Reflecting On The United Nations (UN) Special Committee Against Apartheid
An Exhibition by the NELSON MANDELA FOUNDATION
The bench is empty but this young black woman in a Johannesburg railway station would be breaking the law if she sat on it. 1 January 1982.
UN Photo/DB media.un.org/photo/en/asset/oun7/ oun712328
Meeting reporters at a press conference are, from left: Sam Ramsamy (Chairman, South African Non-Racial Olympic Committee); Abraham Ordia (President, Supreme Council for Sport in South Africa); Ampin D.J. Blakson (Charge d�Affaires, Permanent Mission of Nigeria); and Enuga Reddy (Director, UN Centre Against Apartheid). 31 March 1980.
UN Photo/Saw Lwin https://media.un.org/photo/en/asset/oun7/oun7713291
“We also take this opportunity to salute the Special Committee against Apartheid, which has been and is a very important instrument in our struggle against the iniquitous and oppressive policies of the South African Government. We salute also the States that make up its membership... We also take this opportunity to extend warm greetings to all others who fight for their liberation and their human rights, including the peoples of Palestine and Western Sahara. We commend their struggles to you, convinced that we are all moved by the fact that freedom is indivisible, convinced that the denial of the rights of one diminishes the freedom of others.”
Nelson Mandela, 641st meeting of the Special Committee Against Apartheid, 22 June 1990
BACKGROUND
TThe Security Council, in the final day of its meetings in Panama City, observed the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. 21 March 1973. UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata www.flickr.com/photos/un_ photo/3312299878
he Special Committee Against Apartheid was established by the UN General Assembly on 6 November 1962. Originally named the Special Committee on the Policies of Apartheid of the Government of the Republic of South Africa, it was renamed in 1975 to better reflect its advocacy against apartheid. The Committee held its first meeting in April 1963 and was disbanded in June 1994, following South Africa’s first democratic elections.
MANDATE
While initially tasked with assessing and reporting on South Africa’s racial situation, it also began to actively promote the international campaign against apartheid. The Committee worked on UN resolutions, advocated for boycotts and sanctions, lobbied member states, organised conferences, collaborated with UN organs and NGOs as well as raised awareness through various mediums including reports and educational materials. It was also comprised of various sub-committees and task forces.
MEMBERSHIP
The Committee initially had 11 members: Algeria, Costa Rica, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Hungary, Federation of Malaya (later Malaysia), Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, and Somalia. Over time its membership evolved but Western powers and South Africa’s major trading partners declined to join the Committee. It was always chaired by an African, with Nigerian representatives serving as chair from 1976 - 1994.
COMMITTEE CHAIRMANSHIP
1963-1964 Diallo Telli (Guinea)
1964-1968 Achkar Marof (Guinea)
1969-1972 Abdulrahim Abby Farah (Somalia)
1972-1975 Edwin Ogebe Ogbu (Nigeria)
1975-1976 Madame Jeanne Martin Cisse (Guinea)
1976-1979 Leslie O. Harriman (Nigeria)
1979-1981 B. Akoporde Clark (Nigeria)
1981-1983 Alhaji Yusuf Maitama-Sule (Nigeria)
1984-1990 Major-General J.N Garba (Nigeria)
1990-1994 Ibrahim A. Gambari (Nigeria)
Lakshmi Menon of India addresses the Security Council on sponsoring a resolution to call on the apartheid government in South Africa to end the Rivonia trial. 8 June 1964.
UN Photo/ Yutaka Nagata media.un.org/photo/en/ search?query=UN7758436
Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (left) holding a meeting in his United Nations Headquarters office with Alhaji Yusuf Maitama-Sule (Nigeria), Chairman of the Special Committee Against Apartheid. 11 January 1982.
UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata media.un.org/photo/en/asset/oun7/ oun7701918
COMMITTEE’S ACTIONS AGAINST APARTHEID
1963 - 1969
The Committee initiated international outreach and discussions with various Foreign Ministers to discuss anti-apartheid measures. It encouraged support for antiapartheid movements and collaborated with UN agencies.
