Situaiton in Namibia Resulting From the Illegal Occupation of the Territory by South Africa

A/RES/39/50[A]View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 29 Question of Namibia, published in 1985.

What subjects does this mandate have?

12 subjects

Decolonization Financial Assistance Independence Military Activity Military Assistance Namibia Namibia Question Natural Resources Negotiation Self-Determination of Peoples South Africa Walvis Bay (Namibia)

What’s in this document?

67 operative paragraphs

A/RES/39/50 [A]

A

Approves the report of the United Nations Council for Namibia;59

Takes special note of the Bangkok Declaration and Programme of Action on Namibia;65

Takes note of the debate on the question of Namibia held in the Security Council from 20 to 28 October 1983, culminating in the adoption of resolution 539 (1983), by which the Council rejected South Africa's insistence on linking the independence of Namibia to irrelevant and extraneous issues as incompatible with Council resolution 435 ( 1978) and declared that the independence of Namibia

could not be held hostage to the resolution of issues that were alien to resolution 435 (1978);

Further takes note of Security Council resolution 539 (1983) by which the Council decided, in the event of continued obstruction by South Africa, to consider the adoption of appropriate measures under the Charter of the United Nations;

Reaffirms the inalienable right of the people of Namibia to self-determination, freedom and national independence in a united Namibia, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and as recognized in Gen eral Assembly resolutions 1514 (XV) and 2145 (XXI) and in subsequent resolutions of the Assembly relating to Namibia, as well as the legitimacy of their struggle by all the means at their disposal, including armed struggle, against the illegal occupation of their territory by South Africa;

Reiterates that, in accordance with its resolution 2145 (XXI), Namibia is the direct responsibility of the United Nations until genuine self-determination and national independence are achieved in the Territory and, for this purpose, reaffirms the mandate given to the United Nations Council for Namibia as the legal Administering Authority for Namibia until independence under resolu tion 2248 (S-V) and subsequent resolutions of the General Assembly;

Reaffirms that the South West Africa People's Organization, the national liberation movement of Namibia, is the sole and authentic representative of the Namibian people;

Further reaffirms that the genuine independence of Namibia can be achieved only with the direct and full par ticipation of the South West Africa People's Organization in all efforts to implement resolutions of the United Nations relating to Namibia;

Strongly condemns the South African regime for its continued illegal occupation of Namibia in defiance of the resolutions of the United Nations relating to Namibia;

Declares that South Africa's illegal occupation of Namibia constitutes an act of aggression against the Namibian people in terms of the Definition of Aggression contained in General Assembly resolution 3314 (XXIX) of 14 December 1974 and supports the armed struggle of the Namibian people, under the leadership of the South West Africa People's Organization, to repel South Africa's aggression and to achieve self-determination, freedom and national independence in a united Namibia;

Reaffirms that Security Council resolution 435 (1978) remains the only acceptable basis for a peaceful set tlement of the Namibian question and calls once again for its immediate and unconditional implementation;

Urges the Security Council to act decisively in ful filment of the direct responsibility of the United Nations over Namibia and to take, without further delay, appropri ate action to ensure that the United Nations plan, as con tained in Security Council resolution 435 (1978), is not undermined or modified in any way and that it is fully respected and implemented;

Reiterates its conviction that South Africa's contin ued illegal occupation of Namibia, its defiance of United Nations resolutions, its brutal repression of the Namibian people, its acts of destabilization and aggression against independent African States and its policies of apartheid constitute a threat to international peace and security;

Expresses its dismay at the failure to date of the Security Council to discharge effectively its responsibilities for the maintenance of international peace and security. owing to the opposition of its Western permanent mem bers;

I 5. Declares that comprehensive mandatory sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations are the only effective measures to ensure South Africa's compliance with the resolutions and decisions of the United Nations;

Denounces all fraudulent constitutional and politi cal schemes through which the illegal racist regime of South Africa may attempt to perpetuate its colonial domi nation of Namibia and, in particular, calls upon the inter national community, especially all Member States, to con tinue to refrain from according any recognition or extending any co-operation to any regime which the illegal South African administration may impose upon the Namibian people in disregard of Security Council resolu tions 385 ( 1976), 435 ( 1978), 439 (1978), 532 (1983) and 539 (1983) and ofother relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Council;

