SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN ADDRESS ON 'SOUTH AFRICA AND THE UNITED NATIONS', SAYS VICTORY AGAINST APARTHEID SIGN OF HOPE FOR HUMANKIND
Press Release
SG/SM/6188
SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN ADDRESS ON 'SOUTH AFRICA AND THE UNITED NATIONS', SAYS VICTORY AGAINST APARTHEID SIGN OF HOPE FOR HUMANKIND
19970321 Following is the text of the address by Secretary-General Kofi Annan delivered to the South African Institute of International Affairs in Johannesburg on 21 March:I am delighted to visit South Africa. And I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak to the Institute of International Affairs in an event organized jointly with two of the most outstanding African Centres for the constructive resolution of disputes. Groups such as yours -- research institutions, universities, think tanks -- are increasingly active players on the international scene. This is a positive trend. You are key members of global civil society, whose efforts enrich the work of the United Nations. We are natural allies.
It is particularly appropriate that I address you on this national Human Rights Day. The massacre of Sharpeville brought home to millions of people across the globe the plight of the majority of South Africans. On this day, let us pay tribute to all those who struggled and gave their lives in the fight against apartheid. That was a struggle not only for South Africa, but for the world, and the victory for freedom, equality, non-discrimination and justice, is a victory for human rights across the globe.
As Secretary-General of the United Nations, this moment has special significance. In 1948, shortly after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, there was a historic debate in the General Assembly over its right to express concern over the apartheid system. The General Assembly decided that the principle of international concern for human rights took precedence over the claim of non-interference in internal affairs.
As Secretary-General from the continent of Africa, I place great personal and symbolic importance on strengthening the already close ties that exist between the United Nations and the new South Africa. Our relationship was forged during the long struggle to eliminate apartheid. This fight was waged first and foremost by South Africans, for South Africans. But it embodied the struggle of all Africans, and all peoples, for emancipation and liberation from colonization, oppression, tyranny and discrimination. Those
who struggle to defeat injustice are ultimately martyrs who sacrifice to enlarge the freedom of all. Thus the victory over apartheid was a sign of hope for all humankind.
The campaign was also a formative experience for the United Nations. In solidarity with the South African majority, the General Assembly and Security Council took major initiatives to assist those suffering under apartheid and to pressure the regime into taking steps towards a democratic, non-racial, united South Africa. These initiatives included the application of economic, military, cultural and sporting sanctions. They also encompassed less well- known, but equally important, programmes of education and training that enabled disadvantaged communities to develop skills abroad that they are investing today in the new South Africa.
Together, these actions proved to be a powerful and effective means for the international community to express both its sense of outrage and its solidarity with the people of this country. The experience helped define the role the world Organization could play in resolving seemingly intractable confrontations. We continue to profit from the lessons learned from this experience. Moreover, the triumph over apartheid gave the Organization's credibility a powerful boost.
Today, at the invitation of President Mandela, the United Nations is helping South Africans confront the legacy of the post-apartheid era. The scars inflicted by decades of institutionalized discrimination run painfully deep -- economically, socially, physically and psychologically. The task of healing, rehabilitation and reconstruction will take years of sustained effort. The international community understands this, and wants to help. Already, working together, we succeeded in the realm of politics. Let us build on this achievement.
In the field of education, South Africans are striving to build a more creative, more tolerant and more caring society. Serious challenges resulting from the inequitable distribution of resources and inappropriate teacher training, curricula and instructional materials are being addressed. In the health sector, South African medical professionals are immunizing children and treating the many young South Africans who show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. South Africans are also taking urgent steps to confront the AIDS pandemic.
But above all South Africa needs to enlarge the choices and opportunities for all its people. South Africa's workers need jobs and training. South Africa's towns require electrification and other basic municipal services, such as sanitation and safe water. National and local governments, as well as the business community and grass-roots organizations, are working to fulfil these needs. Land reform is a crucial issue affecting
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both employment and income generation. A main goal in this area is to improve the distribution of good farmland.
