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Acknowledgement

Apart from the efforts of me, the success of any project depends largely on the
encouragement and guidelines of many others. I take this opportunity to express
my gratitude to the people who have been instrumental in the successful
completion of this project.

I would like to show my greatest appreciation to Ass. Prof. Snajana Mittal. I can’t
say thank you enough for his tremendous support and help. I feel motivated and
encouraged every time I attend his meeting. Without his encouragement and
guidance this project would not have materialized.

The guidance and support received from all the members who contributed and
who are contributing to this project, was vital for the success of the project. I am
grateful for their constant support and help.
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ABSTRACT

South Africa mainly comprised of Blacks, Whites, Asians and Coloured, more than third-fourth
of the population was of Blacks. Apartheid was a separate development of the different racial
groups. The National party government made apartheid laws applicable on the country of
South Africa, by which the Blacks were completely discriminated. In gaining power by Napitonal
Party in, 1948, all whites enforced existing policies. The controversial Land Act, 1913 marked
the beginning of the Apartheid. The laws which were enforced by them were, Population
Registration Act, 1950, Groups Areas Act, 1950, Promotion of Bantu Self- Government Act,
1959, Prohibition of mixed Marriage, 1949, Reservation of separate amenities act, 1953,
Terrorism Act, 1965. The protest commenced from the Sharpeville massacre. In the umbrella of
Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Fredrik de Klerk the protest was further carried on and
were the main leaders in the protest. Even Gandhi ji had an important role in this protest. At
International level many countries across the world came up with protest in the General
Assembly, but the Britain, France and United States were in favour. But the General assembly
continuously took steps against the apartheid Laws. But, afterwards in 1977 which was the
turning point in South Africa, the death of Steve Biko in police custody was the turning point.
South Africa subsequently lost support of France, Britain and United States. At last in February,
1990, F.W de Klerk made the decision to dismantle apartheid.
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INTRODUCTION

Country of South Africa consisted of four major ethnic groups-:

1) Blacks
2) Whites
3) Asians
4) Coloured
Apartheid is translated from the Afrikaans meaning 'apartness', apartheid was the
ideology supported by the National Party (NP) government and was introduced in South Africa
in 1948. Apartheid called for the separate development of the different racial groups in South
Africa. On paper it appeared to call for equal development and freedom of cultural expression,
but the way it was implemented made this impossible. Apartheid made laws forced the
different racial groups to live separately and develop separately, and grossly unequally too. It
tried to stop all inter-marriage and social integration between racial groups. During apartheid,
to have a friendship with someone of a different race generally brought suspicion upon you, or
worse. More than this, apartheid was a social system which severely disadvantaged the
majority of the population, simply because they did not share the skin colour of the rulers.
Many were kept just above destitution because they were 'non-white'.1
In basic principles, apartheid did not differ that much from the policy of segregation of the
South African governments existing before the Afrikaner Nationalist Party came to power in
1948. The main difference is that apartheid made segregation part of the law. Apartheid cruelly
and forcibly separated people, and had a fearsome state apparatus to punish those who
disagreed. Another reason why apartheid was seen as much worse than segregation, was that
apartheid was introduced in a period when other countries were moving away from racist
policies. Before World War Two the Western world was not as critical of racial discrimination,
and Africa was colonized in this period. The Second World War highlighted the problems of

1
https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa
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racism, making the world turn away from such policies and encouraging demands for
decolonization. It was during this period that South Africa introduced the more rigid racial
policy of apartheid.
People often wonder why such a policy was introduced and why it had so much support.
Various reasons can be given for apartheid, although they are all closely linked. The main
reasons lie in ideas of racial superiority and fear. Across the world, racism is influenced by the
idea that one race must be superior to another. Such ideas are found in all population groups.
The other main reason for apartheid was fear, as in South Africa the white people are in the
minority, and many were worried they would lose their jobs, culture and language. This is
obviously not a justification for apartheid, but explains how people were thinking.

HISTORY & ORIGIN

After the National Party gained power in South Africa in 1948, its all-white government
immediately began enforcing existing policies of racial segregation under a system of legislation
that it called apartheid. Under Aparthied, the non-whites which included Blacks, Asians and
coloured which made up the majority of the population of the country, would be forced to live
in separate areas from the Whites and use separate public facilities, and contact between two
groups would be limited. 2

The Birth of Aparthied is seen from when the racial segregation and white supremacy had
become central aspects of South African policy long before apartheid began. The Controversial
1913 Land Act, passed three years after South Africa gained its independence, marked the
beginning of territorial segregation by forcing black Africans to live in reserves and making it
illegal for them to work as sharecroppers. Opponents of the land Act formed the South African
National Native Congress, which became the African National Congress.

APARTHEID BECOMES LAW3

Numerous laws were passed in the creation of the apartheid state. Below are few of the pillars
on which it rested--:

1) Population Registration Act, 1950

This act demanded that all the people of South Africa will be registered according to their
racial groups. The Department of Home Affairs would have a record of people that whether

2
https://www.history.com/topics/africa/apartheid
3
https://www.paulding.k12.ga.us/cms/lib/GA01903603/Centricity/Domain/1137/Apartheid%20DBQ.docx
 Page 5

they are White, Black, Asian or Coloured. People will hence be treated differently on behalf of
their registration and their identity will be on basis of the registration.