Condemns South Africa for its continued attempts to circumvent the United Nations plan for Namibia by promoting an internal settlement through the so-called "Multi-Party Conference" and declares that such attempts by the racist regime, immediately following the decision to establish a so-called State Council with the object of draw ing up a "Constitution", once again make clear that Preto ria has no intention of complying with the letter and spirit of the United Nations plan and seeks, instead, to consoli date its illegitimate hold on the Territory through the installation of puppet political institutions subservient to its own interests;

Reaffirms that all such manoeuvres are fraudulent and null and void and that they must be rejected categori cally by all States as called for in the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council;

Reiterates that there are only two parties to the conflict in Namibia, namely, the people of Namibia, led by their sole and authentic representative, the South West Africa People's Organization, on the one hand, and the illegal occupation regime of South Africa, on the other;

Further reiterates that all efforts must be deployed to counter any sinister manoeuvres aimed at circum venting the United Nations and undermining its primary responsibility for the decolonization of Namibia;

Firmly rejects and condemns the persistent attempts by the United States of America and South Africa to establish a "linkage" or "parallelism" between the independence of Namibia and any extraneous and irrelevant issues, in particular the withdrawal of Cuban forces from Angola, and emphasizes unequivocally that all such attempts are designed to delay the decolonization process in Namibia and that they constitute interference in the internal affairs of Angola;

Expresses its appreciation to the front-line States and the South West Africa People's Organization for their statesmanlike and constructive attitude in the efforts aimed at implementing Security Council resolution 435 ( 1978);

Reaffirms its conviction that the solidarity and sup port of the front-line States for the Namibian cause contin ues to be a factor of paramount importance in the efforts to bring genuine independence to the Territory;

Strongly urges the international community to increase, as a matter of urgency, financial, material, mili tary and political support to the front-line States so as to enable them to resolve their own economic difficulties, which are largely a consequence of Pretoria's policies of aggression and subversion, and to defend themselves bet-

ter against South Africa's persistent attempts to destabilize them;

Commends the South West Africa People's Organ ization for its continued intensification of the struggle on all fronts, including the armed struggle, and for its com mitment to embrace all Namibian patriots in an effort to strengthen further the national unity so as to ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of a united Namibia, and welcomes the consolidation of unity in action by the patriotic forces in Namibia under the leadership of the South West Africa People's Organization, during the criti cal phase of their struggle for national and social libera tion;

Reaffirms its solidarity with, and support for, the South West Africa People's Organization, the sole and authentic representative of the Namibian people, and pays tribute to that organization for sacrifices it has made in the field of battle and also for the spirit of statesmanship, co operation and far-sightedness it has displayed in the politi cal and diplomatic arena despite the most extreme provo cations on the part of the racist Pretoria regime;

Welcomes the release of Andimba Toivo ya Toivo, Secretary-General of the South West Africa People's Organization, and other leaders of that organization and considers it a victory for the international campaign;

Declares that all so-called laws and proclamations issued by the illegal occupation regime in Namibia are ille gal, null and void;

Calls upon Member States and the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system to render sustained and increased support as well as material, financial, military and other assistance to the South West Africa People's Organization so as to enable it to intensify its struggle for the liberation of Namibia;

Urges all Governments and the specialized agen cies and other intergovernmental organizations to provide increased material assistance to the thousands of Namibian refugees who have been forced by the apartheid regime's oppressive policies to flee Namibia, especially into the neighbouring front-line States;

Solemnly reaffirms that Namibia's accession to independence must be with its territorial integrity intact, including Walvis Bay and the offshore islands, and reiter ates that, in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations, in particular Security Council resolution 432 (1978) of 27 July 1978 and General Assembly resolutions S-9/2 of 3 May 1978 and 35/227 A of 6 March 1981, any attempt by South Africa to annex them is, therefore, ille gal, null and void;

Calls upon the Security Council to declare categori cally that Walvis Bay is an integral part of Namibia and that the question should not be left as a matter for negotia tion between an independent Namibia and South Africa;

Strongly condemns South Africa for obstructing the implementation of United Nations resolutions, in par ticular Security Council resolutions 385 (1976), 435 ( 1978), 439 (1978), 532 (1983) and 539 ( 1983), and for its manoeuvres, in contravention of those resolutions, designed to consolidate its colonial and neo-colonial inter ests at the expense of the legitimate aspirations of the Namibian people for genuine self-determination, freedom and national independence in a united Namibia;

