
Fifth, the continuance of the reign of apartheid and terror in South Africa, where the racist regime utilizes the country's immense wealth for military and political efforts to perpetuate racism constitutes the bulwark of reaction in the whole of southern Africa. The Pretoria regime is now openly challenging the United Nations all over southern Africa. It is illusory to expect that there can be substantial progress of liberation in that area so long as the South African regime is not neutralized. As I stated at the last session of the General Assembly:
"The South African regime has been the main source of support for the Ian Smith clique in Southern Rhodesia and the principal obstacle to the implementation of the resolutions of the Security Council. It is in open rebellion against the United Nations in South West Africa. It has increasingly collaborated with the Portuguese colonialists who are carrying on colonial wars in Mozambique, Angola and so-called Portuguese Guinea. The sovereignty and independence of Lesotho and Botswana are threatened by the existence of this racist regime in South Africa.
"There is a theory in some quarters that, in considering the liberation of southern Africa, South Africa should come last. According to this theory, we should deal first with Southern Rhodesia and the Portuguese territories and give full attention to the problem of South Africa only after these other territories are liberated. This theory, which superficially seems sound on geographical and logistical grounds, is misleading. So long as the regime in South Africa is secure, and feels itself to be secure, it would be idle to expect the liberation of' other territories in southern Africa. The Pretoria regime has made it clear that it would sustain the Smith regime, whatever the next step in the United Nations. South Africa has also proclaimed that it will lend its support to the Portuguese colonialists in their war against the liberation movements. And, in South West Africa, the United Nations and the liberation movement will face the full might of the Pretoria regime, which has been aided by the Powers of Western Europe and North America. When it threatens war against the United Nations if the United Nations seeks to fulfil its obligations to the people of South West Africa, its threats are backed by the planes, ships and guns supplied by the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Italy.
"Of course, as I said recently, the war for South Africa has started in Angola and Mozambique and will soon move on to Southern Rhodesia, heading irresistibly towards Cape Town. This does not preclude the possibility of an explosion within South Africa itself, making easier the liberation of the whole of southern Africa."
Measures to be Taken by the International Community
The Seminar has been convened in the hope that it will thoroughly examine and reassess the situation in southern Africa, and formulate proposals for further action by the international community.
Before dealing with the possible measures, it may be useful to refer briefly to certain general considerations.
Some circles abroad, and even a handful of people in Africa, are over-awed by the ostensible military strength of the regimes in South Africa and Southern Rhodesia, and the military forces that Portugal has been able to mobilize for its colonial wars. They argue that these regimes cannot be overthrown. They consequently propose the search for a solution through the grant of meagre concessions, which are in any case dictated by the economic development needs of these racist bastions and the determination of the racists to have it believed that they have succeeded in breaking the political and diplomatic ostracism to which they are subjected by establishing relations with some African States which are, for various reasons, submissive to them.
The Seminar will no doubt take account of the military aspect, but there is little need to try to refute these defeatists. It is quickly forgotten that mightier nations have been defeated by forces of liberation in colonial wars of an unprecedented barbarism in this generation. Moreover, the apparent strength of the racial and colonial regimes is built on insecure foundations of oppression of the great majority: it can make the struggle bloodier but can never achieve the final victory.
On the other hand, it should be recalled that the main role in the liberation of southern Africa should rightfully go first to the oppressed people themselves. The international community can assist them and help create the conditions in which they can secure the liberation with the least possible violence and delay, but it cannot aspire to deliver liberation to them. The efforts of the international community should only complement the efforts of the oppressed peoples. As I stated in my address to the European Conference against Apartheid in Paris on 6 May 1967:
"'The struggle for freedom in South Africa is certainly the right, the responsibility and the privilege of the people of South Africa. They have not abdicated their struggle or asked for freedom as a gift from the rest of the world. Whatever we do at the international level - whether as governments or in anti-apartheid movements and other popular organizations - we need to recognize in all humility that our role is but secondary. We do not aspire to liberate - which would be tantamount to substituting ourselves to the South African people - but to assist the liberation, as that is our duty if we are loyal to our own convictions. We can discharge this duty only if we avoid any pity or paternalism and remain at all times responsive to the needs and desires of the liberation movement."
