General Assembly Session 50 meeting 93

The President

In connection with this item, the General Assembly has before it a draft resolution, contained in document A/50/L.44/Rev.1. The Assembly also has before it in document A/50/815 it a letter dated 12 December 1995 from the Chairman of the Fifth Committee addressed to the President of the General Assembly, containing technical observations requested by the Assembly on the implementation of that draft resolution.

I call upon the representative of Algeria to introduce draft resolution A/50/L.44/Rev.1.

Mr. Lamamra (Algeria)

It is a special honour and privilege for me, as the representative of Algeria, to introduce draft resolution A/50/L.44/Rev.1 on the agenda item "Normalization of the situation concerning South Africa". I do so on behalf of South Africa and of the 133 Member States -- a significant number -- whose names are listed in the document before you. I am glad to announce that Belize, Liechtenstein and Pakistan have joined the sponsors, thereby raising their number to 136.

The draft resolution is intended to normalize South Africa's situation at the United Nations. The draft resolution seeks to resolve finally the question of the outstanding contributions which have accumulated as a result of the unique history of the apartheid era.

The preambular part of the draft resolution contains the essential elements on which the decisions to be taken by the General Assembly are founded. These elements are, first, South Africa was invited to resume its participation in the work of the General Assembly on 23 June 1994 following the eradication of apartheid and the establishment of a non-racial and democratic South Africa; secondly, the General Assembly recognizes the unique and exceptional circumstances arising from apartheid, which led to South Africa's abnormal situation at the United Nations; thirdly, the General Assembly notes that the exceptional circumstances have already been recognized through the consensus adoption of resolution 48/258 A on 23 June 1994.

In the operative part of the draft resolution the General Assembly decides that, owing to the unique and exceptional circumstances arising from apartheid, South Africa should not pay the assessments for the period from 30 September 1974 to 23 June 1994. That is the period during which the apartheid regime refused to pay its contributions in retaliation against the political decision of the General Assembly to reject the credentials of the representatives of that regime.

The technical observations elaborated by the Fifth Committee in response to the request by the President of the General Assembly have been incorporated verbatim in the text of the draft resolution. These observations contain the most appropriate accountancy procedure to be followed in order to implement the present draft resolution. The General Assembly welcomes South Africa's decision to waive those surpluses which had, according to the Financial Regulations, accumulated during the period in question.

Finally, the General Assembly decides that the present draft resolution will under no circumstances set a precedent for the future. The case of South Africa is sui generis. There is no precedent in the history of the United Nations, nor can the draft resolution set a precedent, since it is based upon the unique and exceptional circumstances which arose during the apartheid era.

I urge all Member States to adopt the draft resolution by consensus, thus underlining the non-precedent-setting nature of the action to be taken today. Let this Assembly, by so doing, close the last chapter on the apartheid issue.

The President

I call upon the representative of Mexico on a point of clarification.

Mr. Tello (Mexico)

Mr. President, I should like to ask the Secretariat, through you, when we are to receive the official document containing the financial implications of the decision we are about to take.

The President

I call upon the representative of the Secretariat, to provide the requested clarification.

Mr. Perfiliev (Director, General Assembly Affairs)

The Secretariat wishes to confirm that the information furnished by the Secretariat to the Fifth Committee included estimates of the dollar amounts potentially attributable to individual Member States in respect of the surpluses to be reduced.

The Secretariat advised the Fifth Committee at that time that the calculation of an exact breakdown of each Member State's share would require considerable time to produce, because it entails the collection of detailed information on the periods to which those surpluses relate. This, in its turn, would involve a detailed review of over 30 General Assembly resolutions and related documentation, as well as the calculation of the share of each Member State for each period, using the different scales of assessment in effect over a period of more than 20 years.

The Secretariat has indicated to the Fifth Committee that, in the light of the volume of work involved and the need to ensure accuracy, it will not be possible to complete this exercise before late January 1996.

The President

I should like to announce that since the introduction of draft resolution A/50/L.44/Rev.1 Malta has become a sponsor.

Mr. Ho (Singapore)

Nineteen months ago a new South Africa resumed participation in the General Assembly. This was a historic landmark in the history of the United Nations and the culmination of 20 years of international struggle against the apartheid regime.

The twentieth century has unfortunately been no stranger to political evil. There have been all-too-many unconstitutional, unrepresentative and repressive regimes. But even the most totalitarian of them has usually felt it necessary to make at least token obeisance to virtue by professing to rule in the name of some lofty ideal, even if in practice it ignored or perverted the ideal.

The apartheid regime was unique because it felt no need to make even a token gesture to morality. It was blatant in its contempt for international opinion and moral principle by professing to rule for no other reason than racism. It was shameless in justifying itself solely through reference to a nakedly evil idea. In this respect, it was a uniquely evil regime.

The struggle against the apartheid regime is over. A constitutional Government genuinely representing the people of South Africa is in place. But the struggle to dismantle the consequences of apartheid is still with us and will be for many years to come. This draft resolution is a strong political signal of support to the constitutional Government of South Africa and another step in its continuing struggle against the consequences of apartheid.

The debt that South Africa accumulated between 30 September 1974 and 23 June 1994, a period when the apartheid regime was barred from representing South Africa in the United Nations, is not only a crippling burden for the new South African economy but a painful reminder of the past.

Singapore therefore supports the waiver of South Africa's arrears accrued between 30 September 1974 and 23 June 1994. We were happy to co-sponsor this draft resolution normalizing the situation concerning South Africa.

We hope that this draft resolution will bury the ghosts of this unhappy period in South Africa's membership of the United Nations and enable the new South Africa to make a new beginning in the work of this Organization. We hope that relief from this debt may also give a boost to the new South African economy as it faces the many complex problems involved in meeting the aspirations of the South African people.

But as the apartheid regime was uniquely evil, so also must the measures we take to remedy its effects be unique. At a time when the United Nations is in dire financial straits, it is clear that how we have chosen to treat South Africa's arrears is an extraordinary measure to deal with an extraordinary problem and should not under any circumstances be repeated.

We are pleased that the draft resolution states unambiguously in its final operative paragraph that the decision we take today is indeed an exception and shall under no circumstances be used by any other Member State as a precedent to justify the write-off of its arrears.

The defeat of the apartheid regime and the emancipation of the South African people was a resounding and inspiring victory for the United Nations. It vindicated the ideals of the United Nations Charter and the faith so many countries placed in them. We hope that all Member States will draw from this example the political will to abide by their Charter obligations and pay their assessed contributions in full, on time and without conditions.

Mr. Laclaustra (Spain)

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.

The General Assembly will take action this morning on draft resolution A/50/L.44/Rev.1, thus closing definitively a chapter of the history of our Organization by eliminating all remnants of the unjust apartheid regime.

The European Union, fully aware of the clear political significance of the decision to be adopted today by the General Assembly, would welcome the adoption by consensus of this draft resolution, which is sponsored by all the member States of the Union and a large number of other States Members of the United Nations.

The European Union considers that the draft resolution allows the Organization to achieve the political objective of finally normalizing the situation regarding South Africa, since apartheid has been eliminated and democratic and non-racial rule has been established. At the same time, since the technical observations adopted by consensus by the Fifth Committee have been incorporated in the text of the draft resolution, the best possible financial solution has been achieved.

In this respect, the European Union wishes to underline that the situation concerning South Africa is a unique and exceptional case, arising from the fact that because of the apartheid regime South Africa was excluded from participation in the work of the General Assembly. After the establishment of a democratic system, South Africa was invited to resume its participation in the work of the General Assembly through the adoption of resolution 48/258 A.

The European Union wishes to stress that the draft resolution about to be adopted by the General Assembly cannot be used as a precedent by other Member States, given that no situation could be similar to that involving the apartheid regime. Furthermore, the adoption of draft resolution A/50/L.44/Rev.1 will mean that Article 19 of the Charter of the United Nations will no longer be applicable to South Africa.

In this respect, the European Union believes that, for the sake of greater transparency in the implementation of the exception contemplated in Article 19 of the Charter, there is a need to establish, in a concrete and precise manner, an adequate procedure to be followed by all Member States that consider that their failure to pay is due to circumstances beyond their control.

The European Union wishes to take this opportunity to recall the importance of the decisions adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council, which have made a significant contribution to the end of apartheid and the establishment of a democratic system.

Allow me to highlight the financial effort made by all Member States in waiving their right to part of the budget surpluses that the Organization owes them -- that is to say, $53,332,105 from the regular budget and $40,168,572 from peace-keeping-operation budgets -- thus contributing to the normalization of the situation concerning South Africa.