Condemns racist South Africa for sabotaging the Namibian independence talks held in 1984 at Lusaka and Mindelo by insisting on the notorious "linkage" pre-con dition and introducing new insidious subterfuge as alterna tives to Security Council resolution 435 (1978);

Condemns and rejects the puppet "Multi-Party Conference" as the latest in a series of political stratagems

Strongly urges the Security Council to act deci sively against any dilatory manoeuvres and fraudulent schemes of the illegal occupation regime aimed at frustrat ing the legitimate struggle of the Namibian people, under the leadership of the South West Africa People's Organiza tion, for self-determination and national liberation;

3 7. Condemns the increased assistance rendered by the major Western countries and Israel to South Africa in the political, economic, financial and particularly the military and nuclear fields, expresses its conviction that this assis tance constitutes a hostile action against the people of Namibia and the front-line States since it is bound to strengthen further the aggressive military machine of the racist regime, and therefore demands that such assistance be immediately terminated;

Denounces the establishment of the so-called Liai son Office of the United States Government at Windhoek in direct violation of relevant resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, in partic ular Council resolutions 283 (1970) of 29 July 1970 and 30 I ( 1971) of 20 October 1971, and in total disregard of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 2 I June 1971, 61 and calls for its immediate closure and withdrawal;

Calls once again upon all Governments, especially those which have close links with South Africa, to support, in co-operation with the United Nations Council for Namibia, the actions of the United Nations to defend the national rights of the Namibian people until indepen dence;

Strongly condemns South Africa for its military buildup in Namibia, its introduction of compulsory mili tary service for Namibians, its recruitment and training of Namibians for tribal armies, its use of mercenaries to sup press the Namibian people and to carry out its military attacks against independent African States, its threats and acts of subversion and aggression against those States and the forcible displacement of Namibians from their homes;

Strongly condemns South Africa for its recent imposition of military conscription of all Namibian males between seventeen and fifty-five years of age into the occu pying colonial army, in yet another sinister attempt to sup press the national liberation struggle of the Namibian peo ple and to force Namibians to kill one another, and declares that all measures taken by racist South Africa by which the illegal occupation regime attempts to enforce military conscription in Namibia are illegal, null and void;

Condemns the racist regime of South Africa for its use of the territory of Namibia as a staging ground from which to launch acts of subversion, destabilization and aggression against neighbouring African States;

Strongly condemns South Africa, in particular for its persistent acts of subversion and aggression against Angola, including continued occupation of parts of Ango lan territory in gross violation of its sovereignty, and calls upon South Africa to cease all acts of aggression against Angola and withdraw immediately and unconditionally all its troops from that country;

Condemns the continuing military and nuclear col laboration on the part of certain Western States and Israel with the racist regime of South Africa, in violation of the arms embargo imposed against South Africa under Secur ity Council resolution 4 1 8 (1977) of 4 November 1977;

Declares that such collaboration encourages the Pretoria regime in its defiance of the international commu-

nity and obstructs efforts to eliminate apartheid and bring South Africa's illegal occupation of Namibia to an end and calls for immediate cessation of such collaboration;

Calls upon the Security Council to adopt the neces sary measures to tighten the arms embargo imposed against South Africa under Council resolution 418 ( 1977) and to ensure strict compliance with the embargo by all States;

Further calls upon the Security Council to imple ment, as a matter of urgency, the recommendations con tained in the report of the Security Council Committee established in pursuance of resolution 421 ( 1977); 70

Expresses its grave concern at the acquisition of nuclear weapons capability by the racist regime of South Africa and declares that such acquisition constitutes a threat to peace and security in Africa while posing a danger to all mankind;

Strongly condemns the collusion between South Africa, Israel and certain Western States, particularly the United States of America, in the nuclear field and calls upon France and all other States to refrain from supplying the racist minority regime of South Africa, directly or indi rectly, with installations that might enable it to produce uranium, plutonium or other nuclear materials, reactors or military equipment;

Reiterates its call upon all States to take legislative and other appropriate measures to prevent the recruit ment, training and transit of mercenaries for service in Namibia;

