Special Committee against Apartheid

Special Committee against Apartheid The Special Committee against Apartheid was an organ of the United Nations General Assembly created to coordinate international opposition to apartheid in South Africa. It linked diplomatic pressure from Non-Aligned Movement members, solidarity from African Union predecessors like the Organization of African Unity, and activism by global organizations such as the International Labour Organization and the World Council of Churches. The Committee worked alongside sanctions mechanisms involving states like United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, France, and regional bodies including the European Economic Community and the Organization of American States.

History and Establishment

The Committee was established amid pressures from figures and movements tied to decolonization after United Nations Charter debates and resolutions influenced by leaders like Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, and Haile Selassie. Early advocacy drew on campaigns by the African National Congress and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania as well as protests following events like the Sharpeville massacre and the Soweto uprising. Cold War geopolitics involving the United States Senate and the British Parliament intersected with United Nations diplomacy led by secretaries-general such as U Thant and Kofi Annan, while international law jurists referencing the International Court of Justice debated sanctions under the United Nations Charter chapters. The Committee’s creation followed resolutions in sessions of the General Assembly analogous to earlier special committees like the Special Committee on Decolonization.

Mandate and Functions

The Committee’s mandate encompassed monitoring implementation of General Assembly resolutions, recommending sanctions to the Security Council, and coordinating assistance to liberation movements including the African National Congress and the South West Africa People’s Organization. It issued reports used by bodies like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to assess economic measures, and informed legislative action in parliaments such as the Canadian House of Commons, the Federal Assembly of Germany, and the Australian Parliament. The Committee liaised with human rights institutions including the United Nations Human Rights Commission and later the United Nations Human Rights Council, and collaborated with non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Membership and Structure

Membership included representatives from member states spanning blocs: members of the Non-Aligned Movement, Western states like Norway and Sweden, and countries from the Latin American Integration Association region. The Committee operated through subcommittees modeled on committees like the Sixth Committee (Legal) and the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), and convened sessions at United Nations Headquarters in New York City and regional meetings in cities such as Addis Ababa and Harare. Chairs and rapporteurs included diplomats who had served in bodies like the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, and procedural rules were influenced by practices of the International Court of Justice and the International Labour Organization.

Activities and Campaigns

The Committee coordinated global campaigns that paralleled actions by the Glasgow University Students' Union protests, the Anti-Apartheid Movement in the United Kingdom, and divestment drives on campuses including Harvard University and Stanford University. It promoted arms embargoes similar to measures adopted by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 418, and influenced trade sanctions debated in forums like the World Trade Organization. The Committee publicized cases such as the imprisonment of leaders like Nelson Mandela and trials involving figures from the Black Consciousness Movement, while supporting cultural boycotts echoed in events like the Olympic Games debates and the Grammy Awards controversies. It worked with artists and intellectuals associated with institutions like the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Paris Opera to foster cultural isolation of apartheid institutions and backed legal challenges that invoked precedents from the Nuremberg Trials and rulings of the European Court of Human Rights.

Impact and Legacy

The Committee’s reports and initiatives contributed to multilateral pressure that intersected with bilateral policies of nations including Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden, and supported sanctions regimes that were factors in the negotiations leading to the Convention for a Democratic South Africa and the eventual promulgation of a new Constitution of South Africa. Its legacy influenced post-apartheid transitional justice mechanisms like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and informed contemporary multilateral responses to systemic discrimination referenced by organs such as the United Nations Human Rights Council and agencies like the United Nations Development Programme. The Special Committee’s model of coordinated sanctions and advocacy served as a precedent for later United Nations special committees addressing issues in contexts like Rhodesia, Namibia, and other decolonization-era conflicts, and remains cited in academic work from scholars affiliated with institutions like Oxford University, Harvard University, and the University of Cape Town.

Category:United Nations