South Africa rejoins the world community; Nelson Mandela elected president.

Today, we have been privileged to witness a turning-point in the history of a nation. Today, South Africa regains its rightful place in Africa, in the United Nations and in the family of nations", Secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali said in congratulating Nelson Mandela on his inauguration as State President of the Republic of South Africa on 10 May. The Pretoria ceremony followed South Africa's first non-racial and democratic elections, held from 26 to 29 April, which resulted in victories for former political prisoner Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC).

The UN Observer Mission in South Africa (UNOMSA)--the largest electoral observer mission yet mounted by the UN--had deployed 2,527 personnel throughout the country to observe the elections, which were declared sufficiently free and fair by Judge Johan Kriegler, Chairman of the independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

Voter turnout was estimated at 86 per cent of the 2 3 million eligible voters. Approximately 300,000 South Africans living abroad voted in the country of their residence. The Electoral Assistance Unit of the UN provided observers for 120 polling stations in 57 countries.

The new, six-colour flag of South Africa--with its horizontal bands of black, gold, green, white, blue and red--was unfurled for the first time at UN Headquarters on 27 April, in a ceremony attended by the country's Permanent Representative to the UN and representatives of the ANC and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC).

With the conclusion of the elections and the hoisting of the new flag at midnight on 27 April, South Africa's first non-racial and democratic constitution entered into force, ending 46 years of apartheid--the system of institutionalized racial segregation which favoured the white minority over the non-white majority.

Ibrahim A. Gambari of Nigeria, Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid, extended to all South Africans and their political leaders heartfelt congratulations and warmest wishes for "the peaceful and stable development of a new South Africa".

The UN had spearheaded the international campaign against apartheid, initiating and supporting programmes aimed at alleviating the suffering of its victims. It had also provided a forum for the representatives of South African organizations, such as the ANC, to advance the anti-apartheid campaign.

During May and June, South Africa began to rejoin the UN bodies from which it had been barred for its racial policies. In a historic meeting on 23 June, South Africa took its place once again in the General Assembly to a round of applause, when the Assembly, in adopting resolution 48/13 C, accepted--after refusing for 24 years--the credentials of the new Government's delegation. Also, by adopting resolutions 48/2 5 8 A and B, the Assembly terminated the mandate of the Special Committee and discontinued the UN Trust Fund for South Africa, since their mandates had been fulfilled.

Alfred Nzo, South Africa's Minister for Foreign Affairs, said his country's "long night of diplomatic isolation" had finally come to an end.

On 2 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) restored South Africa's full membership with immediate effect. South Africa had lost its voting privileges as a result of a resolution adopted by the seventeenth World Health Assembly in 1964, which considered that "apartheid officially raised to the status of a political system by a Government represents an exceptional circumstance of failure to adhere to the humanitarian principles governing the WHO".

On 27 May, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) announced that it would terminate its 30-year campaign against apartheid and aid the social and economic recovery of the new democracy. In its June session, ILO was due to formally rescind the Declaration concerning Action against Apartheid, which its Governing Body had suspended in November 1993.

In June, the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) also suspended, with immediate effect, the further implementation of its Assembly decision limiting the participation of South Africa in ICAO meetings and the receipt by South Africa of ICAO documentation.

Rejoining the world community

On 25 May--Africa Day--the Security Council lifted the mandatory arms embargo and other restrictions against South Africa, which it had imposed on 4 November 1977 through its resolution 418 (1977). In unanimously adopting resolution 919 (1994), the Council stressed the urgent need to facilitate South Africa's reintegration into the international community. It welcomed the recent all-race multi-party election and the establishment of a united, democratic and nonracial South African Government. The Council also dissolved its Committee on the question of South Africa.

"The victory that has been won in South Africa belongs as much to the people of our country as to this Organization and the peoples of the world", said South Africa's First Executive Deputy President, Thabo Mbeki, to the Council. South Africa was now recognized as a democratic country; it was committed to being a good citizen of the world, and could be counted on to adhere to the pursuit of important goals of international peace and security, he added.

Mr. Mbeki, at a 26 May press conference, said South Africa was expected to retake its General Assembly seat in late June. The Special Committee would be visiting the country in early June and could be expected to report that the purpose for which the Committee was established had been realized and that it would recommend the restoration of South Africa's credentials. [On 12 November 1974, a procedural decision of the Assembly had resulted in the suspension of South Africa's participation in Assembly work.

Other developments

Before the election, the Security Council welcomed on 19 April the agreement reached that day between the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the ANC and the Government of South Africa, following which the IFP decided to participate in the elections. in a statement by the Council President, its members said they hoped that the agreement would end the violence that had scarred South Africa and that it would promote lasting reconciliation among its people.

The Council also commended the positive contribution by UNOMSA and the international community to the transitional process in South Africa and reiterated its determination to support the process of peaceful democratic change for the benefit of all South Africans.

In a 14 April report (S/1994/435) on the progress of UNOMSA's work, the Secretary-General highlighted preparations for the elections and the Mission's activities to monitor violence and defuse tensions.

He reported that the Transitional Executive Council (TEC), the IEC, the Independent Media Commission (IMC) and the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) had all become operational and were pressing ahead with their tasks. The major problem before them was non-participation of some political parties on the grounds that the interim Constitution was unacceptable to them. The Secretary-General reported on attempts made to ensure participation of those parties which formed the Freedom Alliance (particularly the IFP and the white, right-wing parties) in the transitional process and the April elections.

The number of political fatalities had declined, from a national monthly average of 366 in 1993 to 286 in early 1994. However, there was still an average of 10 deaths a day, many of them women and children.

Recent peace initiatives had reduced the death toll in Pretoria, Witwatersrand and Vaal from 142 in January to 69 in February, it was reported. In the East Rand, months of arson and bloodshed had subsided with the deployment of the South African Defence Force (SADF) to work with the South African Police.

Political fatalities in Natal/Kwazulu were much higher than anywhere else in the country and had averaged 161 per month. Disturbances in the townships of Umlazi and Kwamashu, just outside Durban, which had been centres of major IFP-ANC conflict, had caused the displacement of families and were deterring workers from travelling to work. Fear that IFP would ultimately go for an all-out disruption of the elections had increased the likelihood of even higher levels of violence.

UNOMSA teams had continued to follow rallies and other public events, investigated instances of intimidation and worked dosely with national peace structures and with regional and local peace committees. However, the lack of commitment on the part of political parties had caused many of the peace committees to become "dysfunctional" or even defunct.

UNOMSA's Public information and Media Analysis Section monitored the major press in English and Afrikaans. Activities of major political parties were reflected in a reasonably objective and generous fashion by the media in South Africa. In all, the print media was lively with electoral columns, editorials, supplements and voter education materials, and within recognized constraints, it could be considered fair, UNOMSA reported.

Eager to vote

UNOMSA had evaluated the adequacy of the voter education coverage in terms of both substantive information imparted to the potential electorate and geographical coverage. There had been a growing number of reports about voter intimidation. Voter education campaigns were to give additional emphasis to convincing people that votes would be kept secret.

Special Committee Chairman Gambari, reporting (A/48/921-S/1994/383) on a mission to South Africa from 28 February to 6 March, said the majority of South Africans were eager to participate in the first ever multiracial elections in the country Despite this enthusiasm, concern was still expressed over the political intolerance which had resulted in persistent violence across the country, in particular in Natal and the East Rand.

Decisive action

The decisive action by white and black government forces on behalf of civil order appeared to have weakened the resistance to elections, as well as split the radical white separatist groups and isolated IFP and its Chairman, Chief Buthelezi.

A problematic issue concerned identity cards or other voting documentation. Although prospective voters might number between 18 million and 23 million, it appeared that only half of the voters were adequately documented. It was unclear how the remaining 9 million to 12 million people could receive proper documents before the elections.

UNOMSA recommended that the international community should not respond to calls for postponement of the elections, as advocated by parties not firmly committed to non-racial and democratic elections. Such a postponement, no matter how brief, was unlikely to ensure the participation of all organizations in South Africa, and would lead to an intensification of violence. Furthermore, any deferral would have serious financial implications at a time when there were clear signs of contribution fatigue by the international community, he reported.

In his 16 June report on the question of South Africa (S/1994/717), the Secretary-General said its first democratic elections had been "truly historic". The UN, through UNOMSA, had reaped a wealth of experience. Its achievements, as well as its mistakes and shortcomings, would be recalled when similar missions were planned in future.

As an exercise in preventive diplomacy, drawing on the strengths of several international organizations to support indigenous efforts towards peace and national reconciliation, the international community's efforts in South Africa since 1992 offered a unique and positive demonstration of the benefits of such cooperation.