Taken together, the enormous economic and social disparities created by apartheid pose a major challenge to South Africa's stability and long-term development. In a sense, South Africans face another liberation struggle; a fight for freedom from want, from hunger and from ignorance. It is a fight that can and must be won.
Another primary challenge involves the question of governance. South Africa has accomplished much in this regard: The democratic elections of 1994; the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; and the adoption of a new Constitution, a copy of which was presented to me this week, at the same time as it reached the citizens of this new nation. It is a Constitution that safeguards human rights and fundamental freedoms, through the establishment of such mechanisms as the Human Rights Commission, with its extensive mandate, responsibilities and powers.
These are all promising developments. But South Africans have realized that more is needed, especially the training of personnel from all communities for positions in public administration, the judiciary and the other essential institutions of government and society. South Africans understand that such investments in the development of human resources will further entrench the practice of democracy.
The United Nations is providing help in all of these areas. Even before the historic elections of 1994, the Organization began planning its contribution to post-crisis reconstruction and development. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and specialized agencies helped ease the return of South African exiles and the reintegration of former political prisoners.
Today, United Nations departments and agencies are aggressively implementing programmes that reflect the priorities of the System-wide Special Initiative on Africa. The initiative is designed to maximize support for African development at a time when the prospects for African economic recovery are greater than they have been in recent years -- thanks in large part to the kinds of changes that have been occurring in South Africa. In keeping with long-standing United Nations principles, the initiative promotes African self- sufficiency -- and African ownership of the development process.
In this connection, allow me to raise a related issue: South Africa's relationship with the international community. The struggle against apartheid brought the people of South Africa into sustained, intimate and ultimately fruitful contact with the international community. But now that South
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Africa's unique crisis is over, the country's economic and social needs have moved to the forefront of the nation's consciousness.
South Africans thus face the question of their country's profile on the international stage. In an era of accelerating interdependence, will South Africa remain engaged at the global level? Or will South Africa look primarily inward, given the magnitude of its domestic needs? The latter choice would be perfectly understandable. But South Africa has much to offer the world community. And I would like to make the case for the country's emerging global role.
In his first speech to the General Assembly as President, Mr. Mandela said: "Democratic South Africa rejoins the world community of nations determined to play its role in helping to strengthen the United Nations and to contribute what it can to the furtherance of its purposes." I believe this position reflects a belief held by South Africans that, just as the international community rallied around them in their hour of need, so will South Africans now respond in kind to the needs of the global society.
Already, there are excellent indications that South Africa is putting this belief into effect. South Africa maintains excellent ties with almost all other African countries. It plays a key role within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). With other SADC members such as Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, it has helped Lesotho and Swaziland to address critical challenges.
South Africa has actively promoted the process of national reconciliation in Angola. It has provided logistical and material support to the United Nations peace-keeping operation there. It has become involved in efforts to mediate a settlement of the crisis in the Great Lakes region. And it is taking part in discussions aimed at establishing a mechanism for African peace-keeping.
The South African people are bringing to these and other international initiatives the same determination they displayed throughout the decades of apartheid. Let us now focus those formidable energies on the great global challenges of peace, development and the realization of all human rights for all Africans and all people around the world. That is the United Nations global mission, and South Africa's history suggests it should be your country's mission as well.
Enormous goodwill towards South Africa continues to prevail as the international community, and especially its new-found partners in trade and investment, watches and increasingly participates in the country's ongoing transformation. Of course, the fate and future of Africa lie in Africa's hands. But the United Nations has a deep and abiding commitment to the well- being of the continent. Thus the entire system will strive to ensure that Africa's vision, its needs and interests are at the top of the international development agenda.
As someone whose own moral education and political development was greatly influenced by events in South Africa, I pledge to provide whatever support you might wish to ask of me as the dramatic, inspiring saga of your country continues.
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