Notes and Documents - United Nations Centre Against Apartheid, No
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Notes and Documents - United Nations Centre Against Apartheid, No. 8/70 http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.SFF.DOCUMENT.nuun1970_06 Use of the Aluka digital library is subject to Aluka’s Terms and Conditions, available at http://www.aluka.org/page/about/termsConditions.jsp. By using Aluka, you agree that you have read and will abide by the Terms and Conditions. Among other things, the Terms and Conditions provide that the content in the Aluka digital library is only for personal, non-commercial use by authorized users of Aluka in connection with research, scholarship, and education. The content in the Aluka digital library is subject to copyright, with the exception of certain governmental works and very old materials that may be in the public domain under applicable law. Permission must be sought from Aluka and/or the applicable copyright holder in connection with any duplication or distribution of these materials where required by applicable law. Aluka is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of materials about and from the developing world. For more information about Aluka, please see http://www.aluka.org Notes and Documents - United Nations Centre Against Apartheid, No. 8/70 Alternative title Notes and Documents - United Nations Centre Against ApartheidNo. 8/70 Author/Creator United Nations Centre against Apartheid Publisher Department of Political and Security Council Affairs Date 1970-04-00 Resource type Reports Language English Subject Coverage (spatial) South Africa, Sweden, Iran, Islamic Republic of, Somalia Coverage (temporal) 1970 Source Northwestern University Libraries Description Address by the Secretary-General, U Thant; Address by Princess Ashraf Pahlavi (Iran), Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights Address by Mr. Sverker C. Astrom (Sweden); Chairman of the Committee of Trustees of the United Nations Trust Fund for South Africa; Address by Mr. Abdulrahim Abby Farah (Somalia), Chairman of the Special Committee on Apartheid; Contributions to the United Nations funds for Southern Africa; Messages and reports on the observance of the International Day Format extent 24 page(s) (length/size) http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.SFF.DOCUMENT.nuun1970_06 http://www.aluka.org No. 8/To NOTES AND DOCUMENTS* April 19TO No. 8/To NOTES AND DOCUMENTS* April 19TO SPECIAL COIITTEE ON APARTHEID OBSERVES INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF SHARPEVILLE MASSACRE 1 Address by the Secretary-General, U Thant 1 Address by Princess Ashraf Pahlavi (Iran), Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights 4 Address by Mr. Sverker C. Astr8m (Sweden) Chairman of the Committee of Trustees of the United Nations Trust Fund for South Africa 5 Address by Mr. Abdulrahim Abby Farah (Somalia), Chairman of the Special Committee on Apartheid 8 Contributions to the United Nations funds for Southern Africa 11 Messages and reports on the observance of the International Day 12 UNITED NATIONS FUNDS FOR AIDING VICTIMS OF APARTHEID AND OTHER SOUTHERN AFRICANS 14 AFRICAN EDITORS' ROUNDTABLE AND REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF NON-GOVERNKENTAL ORGANIZATIONS, ADDIS ABABA, FEBRUARY 17-21, 1970: REONM4ENDATIONS CONCERNING APARTHEID 19 WWRLD AGAINST APARTHEID 23 Country-wide campaign in Sweden in April 23 South African actress denounces apartheid 23 70-07503 *All material in these notes and documents may be freely reprinted. Acknowledgement, together with a copy of the publication containing the reprint, would be appreciated. SPECIAL COMITTEE ON APARTHEID OBSERVES INTERNATICNAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION CF RACIAL DISCRIMINATICN AND TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF SHARPEVILLE MASSACRE (On Friday, March 20, 197C the United Nations Special Committee on the Policies of Apartheid of the Government of the Republic of South Africa held a solemn meeting at the United Nations Headquarters to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the tenth anniversary of the shooting of peaceful demonstrators against racially discriminatory laws in Sharpeville, South Africa, on March 21, 1960. Statements were made by the Secretary-General, U Thant; by the Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights, Princess Ashraf Pahlavi (Iran); by the Chairman of the Committee of Trustees of the United Nations Trust Fund for South Africa, Mr. Sverker C. Astr6m (Sweden); and by the Chairman of the Special Committee, Mr. Abdulrahim Abby Farah (Somalia).) Address by the Secretary-General. U Thant The General Assembly has proclaimed 21 March as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It commemorates the incident in the African township of Sharpeville in South Africa in 1960, when peaceful demonstrators against the discriminatory pass laws were summarily shot down by the police. This tragic event in which 69 persons, including eight women and 10 children, were killed, and nearly 200 wounded -- and which was followed by ruthless suppression of peaceful demonstrators in other parts of the country -- was the result of a deliberate and systematic policy of racial discrimination and segregation pursued by the South African Government, defying repeated appeals by the United Nations. Sharpeville is a warning of the grave consequences of racism in our days. We cannot afford to forget it. In this year of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations, we recall that the situation resulting from racial discrimination in South Africa has been a matter of concern to the United Nations since the first session of the General Assembly in 1946 and remains unresolved. The United Nations has endeavoured patiently, year after year, to persuade the South African Government to abandon its disastrous course and seek a peaceful solution based on the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, of which it is a founding member. In the aftermath of the Sharpeville killings, which shook the world's conscience and persuaded even the traditional friends of the South African Government to support international action, the United Nations Security Council recognized that the situation in South Africa, if continued, might endanger international peace and security. It called upon the South African Government to abandon its policies of apartheid and racial discrimination and to initiate measures aimed at bringing about racial harmony, based on equality. This solemn appeal, followed by further urgent appeals and demands by United Nations organs, remains unheeded by the South African Government. -2- Indeed, the South African Government continues to intensify its apartheid policy and to suppress all legitimate protest through arbitrary and ruthless laws, repugnant to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It has extended its policy to Namibia, a territory for which now the United Nations alone is responsible and in which the South African Government no longer has any legal or moral rights. The recent events in South Africa, and in southern Africa as a whole, underscore the growing menace of the unresolved problem of racial discriminatio in South Africa. What is at stake is not merely a challenge to the authority of the United Nations but a serious and increasingly dangerous menace to peace in the area, with incalculable international consequences. I have emphasized many times the urgent need for effective international action to avert the menace of a racial conflict and to secure a peaceful and just solution, based on the application of the inalienable human rights and fundamental freedoms to all the people of the area. Such action requires the full co-operation of all States, including, particularly, the main trading partners of South Africa. It is imperative that they strive now for agreement on necessary measures. At the same time, the General Assembly and other United Nations organs -the Special Committee on Apartheid, the Commission on Human Rights, and the Committee of Trustees of the United Nations Trust Fund for South Africa -are attempting to encourage world public opinion to exert its influence to secure the objectives of the United Nations; to Iromote humanitarian and educational assistance to the victims of racial discrimination; and to stimulate moral and material support for the legitimate strivings of the South African people for a society which ensures human rights and fundamental freedoms for all the peoples of the country, without distinction as to race, colour or creed. These efforts deserve a generous response by the international community. It was not a mere coincidence that the Sharpeville massacre took place in the year in which many nations in Africa attained their indepeftdence andwhen the United Nations General Assembly adopted the historic Declaration on the Independence of Colonial Countries and Peoples. Sharpeville signified a futile and dangerous attempt to reverse the march of freedom in Africa and the world. The United Nations has striven and continues to strive for a peaceful solution of the situation in South Africa and in the neighbouring territories under colonial domination. The African States have affirmed in their manifesto on southern Africa, welcomed by an overwhelming majority in the General Assembly, their earnest desire for a peaceful solution. The African people of South Africa have struggled valiantly to achieve their aspirations by peacef means under leaders such as the late Chief Lutuli. - 3 - That the South African Government has continued to spurn a peaceful solution, based on the participation of all the people of the country in deciding its destiny, is a matter of the deepest regret. I would earnestly hope, despite the failure of the past appeals, that the South African Government will heed the call of the United Nations and of Africa to abandon its present disastrous course, and that all possible efforts will be exerted to persuade it to do so. The tragedy of Sharpeville helped awaken the world to the grave dangers of racial discrimination and intensify national and international efforts for its elimination. The United Nations, which has been concerned with this shameful prejudice since its inception, has intensified its efforts in recent years.