NOVEMBER 17, 1992
Mr. President,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Last year, when the General Assembly considered the policies of apartheid of the Government of South Africa at its 46th session, developments in South Africa gave us reason to feel cautiously optimistic that the negotiating process had acquired sufficient momentum to enable the parties concerned to agree on a new constitutional order and forge ahead towards a non-racial, democratic and united South Africa.
Although the political process which began in February 1990 had indeed been characterized by delays and setbacks, the parties concerned were nonetheless able to enter into agreements which should normally have improved the climate for negotiations. We had also hoped that by now the National Peace Accord of September 14, 1991, would have become fully operational and we were expecting to have achieved by now reduced levels, if not altogether the end of the violence that had engulfed the country.
Our hopes were founded in part on the fact that the United Nations system was undertaking concrete and constructive initiatives to assist the process of peaceful transition in South Africa. As a result of the agreement entered into by the South African authorities and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on September 4, 1991, thousands of South African exiles were able to return to their country. In addition, a large number of political prisoners were also released.
Furthermore, the outcome of the Whites-only referendum of March 1992 seemed to strengthen the South African Government's hand to speed up the process towards a new, non-racial and democratic South Africa.
Unfortunately, continued violence and subsequent developments in South Africa took a turn for the worse. The entire world witnessed how the continuing political violence, and the inability - whether deliberate or not - of the South African authorities to control it, brought to a halt the negotiation process and the expected transition to a non-racial democracy. The efforts and achievements of several months of hard and intensive work by the political parties concerned and by the international community to keep the negotiations on track were suddenly put in serious jeopardy. The hopes and high expectations of the people of South Africa seem to have been dashed once more. The massacres at Boipatong and Bisho that occurred at the time negotiations were breaking down, further heightened the fear, distrust and polarization throughout the country.
During these difficult months, it was to the credit of the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations to have spared neither time nor effort to help restore the necessary climate for the political process to take root in a deeply troubled country.
The Security Council, which convened at the request of the Organization of African Unity, provided a forum for all parties to put forth their positions and unanimously condemned the violence. It furthermore urged the South African authorities to bring an effective end to it and to bring those responsible to justice. The Council called upon all parties to cooperate in curbing the violence and to ensure the effective implementation of the National Peace Accord.
We are indeed most grateful to our Secretary-General for his timely despatch of a Special Representative and observers to help diffuse the political tension and to promote an environment of dialogue and communication in which serious and constructive negotiations would indeed be possible in order to bring about a just and lasting solution in South Africa. All major political parties and organisations in South Africa have welcomed the presence of the United Nations observers as well as those of the Organization of African Unity, the Commonwealth, the European Community and human rights organizations.
At a time of fundamental restructuring of the United Nations, it should be pointed out that the work of the Special Committee and that of the General Assembly remain part and parcel of an important international effort within the fold of the United Nations, whose positive weight and influence are increasingly being felt in South Africa and elsewhere. The work of the General Assembly is also complementary to the current efforts and initiatives undertaken by the Security Council and the Secretary-General. Thus, the increasing functional coordination of United Nations organs and agencies is likely to bear greater fruit in the future.
It is the view of the Special Committee that during the difficult transitional period ahead, the General Assembly should continue to promote the implementation of the consensus Declaration on South Africa with special regard to the necessary climate for negotiations, a culture for human rights and political tolerance which are sine qua non for the effective formulation and implementation of a shared vision of South Africa by all of its people.
In this connection, the Special Committee welcomes the release of 42 political prisoners on the 15th of November, following the earlier release of some 150 political prisoners in late September. The long awaited freedom of these prisoners brings joy to their families and friends and greatly contributes to an atmosphere of goodwill. However, the Special Committee expresses concern at the continued ill-treatment of prisoners and the high number of deaths in police custody as reported by the press and human rights organizations. In addition, widespread dissatisfaction with the delayed response of the South African authorities in investigating and addressing these reports of ill-treatment, as well as continued allegations of possible collusion and involvement of some elements of the security forces in the ongoing violence, increases the mistrust of the police and security forces by the majority of South Africans. It is most urgent and necessary that the police and defence forces of South Africa are reminded of their duty to protect the life, security and dignity of all South Africans in all of South Africa. They must simply cease to be stalwarts of the apartheid order if justice is ever to be established as the norm of South African society. The retraining and the re-orientation of the police, security and defence forces are by general admission an essential requirement for the transition to a successful and non-racial constitutional democracy in South Africa.
The Special Committee welcomes in this connection the independent assessment of the functioning and conduct of police and security personnel, which is currently being conducted by the Goldstone Commission, as essential and regards the recent decision by the South African authorities to allow the International Red Cross access to police stations as a step in the right direction.
At a meeting held on 12 October 1992, in observance of the Day of Solidarity with South African Political Prisoners, the Special Committee organized a panel discussion on "the role of law enforcement and law enforcement officials during the transition period". Experts from within and outside South Africa examined, inter alia, the present internal security set-up in South Africa, the role of law enforcement agents in the maintenance of law and order, their attitude to opponents of apartheid as well as respect for human rights. Recommendations made by these experts are being summarized and will be widely disseminated.
The Special Committee is grateful to the Committee of Trustees of the United Nations Trust Fund for South Africa for its support for voluntary agencies inside South Africa that are not only rendering humanitarian and legal assistance to victims of apartheid and ensuring effective implementation of legislation repealing apartheid laws, but also encouraging increased public confidence in the rule of law.
It is of utmost importance that following or in tandem with progress in the negotiation process, a new approach be devised by the United Nations with a view to helping address the socio-economic imbalances in South Africa, thus inducing in due course a growth process that is capable of sustaining a widening of services, human resources development and economic participation by all in South Africa.
A United Nations Seminar organized by the Special Committee held at Windhoek in May of this year demonstrated the will of the international community to help address the socio-economic problems facing South Africa. As the socio-economic dimensions of South Africa's transformation into a new society are coming into focus with increasing urgency, the Special Committee stands ready, in cooperation with United Nations specialized agencies and others, to focus international attention on the requirements of the disadvantaged sectors in South Africa and to promote appropriate and coordinated responses by the international community.
One critical problem which is crying for help is the needs of young people in South Africa. For two decades the children and the youth of the townships came to be equal partners in the struggle against apartheid. They shouldered that responsibility with courage and dedication at great risk to themselves. The burden of responsibility they so bravely took upon themselves was far above and beyond their age. Most of these young people have grown up knowing only poverty and deprivation. The future appears bleak to them considering the violence, the decay and the levels of unemployment they see in their communities. Their defiance of authority relates directly to the hopelessness of their lives. Some refer to them as the "lost generation". As they represent the future, it is essential that their hopes be rekindled and kept alive and that their dedication and commitment be channelled positively for the greater good of the country through special training programmes, empowerment and job placement.
It is indeed necessary that a "culture of learning" be restored in the townships. International educational assistance to disadvantaged South Africans during the transition period is of critical importance. In this regard, the Special Committee notes with appreciation the important contribution that the United Nations Educational and Training Programme for Southern Africa is making in the fields of education, training and human resources development in South Africa. Under the able leadership of Ambassador Huslid of Norway, the Programme has rapidly and efficiently adjusted its efforts and projects to the priority needs of disadvantaged South Africans during the transitional period.
It will be many years before the scars and legacy of apartheid will begin to fade. The glaring disparities in the socio-economic sectors are a daily reminder that the past suffering and deprivation continues to be part of the present - even as a deeply divided country strives to move towards a common future and a shared vision of a non-racial constitutional democracy in South Africa.
The Special Committee believes that the international community can help create stable conditions for the rapid and peaceful attainment of a new South Africa based on a negotiated, democratic and non-racial constitution by providing appropriate material, financial and other assistance to South Africans in their efforts to address the many serious socio-economic problems, particularly in the areas of human resources development and employment, health and housing.
The report of the Special Committee against Apartheid to the General Assembly this year seeks to give a fair description of the developments in South Africa that I have touched on and provides a set of recommendations that the Committee hopes will find resonance and support in the General Assembly.
The 1989 consensus Declaration on Apartheid, inter alia, called for negotiations in a climate free of violence. The Special Committee's recommendations include a reiteration of the strong support for the peaceful negotiations process in South Africa and an exhortation addressed to the representatives of the people of South Africa to resume, without further delay, broad-based negotiations on transitional arrangements and basic principles for a process of reaching agreement on a new constitution and for its speedy entry into force. To promote a climate conducive to negotiations the Special Committee, inter alia, recommends the General Assembly to urge the South African authorities to fully and impartially exercise the primary responsibility of government to bring to an end the ongoing violence, to protect the lives, security and property of all South Africans in all of South Africa, to bring to justice those responsible, and also to fully assume the responsibility to respect and protect the right of South Africans to demonstrate peacefully in public in order to convey their views effectively. In this context, the Special Committee also recommends the General Assembly to call on the signatories of the National Peace Accord to recommit themselves to the process of peaceful change by fully and effectively implementing its provisions, by cooperation with each other to that end, and to call parties in South Africa to refrain from acts of violence.
The report of the Secretary-General of August 7, 1992, to the Security Council and his most recent report to the General Assembly of October 22, 1992, on the progress made in the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on South Africa, also provide us with enlightened guidelines for an effective international response in assisting South Africa during the difficult transitional period. It calls for greater functional coordination by the United Nations system so as to enable it to intervene as one and assist more effectively in promoting a climate of peace, mutual respect and tolerance in which human rights are respected so that the negotiating process may develop a new and decisive momentum towards a negotiated settlement of the conflict in South Africa. It will also be necessary for the United Nations to assist the electoral process in South Africa during the transition period.
As the historic consensus Declaration on South Africa clearly states, apartheid will have been eradicated only when a new non-racial constitution has been adopted and a new government has been elected as a result of free and fair elections. The immediate task ahead of reaching agreement on a broad negotiating forum and on the modalities regarding transitional arrangements are the responsibility of the political parties concerned. It is incumbent on these political parties to draw on their wisdom and foresight, to transcend their contingent differences, and to focus on a common platform and arrangements that should enable all South Africans to live side by side in peace, freedom and justice and to work together to build the bright future which should be theirs.
One thing is certain. No time should be wasted in resuming the negotiation process among all parties. Just as domestic peace and a new non-racial constitutional order are the necessary requirements for the economic and social upliftment for all, there can be no lasting and viable democracy without a sound economy and a stable society.
By way of conclusion, it can be said that nowhere in Africa today are the stakes so high as in South Africa. Whatever the difficulties, let us renew our resolve that the transformation to a non-racial, democratic society in South Africa should not be allowed to fail. What is clear in the immediate future is that any further delay in bringing about a political settlement could be disastrous. The opportunity for such a settlement that generations of South Africans have made possible through their struggle and suffering, with the unswerving support from the United Nations, must not be missed.
Mr. President,
This is not the time for any Member State or group of states of the United Nations to equivocate, to show fatigue or prematurely declare that apartheid is dead and, therefore, concerted international action against the evils of apartheid is no longer necessary. On the contrary, as the people of South Africa continue to march to the dawn of a new era, they will continue to need and should receive the support of the Special Committee and that of the United Nations as a whole. The democratic forces in South Africa are not fighting alone. The anti-apartheid struggle is the collective struggle of the entire international community. And together we shall overcome; sooner rather than later.