1970 - 1975
The Committee increased its global presence, holding a range of meetings in Geneva, Brussels, Paris and Addis Ababa. In 1974, the Committee played a crucial role in the adoption of the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid by the UN General Assembly.
The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) held a march and festival on 28 June 1986, the culmination of a month-long intensive campaign for sanctions.
NMF Poster Collection
Committee consultation meetings on the anti-apartheid struggle in Geneva. 31 May 1974.
UN Photo www.media.un.org/photo/en/asset/ oun7/oun7726618
A general view of the opening meeting of the World Conference for Action Against Apartheid, Lagos, Nigeria. 22 August 1977.
UN Photo/J Riedel https://www.flickr.com/photos/un photo/3311467345
1976 - 1979
The Committee recognised the right of oppressed South Africans to “use all necessary means, including armed struggle” as this right was being denied by the very countries who played an enabling role to the racist regime. In 1977, the Committee hosted the World Conference for Action Against Apartheid with more than 400 delegates from 112 states. In 1978, the Committee established an award to honour significant contributors to the anti-apartheid movement, with the first recipients being: Canon L. John Collins; Michael Manley; Olof Palme; General Murtala Mohammed; Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru; Dr. Kwame Nkrumah; and Paul Robeson.
Kader Asmal from the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement addresses the Special Committee on the Plight of South African Women and Workers under Apartheid. 26 March 1981.
UN Photo/Saw Lwin https://media.un.org/photo/en/asset/oun7/oun7741140
1980 - 1984
In 1981, the Committee published the first register of people and organisations who had sports contacts with South Africa. Persons who undertook not to participate in further sports events in South Africa were deleted from it. The Committee was represented at conferences such as the Conference of West European Parliamentarians on Sanctions against South Africa (1982) and organised conferences such as the Conference of Arab Solidarity with the Struggle for Liberation in Southern Africa (1984).
1985 - 1989
The third register of entertainers, actors and others who had performed in South Africa was published by the Committee in 1986 - the names of persons who pledged not to perform again were removed. An International Seminar on the UN Arms Embargo against South Africa was held in London that year. The Chairman of the Special Committee also undertook missions to address international action against apartheid - one in 1985 to the Republic of Korea, Japan, and China, and another in 1986 to Western European countries.
Dennis Brutus, Chairperson of the International Campaign against Racism in Sport attending a hearing on sports and apartheid held by the Special committee Against Apartheid. 28 March 1980. UN Photo/Saw Lwin https://media.un.org/photo/en/asset/oun7/oun7605448
Special Committee Against Apartheid Report, 1983
“During the struggle against apartheid, the Special Committee found it essential to promote the establishment of funds and agencies outside the United Nations (UN), with the assistance of committed Governments and NGOs, to supplement and support UN action, as they were able to do what UN organs could not”
Enuga Reddy (Former Principal Secretary of the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid and Director of the Centre Against Apartheid)
FAILURES OF OUR SHARED HUMANITY
“The Special Committee, therefore, cannot but express its utmost regret at the policies and actions of the Governments which have found common interests with the Pretoria regime and provided it comfort and encouragement in the pursuit of its crimes against Africa and against humanity. It must make special mention of the Government of the United States of America and the Governments of certain other Western Powers, notably the United Kingdom, as well as the regime of Israel.”
Special Committee Against Apartheid Report, 1984
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)
For decades, the Special Committee criticised the USA for its response to apartheid including their blocking of UN resolutions. In the early 1980s, President Ronald Reagan’s administration adopted a policy of constructive engagement which paved the way for many exports to South Africa that was previously blocked including nuclear-related materials and equipment used by the South African police. This approach led to the easing of the arms embargo, which strengthened and protected the apartheid regime.
In 1986, about 100 major USA corporations had South African subsidiaries or affiliates, and around 6 000 USA companies had business connections.
