MAY 27 - JUNE 1, 1991
...It has been traditional for this Council to consider the question of apartheid policies of the Government of South Africa. Like my predecessors, I have been given the privilege to bring before you the assessments and the concerns of the Special Committee against Apartheid, which is the focal point in the United Nations system on the subject of apartheid.
Over the past years, our task has not been easy, but our resolve has been redoubled in that we were always aware of our set objectives. The obstacles and impediments that we encountered in the campaign against apartheid became a rallying cause for our spirited and unrelenting campaign. But times have changed. Today, we have, indeed, reached what will perhaps be the most crucial juncture in the global campaign against apartheid. Crucial, I say, Mr. Chairman, because we now behold the threshold which if successfully surmounted will mean the peaceful end of apartheid. Crucial, because there are indications that finally the people of South Africa are on the verge to embrace a new constitutional dispensation devoid of the discredited tenets of apartheid. Yet, we know too well that any derailment of the fragile peace plan, which has been hard earned, would supplant our efforts and hope of fulfilling the goal we have set for ourselves - the creation of a free democratic and non-racial South Africa.
Like the Special Committee, your Council has been seized with the apartheid question. Our mutual preoccupation with this issue no doubt demands that we continuously reassess the position of events in South Africa and adjust our actions accordingly. I need not rehash here, Mr. Chairman, the well-known positions of the United Nations, which are in consonance with that of the Organization of African Unity.
I nonetheless, feel obliged to touch upon the prevailing situation in South Africa, particularly the raging violence which has reached an unprecedented level. The Special Committee is gravely concerned about the ongoing carnage in South Africa. Whatever the motive, whatever the purveyors of these wanton acts believe they may benefit, we see no gain in the pains that violence brings and breeds. Granted that violence reflects the legacy of apartheid, but it also appears that some forces use violence to obtain political ascendancy and others to undermine the process while the authorities in Pretoria seem unwilling or unable to contain it. If the authorities, showing a tolerance or even a marked neglect towards the violence, aim at weakening the liberation movements, particularly the ANC, they will soon realize how myopic and disastrous this policy can be. Violence is already delaying the process to which they profess commitment. The Special Committee is, therefore, deeply concerned that if the problem is not immediately resolved, the ongoing peace process may falter.
The Special Committee, which played an instrumental role in the adoption by consensus by the General Assembly of the United Nations Declaration on Apartheid in 1989, is monitoring closely the developments in South Africa and uses the Declaration as a yardstick to assess progress. It is unfortunate that one and half years after the adoption of the UN Declaration, a climate conducive to negotiations has not yet been established. Political prisoners are still in jail and only a few political exiles were permitted to return without restrictions, and although it was announced that the Internal Security Act would soon be revised, repressive legislation is still used to curtail free political activity. One year and a half after the Declaration we still do not see an agreement about the forum that will be employed to draft a new constitution. And while the ANC, the PAC and many other organizations called for an elected body to adopt a constitution, Pretoria is still impervious to these demands.
We remain cognizant that this entire process of negotiation will be complex, difficult and perhaps even protracted. But we do not underestimate the willingness and capacity of the people of South Africa to bring these efforts to fruition. To do this, however, we believe that the violence in that country which threatens the fundamental basis of a negotiated settlement must be brought under control. In this respect, we applaud efforts on both sides to urgently address the crucial problem. It cannot, however, be over-emphasized, that those who control the apparatus of State security have a more profound obligation and responsibility for maintaining peace at all times.
Mr. Chairman,
While the international community on the whole has been assiduous in its endeavours to fight apartheid, and within the United Nations has contributed significantly to the ongoing negotiation process, particularly by adopting the consensus Declaration on Apartheid and its Destructive Consequences in Southern Africa, we are witnessing the unilateral lifting of sanctions by some States and groups of States and the strengthening of relations with Pretoria by many others. We fear that the unilateral and premature relaxation of these measures, will in the long run, slow down the negotiation process, while perceptibly rewarding the de Klerk administration.
I do not believe that it would be over-emphasizing the point to restate that it is incumbent on the international community to maintain pressure on South Africa until the end of negotiations for a new constitution. To remove the pressure would be tantamount to removing the leverage which has compelled the Pretoria regime to agree to negotiate in the first instance. Lifting of sanctions and relaxation of measures deprives the anti-apartheid front in South Africa of the sustained backing of the international community. If the objective of lifting sanctions is to reward the de Klerk administration, I dare say that it is utterly misplaced. While there can be no denial of the positive developments in South Africa and the fact that they have been articulated and administered by Mr. de Klerk, we must not lose sight of the forces of opposition in South Africa which neither welcome nor support such measures. If we see the developments in South Africa as positive, and I believe they are, we must not discount the fact that they have not been entrenched enough that their sustenance is guaranteed. And neither have they been in place long enough for us to accept that they will engender the profound and irreversible change that is desirable.
It is the position of the Special Committee, in line with the resolution adopted by the General Assembly by consensus in September 1990, and reiterated in 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 on Apartheid and its Destructive Consequences in Southern Africa, namely the speedy eradication of apartheid and the establishment of a united, democratic and non-racial South Africa".
Mr. Chairman,
We in Africa, every State represented in this Hall, have a particular obligation towards the quick realization of a democratic non-racial South Africa. The temptation for African States to establish contacts and economic ties with South Africa is high - the practicality is ever more tempting - but this inclination cannot be politically correct in the prevailing circumstances. We can hardly expect others to make sacrifices which we ourselves seem unwilling to make. We must show willingness to bear the brunt of eradicating apartheid. Only such a sustained resolve, will afford us the unity of purpose and the authority to criticize those who for the mere sake of expediency may wish to enter into collaboration with South Africa before apartheid is eradicated. To those of us whom much has been given by way of independence and political freedom, much is also expected by way of sacrifice and consistency. The South African dream is yet to be fulfilled.
Let us all join in helping South Africa make this dream a reality.