Mr. President,
As Chairman of the Special Committee on the Policies of Apartheid of the Government of the Republic of South Africa, I wish to make a few brief remarks
on the resolution which has now been adopted by the General Assembly. This resolution is inspired by the recommendations contained in the report of the Special Committee on Apartheid which was submitted to the 22nd session of the General Assembly and to the Security Council.
The report of the Special Committee to the present session of the General Assembly has not been encouraging as it details the further aggravation of the situation in South Africa. During the past year, the regime in Pretoria has not only continued with its inhuman racist policy, but has flung new and serious challenges to the conscience of the world. It has, for instance, promulgated the so-called "Terrorism Act", a travesty of law, designed to hang anyone who struggles for the inalienable right to freedom and dignity recognized by the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As I speak here, 35 African men from South West Africa are facing a fascist in judicial robes in Pretoria, a thousand miles from their homes, in a so-called court surrounded by heavily armed police. (One other accused died and another was acquitted). The Vorster regime, it seems, intends to execute these men in 1968, the International Year for Human Rights, as a warning to all Africans who seek their liberty. Indeed, it plans to execute, in the name of this Act, many more freedom-loving men who are now suffering brutal torture in the dungeons of South Africa.
A few weeks ago, this regime has openly sent its armed forces into Zimbabwe to support the racist Smith clique in killing African patriots.
It has moved its forces to the borders of the Republic of Zambia. It has declared its intention to resist the march of freedom not only in South Africa, but also in Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It has even dared to threaten the Republic of Zambia and the United Republic of Tanzania, the independent African States on the borders of the rampart of racism and colonialism.
The United Nations today faces an inescapable challenge which it cannot afford to ignore without the risk of losing its already shaken prestige. It should accept this challenge now if it is to remain an effective instrument for the fulfilment of its principles and purposes.
The United Nations, because of the ineffectiveness of its action on apartheid over the past two decades, bears a great responsibility for the present crisis which has made a violent conflict imminent. It is imperative that the United Nations and the international community must assume their full responsibility to deal with this extremely grave situation in southern Africa and bring about a lasting solution.
The resolution which has now been adopted is not a full answer. It is a compromise and reflects the limitations of the General Assembly, but it does represent a step forward beyond resolution 2202 (XXI) and will have a positive effect if it is implemented in good faith by all States.
I must first of all express our satisfaction that the majority of the Member States have solemnly reaffirmed the condemnation of the criminal policy of apartheid.
The General Assembly has now called on the Security Council as the organ responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security to assume
its responsibilities on this question, which it has not even discussed for over three years. We call upon all Member States concerned to use all their influence to ensure that the Security Council will secure the implementation of the resolutions it has already adopted - for instance, the arms embargo, the violation of which has become almost a scandal - and take further measures adequate to solve the problem.
The General Assembly has also called on States, specialized agencies, regional organizations and non-governmental organizations to join and develop the international campaign against apartheid so that it will encompass all humanity…
Above all, Mr. President, the General Assembly has taken a significant step in unequivocally recognizing the legitimacy of the struggle of the people of South Africa for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all the people of South Africa irrespective of race, colour or creed. The Special Committee on Apartheid has, from its inception, based its activity on the recognition of the legitimacy of this struggle and the General Assembly has already declared its firm support to all those opposing apartheid. But the present clear declaration by the General Assembly is of historic significance as it has been endorsed unanimously with the affirmative votes of all the Great Powers and all the regional groups. (I am not counting the attitudes of those who now happen to sit behind the name-plates of Portugal and South Africa. Their presence amongst us is a paradox, if not an offence).
This declaration is a tribute to the people of South Africa for their heroic struggle over many decades for their freedom and dignity, and for their ideals and faith in the purposes of the United Nations.
I am compelled on this occasion to recall the memory of Chief Albert Luthuli, who died tragically this July, as his whole life was dedicated to this sacred struggle and helped make the South African problem known to the world. This declaration inscribes on the banner of the United Nations the true ideals for which this man paid with his life.
From this rostrum today, we send our greeting to all those who struggle for the end of racism in that rich and unhappy land of South Africa.
We greet Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, leader of the Pan Africanist Congress of South Africa, who is indefinitely detained on Robben Island for his steadfast opposition to racism.
We greet Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and other leaders of the African National Congress, as well as thousands of others serving long terms of imprisonment for their struggle for a democratic society.
We greet Abram Fischer, a famous Afrikaner and eminent jurist, who is serving life imprisonment for identifying himself with the cause of the oppressed.
We greet Mrs. Helen Joseph, who has been condemned without any trial to a second five years of house arrest for bringing to light the plight of those oppressed by the apartheid regime and for uncompromising opposition to racism.
We greet Dr. Raymond Hoffenberg, former chairman of the Defence and Aid Fund, who has been arbitrarily banned by the racists and forced to leave his homeland.
We greet Alan Paton and his colleagues who have upheld the principles of human rights in spite of all intimidation.
We greet Mr. Nana Sita, an elderly and sick follower of Gandhi, who is again in prison for refusing to obey the unjust segregation law which required him to move away from his home to an Indian location.
We greet the young men and women of the National Union of South African Students who have upheld the best traditions of democratic civilization and are now facing savage threats by the Vorster regime.
We greet all democratic-minded Whites, in politics or in universities or in the Churches, who resist and oppose the inhumanity of apartheid.
We greet the many refugees from South Africa who continue to struggle for the liberation of their homeland.
We greet the Africans who are now in the death cells in Zimbabwe for attempting to return to their homeland. We appeal urgently to the Powers and organizations concerned to ensure at least that these men, the justice of whose cause we now recognize, are treated as prisoners of war. In this respect, permit me, Mr. President, to quote from a statement issued today, in Geneva, by the International Commission of Jurists. It says:
"Freedom fighters are today a general phenomenon in the territories of Southern Africa, and the problems they pose have to be considered in
the present day-context of the affirmation by the United Nations, in the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that 'it is essential if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the Rule of Law'. This is all the more so in the light of the decisions taken by the United Nations in regard to Southern Africa.
"Governments, like that of Rhodesia, all too easily adopt the 'terrorist' label in dealing with those who have been driven to armed opposition by tyranny and oppression. Is not such a solution a solution of facility, whereby the government avoids the much more difficult task of accepting and applying the standards set by the United Nations?
"In the view of the International Commission of Jurists, justice and humanity demand that the principles embodied in the Geneva Conventions for the treatment of prisoners of war should be extended to African freedom fighters captured under arms who, in so far as they conduct their operations according to the law and customs of war, should be entitled to the protection provided for by those Conventions."
Mr. President, today we greet all those men and women in South Africa irrespective of their colour and irrespective of their ideology - for their struggle.
We pledge our solidarity and support to them and we assure them that though the struggle may be hard and long, their cause will prevail.
Footnotes
1. Source: United Nations document A/PV.1629.
Mr. Marof spoke after the adoption by the General Assembly of resolution 2307 (XXII) by 89 votes to 2, with 12 abstentions.