Strongly condemns the illegal occupation regime of South Africa for its massive repression of the people of Namibia and their liberation movement, the South West Africa People's Organization, in an attempt to intimidate and terrorize them into submission;

Demands once again that South Africa immedi ately release all Namibian political prisoners, including all those imprisoned or detained under the so-called internal security laws, martial law or any other arbitrary measures, whether such Namibians have been charged or tried or are being held without charge in Namibia or South Africa;

Demands that South Africa account for all "disap peared" Namibians and release any who are still alive and declares that South Africa shall be liable to compensate the victims, their families and the future lawful Government of an independent Namibia for the losses sustained;

Reaffirms that the natural resources of Namibia are the inviolable heritage of the Namibian people and expresses its deep concern at the rapid depletion of the na˫ural resources of the Territory, particularly its uranium deposits, as a result of their reckless plunder by South Africa and certain Western and other foreign economic interests, in violation of the pertinent resolutions of the General Assembly and of the Security Council, of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 21 June 197161 and of Decree No. 1 for the Protection of the Natural Resources of Namibia;69

Strongly condemns the activities of all foreign eco nomic interests operating in Namibia which are illegally exploiting the resources of the Territory and demands that transnational corporations engaged in such exploitation comply with all the relevant resolutions and decisions of the United Nations by immediately refraining from any new investment or any other activity in Namibia, by with drawing from the Territory and by putting an end to their co-operation with the illegal South African administration:

Declares that all act1v1t1es of foreign economic interests in Namibia are illegal under international law and that all the foreign economic interests operating in Namibia are liable to pay damages to the future lawful Government of an independent Namibia;

Requests once again all Member States, particu larly those States whose corporations are engaged in the exploitation of Namibian resources, to take all appropriate measures, including legislation and enforcement action, to ensure the full application of, and compliance by all corpo rations and individuals within their jurisdiction with, the provisions of Decree No. I for the Protection of the Natu ral Resources of Namibia;

Declares that, by their depletive exploitation of natural resources and continued accumulation and repatri ation of huge profits, the foreign economic, financial and other interests operating in Namibia constitute a major obstacle to its independence;

Calls upon the Governments of all States, particu larly those whose corporations are involved in the mining and processing of Namibian uranium, to take all appropri ate measures in compliance with United Nations resolu tions and decisions and Decree No. 1 for the Protection of the Natural Resources of Namibia, including the practice of requiring negative certificates of origin, to prohibit State-owned and other corporations, together with their subsidiaries, from dealing in Namibian uranium and from engaging in any uranium-prospecting activities in Namibia;

Urges the United Nations Council for Namibia, in its capacity as the legal Administering Authority for Namibia until independence, to consider the promulgation of additional decrees and other legislation in order to pro tect and promote the interest of the people of Namibia and to implement effectively such legislation;

Requests the Governments of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which operate the Urenco uranium-enrichment plant, to have Namibian ura nium specifically excluded from the Treaty of Almelo, which regulates the activities of Urenco;

Calls upon all specialized agencies, in particular the International Monetary Fund, to terminate all collabo ration with and assistance to the racist regime of South Africa, since such assistance serves to augment the mili tary capability of the Pretoria regime thus enabling it not only to continue the brutal repression in Namibia and South Africa itself, but also to commit blatant aggression against independent neighbouring States;

Reiterates its request to all States, pending the imposition of mandatory sanctions against South Africa, to take legislative, administrative and other measures uni laterally and collectively, as appropriate, in order effec tively to isolate South Africa politically, economically, militarily and culturally, in accordance with General Assembly resolutions ES-8/2 and 36/121 B, and 37/233 A of 20 December 1982;

Requests the United Nations Council for Namibia, in implementation of paragraph 15 of General Assembly resolution ES-8/2 and of the relevant provisions of Assem bly resolutions 36/121 B and 37/233 A, to continue to monitor the boycott of South Africa and to submit to the Assembly at its fortieth session a comprehensive report on all contacts between Member States and South Africa, containing an analysis of the information received from Member States and other sources on the continuing politi cal, economic, financial and other relations of States and

their economic and other interest groups with South Africa and of measures taken by States to terminate all dealings with the racist regime of South Africa;

