Council for Namibia sues Netherlands over Namibia's natural resources.Council for Namibia sues Netherlands over Namibia's natural resources IN AN UNPRECEDENTED action, the United Nations Council for Namibia has instituted legal proceedings All actions that are authorized or sanctioned by law and instituted in a court or a tribunal for the acquisition of rights or the enforcement of remedies. in the Netherlands against the Dutch uranium enrichment plant Urenco Nederland V.O.F. and its State-controlled managing partner Ultracentrifuge ul·tra·cen·tri·fuge n. A centrifuge that uses high-velocity rotations to achieve the separation of colloidal or submicroscopic particles. ul Nederland N.V., as well as the Government of the Netherlands, "to prevent Urenco Nederland V.O.F. from carrying out orders on the basis of purchases of Namibian uranium'. The Council is the legal Administering Authority for the Territory until independence. It is the first time that a United Nations body has sued a Government. Council President Peter D. Zuze of Zambia said the action was "only a first step by the Council in implementing its decision of May 1985 to institute legal proceedings, as one of various options, to safeguard the natural resources of Namibia'. The writ of summons writ of summons n. pl. writs of summons A writ directing a person to appear in court to answer a complaint. was served on the defendants on 14 July. On 23 July, the Netherlands, in a letter (A/42/414) to the Secretary-General called the action "unprecedented', adding that Netherlands electricity companies did not buy Namibian uranium. Urenco Nederland V.O.F. and Ultracentrifuge Nederland N.V. operated within a German, British and Netherlands consortium, Urenco Ltd., established in 1971, that concluded enrichment contracts on behalf of the three partners in the consortium with electricity suppliers. The enrichment processes did not take place in the Netherlands. The Council's Steering Committee steer·ing committee n. A committee that sets agendas and schedules of business, as for a legislative body or other assemblage. steering committee Noun on 2 May 1985 decided to institute legal action, in domestic courts of States and other appropriate bodies, against corporations or individuals who were violating the Council's 1974 Decree No. 1 for the Protection of the Natural Resources of Namibia. The Committee had also decided that those legal proceedings would commence in the Netherlands, against Urenco, a company which it said was known to process Namibian uranium in violation of the Decree. The Decree forbids any person or entity from searching for, prospecting for, exploring for, taking, extracting, mining, processing, refining, using, selling, exporting or distributing any natural resources, whether animal or mineral, situated or found to be situated within Namibia's territorial limits without the Council's consent and permission. Other countries against which such action might be taken are: Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Political prisoners Special Committee demonstrates concern over future of prisoners in southern Africa
In related action, the Special Committee against Apartheid on 5 August marked the 25th anniversary of the imprisonment Imprisonment See also Isolation. Alcatraz Island former federal maximum security penitentiary, near San Francisco; “escapeproof.” [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 218] Altmark, the German prison ship in World War II. [Br. Hist. of black South African political leader Nelson Mandela Noun 1. Nelson Mandela - South African statesman who was released from prison to become the nation's first democratically elected president in 1994 (born in 1918) Mandela, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela . Committee Chairman Joseph N. Garba Garba could mean
The Special Committee on 28 August called upon the international anti-apartheid movement Anti-Apartheid Movement, originally known as the Boycott Movement, was a British organization that was at the center of the international movement opposing South Africa's system of apartheid and supporting South Africa's Blacks. to support a world-wide campaign to save the lives of 32 political prisoners now on "death row' in South Africa South Africa, Afrikaans Suid-Afrika, officially Republic of South Africa, republic (2005 est. pop. 44,344,000), 471,442 sq mi (1,221,037 sq km), S Africa. . The Committee deplored and condemned the "arbitrary application of death sentences as part of an ongoing campaign of persecution and brutality designed to crush and suppress the struggle of the South African people The term African people can be used in two ways. First, it may refer to all people who live in Africa, see also demographics of Africa. Second, it is commonly used to describe people who trace their recent ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa, in particular Sub-Saharan for liberation'. On the tenth anniversary--11 September--of the death in detention of South African black activist Steven Biko, the Special Committee against Apartheid noted that the circumstances that had led to his death were still present and had even worsened in South Africa. Committee Chairman Joseph N. Garba of Nigeria, in his statement, declared that ruthless repression and terror were still perpetrated against the political opponents of the apartheid regime. In memory of Steven Biko, he said, the international community should intensify its efforts to stop executions and obtain the unconditional release of all political prisoners and detainees. A campaign to free political prisoners in South Africa opposed to apartheid--"Unlock Apartheid's Jails'--was launched on 28 September by the Special Committee against Apartheid. The campaign, the honorary chairman of which is American entertainer Bill Cosby William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr., Ed.D. (born