IMS Vintage Photos
IMS SKU: SCAN-TT-00738879
Newspaper report describing a meeting between Prime Minister John Vorster and United States Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. September 1976.
Special Committee Against Apartheid report, 1982
ISRAEL
While Israel was initially critical of the Apartheid regime, cooperation between the two countries strengthened. In 1974, Israel upgraded its diplomatic mission in South Africa to an embassy, in “flagrant violation of the resolutions of the General Assembly”. Given the concerns regarding the relationship between Israel and Apartheid South Africa, the General Assembly passed a resolution in 1981 condemning their continued and increased collaboration especially in the military and nuclear fields, and requested the Special Committee to keep their relationship under constant review. In 1983, the International Conference on the Alliance between South Africa and Israel was held.
Front page headline, Anti-Apartheid News, May 1976
Special Committee Against Apartheid Report, 1983
Special Committee Against Apartheid Report, 1981
THE UNITED KINGDOM (UK)
Apartheid South Africa increased its exports to the UK by 97%, while its UK imports increased by 47% between 1962 and 1968. In breach of UN Security Council resolutions, the UK provided aircraft and other military equipment and spare parts to the apartheid government. In 1987, the UK had the greatest number of companies with investments in apartheid South Africa and was the country’s largest foreign investor accounting for about 40% of all foreign direct investment.
FRANCE
In 1960, France and the UK abstained from a UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution calling on South Africa to end apartheid. In 1972, France was the only country that did not vote for a UNSC Resolution which condemned apartheid, recognised the anti-apartheid struggle and called for strict enforcement of the arms embargo. The Special Committee criticised France on several occasions for blocking stronger sanctions against South Africa and profiting from the apartheid system.
Special Committee Against Apartheid Report, 1965
Special Committee Against Apartheid Report, 1981
EXAMPLES OF OUR SHARED HUMANITY IN ACTION
The Committee reported not only on examples of collaboration with the apartheid state but also examples of countries and formations playing their part in the elimination of apartheid. In this regard, examples of our shared humanity in action included:
PERU
Peru formally pledged to deny permits to South African athletes in 1974.
LEBANON
INDIA
India was one of the first countries to impose economic and diplomatic sanctions against South Africa.
Lebanon severed relations, including diplomatic and economic, with South Africa in the mid-1970s
NORWAY
Norway was the largest contributor to the United Nations Trust Fund for Publicity against Apartheid since its inception in 1975.
DENMARK
Denmark denied visas to South African tennis players who intended to participate in a Danish indoor championship in 1982
MORE EXAMPLES OF OUR SHARED HUMANITY
In 1987, five United States film-makers on behalf of 100 film-makers wrote to President Ronald Reagan urging him to fully support the cultural boycott against South Africa.
Nelson Mandela, the then Deputy President of the African National Congress arrives at the United Nations to address the Special Committee Against Apartheid in the General Assembly. 22 June 1990. UN Photo. Pernaca Sudhakaran https://media.un.org/photo/en/asset/oun7/ oun7779454
CREDITS
This exhibition was conceptualised and researched by the Dialogue & Advocacy and Archive & Research teams at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and produced in collaboration with Dreamfuel Media. A special thanks also to Eva Kate Probus and Slate Taylor who assisted with research.
NELSON MANDELA FOUNDATION
• Dialogue and Advocacy: Sumaya Hendricks, Tayla Johnson, Nomahlozi Ramohloki, Lutfiyah Suliman and Samantha Mashapa
• Archives and Research: Razia Saleh, Ann-Young Maharaj, Zandile Myeka and Sophia Duiker
DREAMFUEL MEDIA
• Visual design, layout and construction, and video production
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
• JSTOR Collection: United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid Reports
• South African History Archive
• United Nations Media: Audiovisual Library
• Flicker: Archive on photos of the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid
• Nelson Mandela Foundation poster collection
Nelson Mandela Foundation
107 Central Street, Houghton, Johannesburg, 2198, South Africa
