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General Plenary Meeting United Nations 53rd GENERAL PLENARY MEETING ASSEMBLY Wednesday, 3 November 1976, THIRTY·FIRST SESSION at 11 a.m. Official Records NEW YORK CONTENTS Council was unable to impose an arms embargo on South 4 . Page Africa owing to the triple veto cast in the Council by the Agenda item 52: United States, the United Kingdom and France-a shameful Policies of apartheid of the Government of South Africa episode in the history of these three countries, which (continued): (a) Report of the Special Committee against Apartheid; uphold the principles of international law, human riglits (b) Report of the Secretary-General . 877 and self-determination when regimes within their orbit are ~ .\ not involved but flout the same principles whenever their President: Mr. Hamilton Shirley AMERASINGHE racist allies and regimes maintaining cultural, economic and (Sri Lanka). political relations with them, like South Africa, Rhodesia and Israel, are concerned. 3. The policy of apartheid and racial segregation is not AGENDA ITEM 52 only an affront to mankind and human dignity, but also a violation of all human, moral and cultural values. it is also a Policies of apartheid of the Government of South Africa crime which has no less grave significance or results than (continued): nazism or any other ideology based on racial, religious or (a) Report of the Special Committee against Apartheid; cultural superiority. And if the international community (b) Report of the Secretary-General decided to pass judgement on the criminals of nazism and I to condemn them to death for their crimes against mankind 1. Mr. ALLAF (Syrian Arab Republic) (interpretation from Arabic): The fact that the representative of the racist because of their belief in the doctrine of racial superiority, regime of South Africa has been forced to be absent from why does the same community hesitate to judge the this hall since the twenty-ninth session is a firm response by criminals ofapartheid because of the crimes they perpetrate the international community to the odious, immoral and against the African people in conformity with the doctrine racist policies practised by a shameful minority of mankind of superiority based on race or colour? which, 011 the threshold of the twenty-first century, still acts 4. The doctrine of apartheid was adopted for the first time with a morbid racist mentality unprecedented in history and in 1948 in the platform of the National Party of the white related to the obscurantist times of the Middle Ages and the minority in South Africa. Indescribable crimes and suffer­ era of imperialism. The measure taken by the General ings have been engendered by this policy against the black Assembly in refusi.g to approve the credentials of the majority representing more than ~O per cent of the representatives of the Pretoria regime at the twenty-ninth population. This policy of segregation is based on race and session faithfully reflects the will of the international colour and on this distinction between the communities community and of the overwhelming majority of peoples, involved. In the area of utilization of pubJic services, of as embodied in the General Assembly. transportation and of living areas and in the exercise of 2. This decision, which is responsible and cornpatible with political and civil rights, all this has-engendered unfortunate the purposes and principles of the United Nations, is all the results as the non-white population has been considered more important and significant as the Security Council has alien in its own territory-a population considered as cheap constantly failed to exercise its responsibilities as regards labour and subjected by a Western minority of racists the crimes committed by the racist regimes, whose last dominating the country by fire and blood. The white racists bastions are in southern Africa and in western Asia. The have practised the poJicy of apartheid with cruelty unprece­ Security Council has been unable to take the steps provided dented except in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, whose for in the Charter to put an end to the dominance of the policy based on racial superiority was regarded by the racist white minority and its oppression of the peoples of majority of white leaders as admirable and inspiring. A few Azania and Namibia, or indeed, to the aggression perpe­ may remember today-after more than 30 years-the phrase trated against the Arab peoples of Palestine, because of the pronounced during the Second World War by Vorster, the collusion of certain Western Powers, permanent members of present Prime Minister of the Government of Pretoria, as that Council, and their exercise of the veto. Those countries narrated by Sarah Millin in her book The Reeling Earth: 1 encourage the forces of aggression and the racist forces that "We stand for Christian socialism, which is an ally of , .. wish to repress the freedoms of people and prevent them national socialism. You can call it the anti-democratic from being enfranchised and from being masters of their principle, if you wish. In Italy it is called fascism; in own destiny. In fact, the right of veto as contemplated in Germany I national socialism; and in South Africa, Chris­ the Charter should be used for the purposes of maintaining tian soclalism."? international peace and security and safeguarding the rights of peoples to self-determination and independence. On 1 London, Faber and Faber Ltd., 1945. 19 October 1976, at its 1963rd meeting, the Security 2 Quoted in English by the speaker. 877 A/3IfPV.53 and COff.1 -- .__ .- .....~ ..... --... j 878 General Assembly - Thirty-fint Session - Plmary Meetings S 5. The mutual understanding between the various racist 9. The survival of the racist regime that exploits the regimes based on segregation of peoples for reasons of people is to be explained not by the strength of the regime r colour, race or religion is norma! and understandable itself as much as by the support and encouragement it because these regimes are extremely isolated from contem- receives from the great Powers and other racist regimes that o porary society, which is based on t~e principles of play the same role elsewhere in the world. The regime could self-determination, freedom and sovereignty. These regimes not for long yearshave defied the international community 1 .need to co-operate and to conclude alliances in order to and flouted the United Nations Charter and the principles emerge from their isolationism and to delay as long as of international humanitarian law without the military and possible the fatal deadline,embodied in the elimination of economic support provided publicly and secretly by certain colonialism by the liberation movements that are crushing Western Powers and certain racist regimes. The first part of all the imperialist and racist regimes, and justly so. Their the report of the Special Committee against Apartheid manoeuvres will not succeed and the racist regimes and /A/31/22J submitted to this session of ilia General those who would hoodwink the peoples will see their Assembly has shown in great detail the various types of efforts doomed to failure. co-operation and transactions between racist South Africa and these Powers, particularly the United States, France, 6. An example of these efforts is the sham independence the Federal Republic of Germany, the United Kingdom and IJ \ proclaimed on 26 October last of a fictitious entity called Israel, in all areas, including the nuclear area. the Transkei. Other examples are the manoeuvres of the Ian Smith regime' that wants to prevent the transfer of power to 10.•It is ironic that all these countries that deal with the w the legitimate black majority in Rhodesia. The resolution, South African regime pretend to oppose apartheid or adopted by the General Assembly {resolution 31/6AJ condemn this policy. At the same time, they are not almost unanimously refused to endorse this comedy of the ashamed to supply the racist regime of Pretoria with so-called independent republic of the Transkei. This deci­ constant assistance, thereby enabling it to, practise the sion was an affront to the white racists and their agents, policy of apartheid and to emerge from the isolation that is, the tribal leaders co-operating with them to apply imposed by the United Nations and by peace-loving this policy of bantustanization because they are intimidated countries. These allies of the racist South African regime, in or confused by this policy. This is a sham republic and it co-operating with it, pretend that they have no dealings has not been recognized by a single country since its bogus with the Pretoria regime as a government, but that they independence was accorded. I shall not refer to the fact cannot prevent commercial corporations and private enter­ that the United States of America did not wish to prises operating in that country from continuing to do so. participate in the resolution that rejected recognition of the Transkel, We are used to seeing this country acting in an 11. Israel takes pride of place among the countries that are isolated fashion and whenever a decisive resolution is accomplices and allies of the Pretoria regime, so that the presented concerning the fate of peoples, their freedom and Special Committee against Apartheid has been forced, in their self-determination, the United States has voted against the span of 24 months, to publish four successive reports on the development of relations and co-operation between re it or, with a handful of other countries, has abstained in the sta vote: the regimes of Tel Aviv and Pretoria. The first3 was published after the Israel diplomatic mission in South Africa was raised to embassy level in March 1974; the c 7.
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