It should be noted, as is mentioned in the draft resolution, that, before this action, the total surplus retained in the regular budget available as credits to Member States from the Organization amounts to $122,238,000, while in the peace-keeping-operation budgets, the figure is almost $173,400,000.

In this connection, and taking into account the serious financial situation of the Organization, the European Union is confident that South Africa will match the effort made by all States Members of the Organization with the decision to make voluntary contributions, in cash and in kind, to the programmes and activities of the United Nations.

I should like to conclude by stating that the European Union considers that a consensus on this draft resolution would be a clear example of the need for the common will of the Members of the Organization to manifest itself in order to resolve the financial crisis of the United Nations.

Ms. Ashipala-Musavyi (Namibia)

The Namibian delegation, having presented, on behalf of South Africa and the Member States of the southern African region, the item entitled "Normalization of the situation concerning South Africa" at the first meeting of the General Committee at the fiftieth session of the General Assembly, is extremely pleased that the United Nations has lived up to its commitments.

The United Nations was seized of the question of apartheid very early, at its inception. Then it was a question of racial segregation. The United Nations grew and its purpose expanded; it became an institution not only for safeguarding international peace and security, but equally for promoting and defending basic human rights and fundamental freedoms. At the other extreme, the policy of racial segregation in South Africa and Namibia developed into a policy legally sanctioning the inequality of human beings. The international community, through the United Nations, never wavered, vehemently and completely rejecting that obnoxious policy.

We in Namibia, being not only neighbours of South Africa but also having had the misfortune of being subjected to the same policy of apartheid, fully comprehend the basis and the rationale of the historic decision the General Assembly is about to take. Namibia therefore fully endorses the draft resolution.

The heinous policy of apartheid of the then-apartheid regime of South Africa is well-known and does not need elaboration. Allow me, however, to mention one salient point: apartheid was decreed a crime against humanity in 1973 by this Assembly in resolution 3068 (XXVIII) of 30 November 1973. By the same resolution the Assembly adopted and opened for signature the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. That demonstrates the rejection by the international community of the policy of apartheid -- a policy that attempted to create "ethnic purity" communities. Tragically, this was by force of State law. All this is now history, perhaps better forgotten.

It was from this perspective that we, the people of the United Nations, felt -- and rightly so -- proud of our achievements when a united, non-racial and democratic South Africa was finally invited to rejoin the community of nations. The moving triumphal statements we made in 1994, when South Africa was re-admitted into the United Nations, still ring loudly in our ears.

What the draft resolution demands from each Member State is a sacrifice worth making. In the history of mankind, moments of great disaster, either natural or as a result of the folly of man, international solidarity has always been the beacon of hope and confidence.

It is the irony of the human race that while being capable of producing monsters like Hitler and Verwoerd it is equally capable of galvanizing immeasurable generosity and solidarity. This is a case in point.

My delegation therefore urges the Assembly, in solidarity with the people of South Africa, to unanimously endorse the draft resolution. This is the least the international community could achieve.

Mr. Maruyama (Japan)

My delegation supports the adoption of draft resolution A/50/L.44/Rev.1, entitled "Normalization of the situation concerning South Africa", which approves the special arrangement excusing the Government of South Africa from the obligation of paying arrears for the period extending from 30 September 1974 through 23 June 1994.

This is indeed a unique arrangement in which all the other Member States have collectively shown their willingness to accommodate the request of the new Government of the Republic of South Africa and to bear the consequent financial burden. In so doing, they are acknowledging the fact that South Africa was barred from participating in the work of the United Nations by General Assembly resolution during the period in question. The arrangement is also an expression of their wish to congratulate South Africa on the abolition of apartheid.

My delegation is gratified to see that, as a result of the technical evaluation of this matter in the Fifth Committee, the financial consequences of the decision to relieve South Africa of the obligation to pay its arrears are spelled out clearly in the draft resolution. The present draft resolution is thus a great improvement over the previous text, which was somewhat vague on this issue. This improvement was an important factor in Japan's decision not only to support, but also to co-sponsor the draft resolution.

The Japanese delegation would like to join many other delegations in heartily commending the Republic of South Africa for putting an end through peaceful and democratic means to its long history of racial confrontation. In particular, it expresses profound admiration for President Mandela, for his wisdom and perseverance in creating a stable, democratic and free society. It is our sincere hope that the Republic of South Africa will continue to progress on that course.