2) Groups Areas Act, 1950

This act was passed for physical separation between races. The people were divided into
different groups according to their race.

3) Promotion of Bantu Self- Government Act, 1959

This act mentioned that different racial groups had to settle in different areas. Only a very small
percentage of the land was given to the Blacks which comprised of maximum of the population.
This act also halped the white to get rid of the black peoples living in their areas. They could not
own property here, only rent it, as the land could only be owned by the whites. Due to this act
people lost their homes, their farms which they have owned for many years.

4) Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, 1949

It prohibited( made illegal) marriages between white people and people of other races.

5) Pass Laws, 1952

This act forced the Black People to carry identification with them at all times. Ti was a criminal
offence to be unable to produce a pass when required to do so by Police. The Black persons
must show the pass to enter the white township.

6) Reservation of separate Amenities Act, 1953

Forced segregation of all public building and public transportation with the goal of ending
contact between whites and the other races.

7) Terrorism Act, 1967

Any person who uses violence to protest against the government of South Africa may be put in
jail withour trial.
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NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL LEVEL ( IN SOUTH AFRICA)

1) NATIONAL
Protest by Blacks against apartheid
It all started with the The Sharpeville Massacre on 21st March, 1960, a large crowd of Black
Africans gathered around the local police station, as part of the anti-pass laws protest organized
by the Pan-Africanist Congress. The plan called for a sustained, disciplined, non-violent protest,
and from all accounts the demonstrators did comply with the non-violence dict. The white
police opened fire on the unarmed protesters by firing ammunition into the crowd. The
frightened crowd turned to flee. 68 Black Africans were killed and 186 left wounded. Most of
the victims were women and Children and all of them were hit on their back.

To this the Black reaction on protest which was limited only to Johannesburg was soon spred to
Durban, Cape town and Port Elizabeth. The reactions consisted of mass-gatherings, surrenders
for arrest, and the public burning of Pass books. To this, On March 30 of that same year a state
of emergency was declared and South Africa was placed under martial law.

During this emergency the Pan-African Congress was outlawed and it bcame an offence and
punishable to ten years imprisonment, for any person to become or continue to be a member
of these bodies.

ROLE OF NELSON MANDELA

Nelson Mandela after his non-violent mindset was of view due to the The Sharpeville Massacre,
that now the Black people have two choices i.e., “ submit or fight” . In June 1961, Mandela and
the other African National Congress leaders, agreed that the time had come to fight. Mandela,
together with eight other leaders was arrested soon thereafter on grounds of treason. He was
convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment of with he served 27 years, most of them on
Robben Island.

Nelson Mandela in his Speech “ I am Prepared to Die…” in the speech Mandela said about what
the Africans want back from the whites. He said that Africans want their freedom back, they
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want to own their own land, they want that they must not be removed from their area where
they live, they wanted to be allowed out after 11 o’clock in the nightand not to be confined to
their rooms, they should be allowed to travel to other countries and to seek work anywhere
they want. Concluding this he said if in making all this possible he is also prepared to die .4

ROLE OF DESMOND TUTU

Desmond tutu was Black Anglican Bishop and civil rights leader. Tutu and other activists
convinced foreign nations and businesses to limit trade and investment in segregated South
Africa. Over time, there non-violent means of protest had a strong effect.5

ROLE OF FREDERIK DE KLERK

He, a white South African, became president of South Africa in 1989. He realized that the time
for reform was long past. He legalized the ANC and released Mandela in 1990. He also
abandoned Apartheid and repealed segregation laws. In 1994, an election was held in which
South Africans of all races could vote. The people elected Mandela for their new President.

The country saw another twenty years of this kind of violence. On the one hand oppressed
Black freedom fighters engaged the liberation with passion, while on the other white
government’s brutal security forces took all the measures deemed necessary to sustain the
apartheid system.6

ROLE OF MAHATAMA GANDHI

The anti Apartheid movement was sown by Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi in 1984 established the
anti colonial and anti racial discrimination movement for Natal Indian Congress. When Gandhi
knows about the disfranchise Indians, he urged them to protest for their rights. Gandhi sent
petitions for this disfranchise in the South African legislation and another one to Lord Ripon
who disallowed this disfranchising bill and Gandhi ultimately succeeded. Gandhi experimented
his Satyagraha in 1906 against the registration of Asians. Thousands of Asians opposed and

4
https://www.paulding.k12.ga.us/cms/lib/GA01903603/Centricity/Domain/1137/Apartheid%20DBQ.docx
5
Ibid
6
Ibid
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boycotted this registration and government put them into jails. The burning of passes also
makes an assert of thousands of Indians. The 1930 epic march of Gandhi in the coal mines of
Natal evokes massive response from the women's as well as makes workers voluntarily on
strike.

