14 December 1993
Mr. President,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The time has now come for me to take the floor to introduce to the General Assembly two draft resolutions for adoption under agenda item 38, "Elimination of apartheid and establishment of a united, democratic and non-racial South Africa", which we have debated in this hall yesterday and today.
The draft resolution A/48/L.29, entitled "International efforts towards the total eradication of apartheid and support for the establishment of a united, non-racial and democratic South Africa", is an outcome of a profound assessment of developments in South Africa during the period since last year's debate, as contained in the report of the Special Committee against Apartheid. Our Committee has also consulted with a number of delegations and has taken into consideration views and proposals expressed by them in the course of these exchanges and I am happy to say that the draft resolution is in line with almost all statements made during the consideration of agenda item 38.
The draft resolution reflects the actual situation in South Africa, identifies the areas of concern, indicates objectives for the international community with regard to a changing South African society and recommends ways in which the international community could help South Africans in the forthcoming period.
The violence still is a very serious problem to South Africa's peaceful transition. Our concern over the continuing violence and our recommendations in that regard are reflected in 5 out of the 22 paragraphs in the operative part of the draft resolution.
There is a broad-based agreement that assistance from the international community to the South African society at this stage and in the years to come is of utmost importance. The draft resolution in 8 paragraphs defines the main areas of assistance.
Since the future of South Africa depends on the outcome of the first non-racial, democratic elections, an immediate task before the United Nations and international community as a whole is to provide the support for the electoral process which the South Africans, through the Transitional Executive Council, have recently requested. The resolution calls upon the Secretary-General to respond promptly and positively to such a request and to accelerate planning, in consultation with the Security Council, for a United Nations role in the election process in co-ordination with the Observer Missions of the Organisation of African Unity, the Commonwealth and the European Community.
At this important period of fundamental changes in the history of South Africa, a continued international consensus on the elimination of apartheid and the establishment of a united, non-racial and democratic South Africa will signal once again the international community's determination to stay with South Africans during the period of transition.
Mr. President,
I have been encouraged to believe that such an international agreement is at hand and that draft resolution A/48/L.29 can be adopted by consensus.
Mr. President,
As Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid, I was pleased to hear, in many statements, an appreciation of the role that the Committee has played in mobilising international support for the elimination of apartheid and in promoting support for the process of peaceful political settlement in South Africa.
The draft resolution A/48/L.30, "Programme of work of the Special Committee against Apartheid", provides directions for its activities until the completion of its mandate following the establishment of a democratically elected non-racial government in South Africa.
In asking you to vote in favour of draft resolution A/48/L,30, I urge you to bear in mind that in the next couple of months South Africans will need, perhaps more than ever, the support of the international community. It is crucial that we stay with them until the course is finally run, allowing the Special Committee to go out of existence with a sense of its mission having been fulfilled.
I would like to use this opportunity to thank all the participants of the debate who underlined the positive approach taken by the Special Committee. The Special Committee has at all times been ably supported by the Centre against Apartheid, operating under significant resource constraints. I believe the Centre deserves to be appreciated and encouraged for its effective and productive work.