Negotiations to end apartheid

Negotiations to end apartheid
Title	Negotiations to end apartheid
Caption	Negotiators during talks at the Groote Schuur and other venues
Date	1989–1994
Location	South Africa
Result	End of apartheid, establishment of New South Africa and Interim Constitution of South Africa

Negotiations to end apartheid Negotiations to end apartheid were a complex series of talks, meetings, and conferences between African National Congress, National Party, and multiple civic and international actors that culminated in the dismantling of apartheid and the establishment of democratic rule in South Africa. The process linked liberation movements, state institutions, international actors, and grassroots organisations across sites such as Groote Schuur, Khotso House, and the Convention for a Democratic South Africa to produce the Interim Constitution of South Africa and democratic elections in 1994.

Background: Apartheid and Early Resistance

Apartheid, instituted by the National Party after the 1948 South African general election, enforced racial segregation through laws such as the Population Registration Act, 1950, the Group Areas Act, and the Bantu Education Act. Early resistance coalesced around organisations including the African National Congress, the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, the South African Communist Party, and community groups like the United Democratic Front, leading to major events such as the Defiance Campaign, the Soweto uprising, and the Sharpeville massacre. International opposition featured measures by the United Nations, sanctions from the European Community, and activism by the Anti-Apartheid Movement and unions including the Congress of South African Trade Unions. Repressive responses involved the South African Police and legislation such as the Suppression of Communism Act, which drove many leaders into exile to bases in London, Lusaka, and Harare.

Initiation of Negotiations (1989–1990)

The initiative for formal talks accelerated after F. W. de Klerk became leader of the National Party in 1989 and announced reforms following both domestic unrest and international pressure. De Klerk's release of Nelson Mandela from Victor Verster Prison in 1990, unbanning of the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party, and lifting of bans on liberation organisations set the stage for negotiations that involved meetings in private between figures such as Roelf Meyer, Tokyo Sexwale, Thabo Mbeki, and Dennis Worrall. The early 1990s saw forums like the CODESA plenary that attempted to convert political openings into structured frameworks for transition while parallel contacts engaged actors including the Inkatha Freedom Party, the Chief Ministers of KwaZulu, and provincial leaders.

Key Actors and Negotiating Bodies

Principal actors included the African National Congress, the National Party, and the Inkatha Freedom Party. Negotiating bodies comprised the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) and later the Multi-Party Negotiating Process, with key representatives such as Nelson Mandela, F. W. de Klerk, Thabo Mbeki, Roelf Meyer, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and Chris Hani. Civil society participants included the United Democratic Front, South African Council of Churches, and the Federation of South African Trade Unions, while international stakeholders ranged from the United States administration of George H. W. Bush to the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations Security Council which debated sanctions and mediation. Judicial and constitutional expertise came from academics and jurists associated with institutions such as the University of Cape Town and the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

Major Issues and Points of Contention

Negotiators confronted contentious issues including the timing and structure of elections, the scope of an Interim Constitution of South Africa, provisions for an independent Constitutional Court of South Africa, structures for a Government of National Unity, and protections for property and civil rights. Disputes over regional autonomy involved KwaZulu-Natal and homeland leaders like Mang0suthu Buthelezi and the Transkei representation. Security arrangements, amnesty frameworks, and the fate of state institutions such as the South African Defence Force and South African Police were central, alongside debates over land restitution, affirmative action, and the inclusion of the South African Communist Party in future governance. International legal issues intersected with negotiations through instruments referenced by the United Nations and by comparative models like the Good Friday Agreement and post-communist transitions in Eastern Europe.

Transitional Arrangements and Interim Constitution

Negotiations produced transitional mechanisms including a negotiated Interim Constitution of South Africa that provided for a Government of National Unity and guaranteed fundamental rights. The interim framework established an electoral formula administered under the Independent Electoral Commission and outlined procedures leading to the 1994 South African general election. Constitutional architects drew on expertise from jurists and delegations such as Albie Sachs and Arthur Chaskalson, while constitutional compromise reconciled positions from the National Party, African National Congress, and smaller parties. The interim settlement also addressed independence claims from homelands like Bophuthatswana and mechanisms for reintegrating institutions into a unified South African polity.

Violence, Sabotage, and Security Negotiations

Throughout negotiations, episodes of violence and sabotage complicated talks: assassinations such as that of Chris Hani, clashes in Kwatsha and Boipatong, and alleged covert operations by elements within the South African Defence Force and Civil Cooperation Bureau. Negotiators had to address paramilitary activity by uMkhonto we Sizwe cadres and the Inkatha Freedom Party's supporters, as well as policing controversies involving the South African Police and Vlakplaas. Security negotiations included disarmament, integration of former fighters into a restructured South African National Defence Force, and arrangements for truth and reconciliation that later informed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Agreement, 1993 Elections, and Transition to Democracy

After deadlocks at CODESA and subsequent breakthroughs in the Multi-Party Negotiating Process, parties signed the Interim Constitution of South Africa and accompanying accords that enabled the landmark 1994 South African general election, monitored by international observers from the United Nations and European Union. The election returned a majority for the African National Congress and led to the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as President and the formation of a Government of National Unity including the National Party and others. Post-negotiation institutions such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, and mechanisms for land restitution sought to consolidate the transition and address legacies of apartheid, while global actors like the African Union and Commonwealth of Nations recognised the new democratic state.

Category:Apartheid in South Africa Category:South African history