INTERNATIONAL LEVEL7
 New rules developed in response to apartheid, customary international law evolved in
opposition to racist state-policy.
 Nelson Mandela in October 1994 acknowledged in his speech in General assembly that
United Nations has made great efforts in ensuring the suppression of the apartheid
crime against humanity.
 South Africa’s discriminatory racial policies was raised I the very first session of the
General Assembly and has since occupied a central position on the agenda of the
General Assembly for more than 40 years.
 India was the first State to challenge South Africa before the General Assembly on
Apartheid generally, but in particular on her treatment of people of Indian origin. In
1952, a resolution was passed which effectively created the Commission on the Racial
Situation in the Union of South Africa. The Commission was mandated to investigate
and report upon South Africa’s racial policies. Three report were submitted to the
General Assembly by the Commission, and all three criticized the discriminatory
practices of the apartheid government. The General Assembly adopted the reports in
resolutions to the effect that apartheid constituted a threat to peaceful relations
between nations. To this South Africa protested that apartheid was a domestic matter,
and that for this reason, it fell outside the jurisdiction of the United Nations on account
of non-intervention principle contained in article 2(7) of the charter. But the
International support disappeared after the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, when many
of the world powers stood against South Africa and started to believe that apartheid is a
threat to International peace and stability.
 The pressure continued to mount against South Africa, and South Africa continued to
ignore and disregard the pronouncements of the United Nations. The call for sanctions
increased and, in 1962 General Assembly Resolution 1761 (XVII) was adopted. It
expressly condemned racial discrimination in South Africa and called for member States
to: Break all diplomatic ties with South Africa; forbid heir ships from entering her ports;
7
Commentary: Assessing the world response to Apartheid By Kevin Hopkins
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boycott all South African goods and cease exporting to her; and refuse landing rights to
South African aircraft.
 Despite the apparent ineffectiveness of the Security Council, the General Assembly
continued to increase its anti-apartheid sentiment. It did this in two ways--:

1) The General Assembly effectively expelled South Africa from its meetings in 1974.

2) It used its mandate under article 13(1) (a) of the UN Charter to encourage the
progressive development of international law. It did this by submitting a Draft
Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid to the
member of the United Nations for ratification. The convention came into force on July
18, 1976. Currently 101 countries are parties to this convention. The convention
declares that apartheid is a crime against humanity and it criminalizes the principal
features of apartheid, namely murder, torture, and arbitrary arrest of members of one
particular race groups.

END OF APARTHIED8

In the year 1977 seems to have been the turning point for South Africa. The death of Steve Biko
in police custody was the last straw, and after this tragic event South Africa finally lost the
support of France, Britain and United States. The veto-Power barrier to the application of
Chapter VII had finally been crossed. In November of that year the Security Council passed a
binding resolution mandating an arms embargo against South Africa. This was the only time
that Chapter VII was ever invoked against South Africa. There were resolutions calling for the
release of political prisoners, the granting of clemency to political prisoners facing execution,
the lifting of the state of emergency and an end to attacks on neighbouring territories.

Crippling sanctions against South Africa were more widely implemented, and eventually the
international stranglehold of repeated cumulative action forced change upon the South Africa.
State President F.W de Klerk made the decision to dismantle apartheid in February 1990.

8
https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa
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ANALYSIS
The Analysis of the Apartheid in South Africa shows that the Laws made by the then South
African government for the Blacks were totally discriminatory and made the life of the people
of the country miserable, full of torture and restlessness. By making such laws the Black were
restricted from moving from one place another freely and their civil and political rights were
violated. They were not able to own any property in their own country. Instead of being in
majority they were restricted to a very small area.

The discriminatory Laws of Apartheid helped to the United Nations to make conventions on
protection of Human Rights. By these laws, the United Nations made provisions opposite and to
protect people from exploitation from such discrimination. United Nations formed the United
Nations Declaration o Human Rights and made two covenants which were--:

1) International Covenant on International and Political Rights

2) International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The discriminatory laws made under Apartheid were violation of various Articles of UDHR which
are as following--:9

Article 1-: All human beings are born free and equal and should be treated the same way.

Article 2-: Everyone can claim their rights regardless of sex, race, language, religion, social
standing, etc

Article 3-: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 5-: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.

Article 7-: All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal
protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation
of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 9-: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

9
Articles of Universal Declaration on Human Rights
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Article 10-: Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent
and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal
charge against him

Article 11-: You are considered innocent until it can be proved you are guilty according to law.
If accused of a crime you have the right to a defence.

Article 12-: You have the right to protection if someone tried to harm your good name, enter
your home without permission or interfere with your correspondence.

Article 13-: Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders
of each state.

Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 17-: Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.

No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 19 -: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes
freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek receive and impart information and
ideas though any media and regardless of frontiers.
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CONCLUSION

Since the dissolution of apartheid, South Africa has transformed itself from a pariah state to a
leader in African and world affairs. Diplomatic ties have been re-established with the States
that refused to have anything to do with South Africa during the apartheid era. The United
Nations and International Community have once again welcomed South Africa into the world of
global trade, finance, sport and culture. South Africa, in turn, has indicated her commitment to
the values of the International Community by signing most of the principal human rights
treaties.