Requests all States to co-operate fully with the United Nations Council for Namibia in the fulfilment of its task concerning the implementation of General Assem bly resolutions ES-8/2, 36/121 B and 37/233 A and to report to the Secretary-General by the fortieth session of the Assembly on the measures taken by them in the imple mentation of those resolutions;

Declares that the liberation struggle in Namibia is a conflict of an international character in terms of article I, paragraph 4, of Additional Protocol 171 to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 194972 and, in this regard, demands that the Conventions and Additional Protocol I be applied by South Africa, and in particular that all cap tured freedom fighters be accorded prisoner-of-war status as called for by the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War73 and Additional Protocol thereto;

Declares that South Africa's defiance of the United Nations, its illegal occupation of the Territory of Namibia, its war of repression against the Namibian people, its per sistent acts of aggression against independent African States, its policies of apartheid and its development of nuclear weapons constitute a serious threat to interna tional peace and security;

Strongly urges the Security Council, in the light of the serious threat to international peace and security posed by South Africa, to respond positively to the overwhelm ing demand of the international community by imme diately imposing comprehensive mandatory sanctions against that country, as provided for in Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations;

Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fortieth session on the implemen tation of the present resolution.

55 N39/130-S/16409. For the printed text, see Official Records of 1h,· Security Council, Thmy-ninth Year. Supplement for January, Februarv and March I 984, document SI 16409. 56 A/391130/ Add. I -S/16409/ Add. I. For the printed text, see Offinal Records of the Security Council, Thmv-ninth Year, Supplement .for Julr, Auf/';t and Septemher 1984. document S/16409/Add.l.

Ibid., para. 4. SS The report was issued under the symbol A/40/168-S/ 17014. For the printed text. see Ofjicial Records o{the Security Council, Forue1h Year. Su/> plemenl for Januarr. Februarr and ×farch 19/i.<. document S117014. 59 Offic,a/ Records of 1he General Assembly, Thirty-ninth Session, Supple ment No. 24 (A/39124). 60 Ibid .. Supplement No. 13 (N39/23). 61 Legal Consequences for States o.f the Cominued Presence of South Africa 1n Namibia /South West Africa) notwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276 ( 19701. Adv,sPrr Op1n,on, I.CJ. Reports, 1971, p. 16. 62 See A;38i707-S/ 16206, annex. 61 A/391207, annex. resolution C'M!Res.934 (XL).

II. 64 A/AC.115/L.61 I.

68 See Official Records of the Security Council, Thirty-sixth Year, 2300th 65 Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-ninth Session, Supple meeting. ment No. 24 (A/39/24), pan two, chap. Ill, sect. B.

69 Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-fifth Session, Supple 66 A/39/560-S/16773, annex.

ment No. 24 (A/35/24), vol. I, annex IL 67 Official Journal of the European Communaies, No. C I 72145.

70 Official Records of the Security Counol, Thirty,fjfih Year, Supp/emem for July, August and September 1980, document S/ 1 4 1 79.

71 A/321144, annex I.

16 Ib1d., Supplement for July August and September /983, document SI 72 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 7 5, Nos. 970-973.

1 5943. 73 Ibid., No. 972, p. 135.

77 Ibid., Supplement for Octoher. Nm•ember and December / 983. docu 74 See resolution ES-8/2.

ment S/16237. 75 Official Records of the Security Council, Thirty-eighth Year, Supplement for April. May and June /983, document S/1 5776.

II.

78 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-ninth Session. Sup plement No. 24 (A/39/24). part two. chap. III. sects. C D. F and G.

79 Repon of the International Conference in Support of the Struggle of the 82 Ibid .. sect. D. Namibian People for Independence, Paris, 25-29 April 1983 (AICONF. l 201 83 Ibid .. sect. F. I 3l, part three.

84 / bid .. sect. G.

O See Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-eighth Session. Sufflement No. 24 (A/38/24), para. 576.

Ibid., Thirty-ninth Session, Supplement No. 24 (A/39/24 ), pan two. chap. Ill, sect. C.

II.

85 Ibid., part two, chap. VIII and chap. IX, sect. B. 86 For the text of the Charter of the United Nations Institute for Namibia, as amended, see Official Records o/lhe General Assembly. Thirty-seventh Ses sion, Supplement 'No. 24 (A/37/24), annex IV.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

A

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