Frustrated and apathetic, the liberals abroad do not believe any more in the illusion that liberation in southern Africa would be achieved by painless efforts of persuasion of the oppressors and that the international opinion would be decisive. It is essential to recognize that popular revolutions take their time, face reverses and even lose battles but will ultimately succeed. The international community cannot formulate the methods of the liberation struggle or determine its timetable. Perseverance and determination are essential if it is to playa helpful role.
Third, while the United Nations can play a significant role in the international field, its role is not exclusive. States individually, as well as collectively through the Organization of African Unity and other inter-governmental organizations, can make additional contributions. Non-governmental organizations of various sectors of public opinion can also play an important role. It is essential to co-ordinate these efforts in order to promote maximum effectiveness of the totality of international effort. The Special Committee on Apartheid, in proposing an international campaign against apartheid, therefore, suggested a many-sided effort to mobilize all these forces in order to help eradicate apartheid.
The efforts in the United Nations on the problems of apartheid, racial discrimination and colonialism in southern Africa have so far been directed on several fronts:
(The activities of foreign economic and other interests in colonial territories will be on the agenda of the twenty-second session of the General Assembly in 1967).
The Seminar will no doubt discuss the progress made on all these measures which have been taken, draw up a balance sheet and consider means by which they can be made more effective.
It has become increasingly evident, however, that a re-assessment is essential and that the focus of international effort should be reconsidered. While universal economic sanctions remain the most appropriate peaceful measures under the United Nations Charter for a solution of the problems, and pressure for such sanctions should continue, it is unrealistic to ignore the fact that the main trading partners of southern Africa including three permanent members of the Security Council, are unwilling to implement these measures (except to a limited extent in the case of Southern Rhodesia where the measures are ineffective because of the refusal to take any action against violations by South Africa and Portugal).
The attitude of these Powers, despite numerous appeals by an overwhelming majority of States, has largely paralyzed the United Nations with respect to southern Africa. It leaves violence as the only alternative. The liberation movements, for their part, have decided on a violent struggle as the only means of salvation left to them by their oppressors and a certain international conspiracy.
As I stated recently in the Special Committee on Apartheid, there is developing a new trend of thinking about the focus of international effort:
"The future is likely to be difficult as the apartheid regime, taking advantage of the inaction of various Powers concerned, is launching a counter-offensive against African liberation - making use of its economic and military power…
"For the last two decades, the anti-apartheid movements were largely on the humanitarian level, exposing to the public opinion in their countries the inhumanity of apartheid and seeking to mobilize public opinion to exercise its influence on South Africa and on various governments to reverse the trend of increasing racism.
"These efforts have not succeeded for reasons which are well-known to this Committee. Today, the people of South Africa and of southern Africa as a whole are forced to embark on efforts to overthrow the racist regimes by force and establish non-racial societies.
"It is no more sufficient for the world to sympathize with the victims of apartheid. We can no more speak in the United Nations, as was done before, of persuading the South African regime to abandon apartheid or dissuading it from racialism. That has proved to be impossible. We need to encourage world opinion to support democratic changes in South Africa and a reconstruction of its society by a revolutionary process. The role of the United Nations and of world opinion has to become more positive.
"The liberation of South Africa will have to be achieved by the people of South Africa. But they should be able to count on the support and solidarity of the rest of the world."
A beginning has already been made in the United Nations. The General Assembly of the United Nations has recognized - in resolutions 2189 (XX) and 2202 (XX), for instance - that the struggle of the peoples under colonial rule, and under the regime of apartheid, to exercise their right to independence and equality is a legitimate struggle and that all States should provide moral and material assistance to the liberation movements. This question of aid to the liberation movements should be thoroughly discussed at the Seminar with a view to the adoption of concrete recommendations.
It is to be hoped that the Seminar will bring forth an unequivocal declaration recognizing the legitimacy of the struggle for liberation and the duty of the international community to support that struggle and that it will formulate concrete proposals to encourage and enable the international community to provide the most effective assistance to that struggle.
Footnotes