July 12 1937) is an American actor, comedian, television producer, and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a vanguard role in the 1960s action show I Spy. , is being conducted under the auspices of the American Committee on Africa, the AFRICA Fund, and non-governmental organizations associated with the Department of Public Information. Labour Actions against black workers protested, boycott lauded The Special Committee against Apartheid in July and August dealt with matters related to the situation of black workers involved in strikes for trade union rights in southern Africa. On 14 August, it called the use of force against 340,000 black workers a "concerted attempt to break the strike' undertaken by the National Union of Mine-workers, the largest affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the biggest of the country’s three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions, altogether organising 1.8 million workers. . The Special Committee also strongly protested the 31 July dismissal of more than 3,000 striking black miners by the Tsumeb Corporation, a foreign-owned base metal mining corporation operating in Namibia. The workers had been seeking higher wages, improved safety regulations and an end to discriminatory practices in the mines. On 14 July, the Council for Namibia expressed satisfaction regarding the boycott of import and reexport of uranium from Namibia and South Africa by dockers
Dockers is a brand of Levi Strauss & Co. Levi Strauss & Co. in Liverpool, United Kingdom, and the possibility that the Transport and General Workers Union might expand that boycott nation-wide. Kingston seminar Ways to promote cultural boycott considered Prominent personalities in the fields of art, culture and entertainment, met in Kingston, Jamaica The City of Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica. It is located on the southeastern coast of the island country at Coordinates: . , to consider ways to promote the cultural boycott against South Africa which has been called for by the United Nations General Assembly. The Special Committee against Apartheid sponsored the three-day (9-11 September) meeting, which was also attended by representatives of United Nations bodies, nongovernmental organizations Transnational organizations of private citizens that maintain a consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Nongovernmental organizations may be professional associations, foundations, multinational businesses, or simply groups with a common interest in , liberation movements and intergovernmental organizations. Meetings Solemn meetings mark twenty-first anniversary of Namibia struggle Two solemn meetings were held on 26 August in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of by the United Nations Council for Namibia in observance of Namibia Day, marking the twenty-first anniversary of the start of the Namibian liberation struggle. Speakers called for Namibians to attain self-determination and independence without delay. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar Pé·rez de Cuél·lar , Javier Born 1920. Peruvian diplomat who served as secretary-general of the United Nations (1982-1991). told the assemblage that events had shown that the just and legitimate aspirations of Namibians could not continue to be thwarted without serious detriment to peace and stability in southern Africa. Day of Solidarity with South African and Namibian women observed The Special Committee against Apartheid on 10 August observed the International Day of Solidarity with the Struggle of Women of South Africa and Namibia at a solemn meeting in New York. The Day was proclaimed by the General Assembly in 1981 to commemorate a demonstration held on 9 August 1956 in Pretoria, South Africa, to protest the extension of pass laws Pass laws in South Africa were designed to segregate the population and were one of the dominant features of the country's apartheid system. Introduced in South Africa in 1923, they were designed to regulate movement of black Africans into urban areas. to African women. Committee Chairman Joseph N. Garba of Nigeria said the Day's world-wide observance was intended to publicize the unjust and brutal nature of the apartheid system, especially as it affected the women of South Africa and Namibia, and to promote increased material and moral support for their struggle. Pretoria's "total isolation' sought by international student conference The International Student Conference in Solidarity with the Struggle of the Students of Southern Africa (London, 31 July-3 August) has resolved to campaign for Pretoria's total isolation and for the immediate imposition of universal comprehensive and mandatory United Nations sanctions against South Africa. The Conference, co-sponsored by the Special Committee against Apartheid, and the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom The National Union of Students (NUS) is the main confederation of students' unions that exist inside the United Kingdom. Although the NUS is the central organisation for all affiliated unions in the UK, there are also devolved national sub bodies NUS Scotland, NUS Wales/UCM Cymru and the British Anti-Apartheid Movement, adopted by acclamation a Declaration and a Programme of Action calling for an international day of anti-apartheid student activity on 16 June 1988. The Conference was attended by public leaders and representatives of organizations concerned with the question of South Africa and Namibia from national, regional and international student and youth organizations; United Nations bodies; liberation movements; specialized agencies; intergovernmental organizations; anti-apartheid and solidarity movements; and international and British non-governmental organizations. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion