JANUARY 31, 1991
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Members of the Special Committee,
I would like to take this opportunity to express my personal sincere gratitude for the confidence placed in my country, Nigeria, and particularly in me, by the members of the Special Committee in re-electing me to the position of its Chairman.
With the new political developments taking place in South Africa, a heavy responsibility falls on the Special Committee to discharge its mandate towards promoting the speedy eradication of apartheid through negotiations as envisaged by the United Nations declaration which was adopted by consensus in December 1989.
... This year will be particularly challenging for the Special Committee against apartheid. Developments in South Africa and their repercussions on the international response to apartheid need to be closely monitored and analyzed. With the assistance of the Centre against Apartheid we will react responsibly to these developments and also anticipate them and express our position having always in mind the need to assist the process of genuine negotiations and the speedy adoption of a democratic and non-racial constitution in South Africa.
The ongoing political process in South Africa may not always be smooth. There is no doubt that a process of change as complex as the one that South Africa is entering into will give rise to a dynamic debate on the future of the country. In this context, it is important to recognize that South Africa is still essentially a violent society which has been ravaged by the effects of apartheid. Hence, debate on different political views can often lead to violent acts. On its part, the black majority has taken steps in the right direction. The Special Committee welcomes the agreement reached two days ago between the ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party and hopes that this will contribute to bringing together the majority in facing the challenges ahead. Open debate is essential as it can help define not only the basic aspects of a post-apartheid society but also the incipient elements of what a true democratic system can be. Already some setbacks have occurred related to the unacceptable levels of violence that have prevailed in South Africa for the last few months. We have seen the regime, either by neglect or design, fail to take the necessary and impartial measures to bring this violence under control and to punish the perpetrators. We have seen the authorities, either intentionally or due to internal frictions, delay the implementation of agreements reached with the ANC, based on the Pretoria Minute. We have witnessed acts perpetrated by the regime which fly in the face of their announced intention to create a climate conducive to negotiations. Whether these events are part of a grand design or are due to the reactions of those in the system who oppose the democratic transformation of the country, the fact remains that Pretoria has not fulfilled its promises and its obligations emanating from its agreements with the ANC or from the will of the international community as expressed by consensus repeatedly during the last year.
The promotion of the peaceful process of negotiations will thus be central to our task this year. Particular attention will be paid to the elimination of obstacles to this process related to the social and economic inequities of the country. Assistance to the disadvantaged sections of South Africa and to the victims of apartheid will be foremost among the Committee's concerns.
The other main aspect of our work will consist of monitoring and influencing the international response to the evolving changes in South Africa. It is foreseeable that in the coming months pressure will mount from some quarters to relax the level of sanctions imposed on South Africa. There are indications that the European Community, having lifted its ban on new investments last month, may proceed later this year to abrogate some other restrictive measures. Similar tendencies could be encountered in the United States. At the same time, some Eastern European States and even some African States are proceeding to normalize or open diplomatic relations and what is more disquieting, to establish or strengthen commercial and other links with South Africa.
It is the position of the Special Committee, in line with the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly by consensus in September and December 1990, that the international community should "maintain measures aimed at applying pressure on the South African regime to eradicate apartheid and to promote profound and irreversible changes, having in mind the objectives of the Declaration, namely the speedy eradication of apartheid and the establishment of a united, democratic and non-racial South Africa".
It is possible that following the announcements that Mr. de Klerk will make tomorrow, the Groups Areas Act and Land Acts will be repealed in the next few months, and by the end of April, all political prisoners may be released and all political exiles may be permitted to return to South Africa without restrictions. We earnestly hope that this will indeed be the case. Furthermore, we hope that the process of repeal of these laws becomes, in effect, a mechanism for consultation and decision-making with all the communities affected by these laws. The process could face serious obstacles if it were not accompanied by a thorough programme of economic and social redress of the inequities created by the implementation of those laws. It is also probable that following such positive developments an all-parties conference could take place in South Africa if agreement on its modalities could be reached among all the parties concerned. At that time we could expect anti-apartheid forces in South Africa to advise the international community whether the time is ripe to consider relaxation of some measures. But the report of the Secretary-General on the progress being made in the implementation of the Declaration to be issued in June 1991, and the conclusions that the Special Committee would reach after consulting with the relevant parties, both inside and outside South Africa, should help the international community to decide on its policies regarding sanctions.
What appears inescapable is that the international community has the duty to maintain pressure on South Africa during the whole process of negotiations and until a new constitution establishing a non-racial democracy in South Africa is adopted. The question that will have to be answered is what should be the appropriate nature of that pressure. The Special Committee plans to contribute to this debate and hopes that the answer will be reached through another international consensus.
After a careful consideration of all these anticipated developments, the Special Committee has prepared a detailed Programme of Work for 1991. May I say, however, that our planned activities encompass sufficient flexibility to enable us to respond to changing circumstances and to meet the objectives defined above...
The Special Committee intends to be very active and a relevant organ of the General Assembly promoting the speedy eradication of apartheid through peaceful means. Sometime this year, the Committee may be ready to visit South Africa and consult with all parties concerned. The main purpose of such a visit is to encourage the implementation of the consensus Declaration as well as the process of negotiations towards the speedy eradication of apartheid and the creation of a united, democratic and non-racial South Africa.
Having been mandated by the international community to monitor the process leading to that goal, the Special Committee has a positive duty to remind the international community that the negotiations about to start in South Africa will not be held between equals. On the contrary, the negotiations will be between those whose authority is based on a system which has been universally condemned on the one hand, and those whose struggle is for the realization of the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights on the other. The moral and political element which is in the heart of the problem should not be lost. Our duty is clearly to help ensure that the international community treats the two sides in the negotiations with appropriate differentiation. And it is our further duty to help ensure that the imbalance of power on the two sides of the negotiating table does not become an impediment to the creation of a just society in that country.