Situation of human rights in South Africa.

1991/21. Situation of human.-rights in South Africa

1. Congratulates the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts on Southern Africa on the commendable and impartial manner in which it has prepared its report, and adopts the report;

2. Condemns the violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural human rights which are still going on under the system of apartheid in South Africa;

3. Reaffirms the right of the people of South Africa to eradicate apartheid and to participate fully in the transition to a democratic and elected government and administration based on a universal equal and non-racial franchise;

4. Further reaffirms the international consensus in condemning the policy of apartheid and demanding its abolition as expressed in the Declaration on Apartheid and its Destructive Consequences in Southern Africa;

5. Commends the positive changes which took place in South Africa in 1990 under President F.W. De Klerk by which some political prisoners were released, political organizations were unbanned, the state of emergency was lifted and the Separate Amenities Act was repealed;

6. Takes note of the recent major policy pronouncement by the Government of South Africa to repeal some of the entrenched and basic discriminatory acts underpinning the system of apartheid and urges the Government of South Africa to implement the declared intentions fully and speedily;

7. Urges the Government of South Africa to repeal all discriminatory and repressive legislations under apartheid without delay or exception and proceed to negotiate in good faith for a democratic non-racial government with the representatives of the people;

8. Calls upon the Government of South Africa to fulfil the commitment to release all political prisoners and detainees, to permit the unconditional return of political exiles and to repeal all the repressive provisions of the Internal Security Act;

9. Further calls upon the Government of South Africa and all parties concerned to promote the necessary atmosphere for negotiations by containing intercommunal violence aggravated by elements opposed to the democratic transformation of South Africa;

10. Supports the efforts of the liberation movements and all mass organizations in South Africa to dismantle apartheid and urges them to join together in negotiating a peaceful transition to a non-racial democratic order;

11. Further calls upon the Government of South Africa to negotiate an agreement with all parties on transitional arrangements and modalities on the process of drawing up and adopting a new constitution for the transition to a democratic order, including the holding of elections;

12. Reaffirms that the acts of destabilization of neighbouring States by South Africa through direct aggression, sponsorship of surrogates and economic subversion have caused widespread destruction and suffering in the region and must not happen again and that their effects should be addressed by the international community;

13. Commends the front-line and other neighbouring States for their steadfast moral, political and material support to the liberation struggle in South Africa to end apartheid;

14. Calls upon the international community to render all possible assistance to the front-line States to rebuild their economic and social infrastructures and to rehabilitate people displaced as a result of past acts of aggression and destabilization of South Africa;

15. Further Calls upon the international community to assist regional efforts to resolve conflicts, promote national reconciliation and establish lasting peace in southern Africa;

16. Urges all States, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations to continue to increase their support for the legitimate struggle of the South African people to dismantle apartheid and to provide economic, educational, humanitarian and other assistance to the victims of apartheid;

17. Calls upon all Governments and intergovernmental organizations to maintain measures, including sanctions, against the Government of South Africa and to adhere strictly to the Programme of Action contained in the Declaration on Apartheid and its Destructive Consequences in Southern Africa, aimed at the promotion of profound and irreversible change;

18. Further calls upon the international community to maintain all necessary measures against South Africa in order to create a climate conducive to negotiations in which all the parties concerned will agree on transitional arrangements to a democratic order, including modalities for a new constitution and the holding of elections;

19. Reiterates the call on all Governments to observe fully the mandatory arms embargo and the request to the Security Council to monitor effectively the strict implementation of the arms embargo against South Africa, as decided in Security Council resolution 418 (1977) of 4 November 1977;

20. Decides to renew for a further period of two years the mandate of the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts on Southern Africa, composed of the following experts acting in their personal capacity: Mr. Felix Ermacora (Austria), Mr. Mulka Govinda Reddy (India), Mr. Elly Elikunda E. Mtango (United Republic of Tanzania), Mr. Leliel Mikuin Balanda (Zaire), Mr. Armando Entralgo (Cuba) and Mr. Zoran Pajic (Yugoslavia);

21. Requests the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts to continue, in cooperation with the Special Committee against Apartheid and other investigatory and monitoring bodies, to examine the situation regarding the violations of human rights in South Africa including, in particular, reports of torture, ill-treatment and deaths of detainees, as well as infringements of trade union rights;

22. Requests the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts to submit its interim report to the Commission at its forty-eighth session and its final report at its forty-ninth session;

23. Requests the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts to submit a brief preliminary report to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth and forty-seventh sessions;

24. Renews its request to the Government of South Africa to allow the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts to visit South Africa to gather information from individuals and organizations in order to ascertain the situation of human rights in South Africa, in such a manner that:

(a) The Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts would be guaranteed free and confidential access to any individual, organization, prisoner or ex-prisoner, detainee or ex-detainee;

(b) The Government of South Africa would provide a firm undertaking that any person or organization providing evidence would be granted immunity from any State action as a result thereof.