The IEC had succeeded in delivering an election against colossal odds and deserved to be congratulated, the Secretary-General stated. The performance of the electoral machinery had not been perfect, as the Commission itself had been the first to admit. Fortunately, the perseverance and spirit of compromise that prevailed in the negotiations had been sustained. The political parties had demonstrated remarkable maturity and responsibility, thus helping to achieve an overall acceptable, creditable result. That was one of the great lessons to be drawn from the whole process of change in South Africa. Throughout the transitional process, its political leaders had stayed the course, reaching deep into their own reserves of energy and imagination to overcome each stumbling block in their path. For that, they deserved admiration and continued support.

In its report of 14 June (A/48/22/ Add.1-S/26714/Add.1), the Special Committee stated that the elections had been held under markedly difficult circumstances, largely owing to the very short time available to the IEC to make the necessary arrangements.

While not flawless, South Africa's first non-racial and democratic elections were sufficiently free and fair. According to the heads of the international observer missions in South Africa, including that of the UN, the people of South Africa had expressed their determination to create a peaceful, non-racial and democratic nation.

The socio-economic disparities caused by apartheid needed to be urgently addressed to ensure the stable and peaceful development of postapartheid South Africa, and assistance from the international would be vital, according to the report.

RELATED ARTICLE: With patience, joy and quite dedication . . .

We are impressed with the quiet dedication given by so many South Africans, black and white, to the entire election process. Parties, employers and independent groups offered education and training or persons who, in many cases, had never held a pencil, let alone been invited to choose a political representative or party. Others, from many social positions, offered time and skills, frequently as volunteers or as election officials.

In Ellisras, the town in the northern Transvaal where I was assigned as a UN observer for the UN Mission in South Africa, a mobile voting station manager was hospitalized with pneumonia one day before the polls opened; his wife immediately took over his responsibilities with little preparation and to excellent effect.

All accounts have noted the patience and joy of the voters, the long lines in often beating rain or searing sun, the sometimes inadequate supplies that led to awkward moments. There has been little violence reported lately and absolutely none in our district. My most vivid memory is of the mobile site at Elmeston, 35 kilometres south of Ellisras on route R510. The mobile team set up its station on a wide, grassy shoulder beside the highway. The ballot box is inspected and sealed under the watchful eyes of the electoral team manager, police officers, and two international observers.

A small crowd of voters waits patiently and helps several old people to the head of the line; we all estimate that the man resting on his crutch is in his 90s.

A donkey cart moves cautiously along the edge of the highway, the reigns held by a solemn young boy. In the back, bent with age, hard work and disease, lies an old woman. Her face is serene. She is proudly and carefully dressed in her finest blue gown, and her head is covered with a gaily-coloured green, orange and red bandanna.

Many hands reach out to carefully lift her from the cart and carry her dose to the head of the line.

She is too bent to stand or even sit in a chair and is laid gently on the ground. When her time comes to vote, several officials and friends kneel where she rests to show and explain the ballot paper. She makes a choice and the paper is marked.

Mrs. Seikgosa Emmit Seromula, born (according to her old-fashioned, tattered identity card) on 1 April 1910, has voted for the first time in her life.

The same hands then gently lift her to the back of the donkey cart and the young man slowly drives away, turning onto the dirt road leading into the red, dusty hills.

This may be Mrs. Seromula's last vote, but the next time or the time after that, the solemn young driver will have his chance.

RELATED ARTICLE: Apartheid Committee concludes work

The system of apartheid had been brought to an end, and the Special Committee against Apartheid had fulfilled its mandate and successfully concluded its work, according to the Committee's draft report to the General Assembly, which it adopted on 14 June.

In taking that action, the Committee, established by the General Assembly on 6 November 1962 (resolution 1761 (XVII)), to review all aspects of South Africa's apartheid policies and their international repercussions, concluded its final open meeting.

Among the report's recommendations was that the Assembly should appoint a high-level coordinator for all UN development activities in South Africa for the next five years, coinciding with the tenure of the Government of National Unity.

Committee Chairman Ibrahim A. Gambari of Nigeria, reporting on the Committee's most recent mission to South Africa from 6 to 10 June, said there had been serious discussions with South African authorities on the needs of the country for development assistance to overcome the legacy of apartheid.

Stressing that the events in South Africa were, first of all, a victory for South Africans of all races, the final report stated that the UN, the Special Committee and the international community at large could take just price in their contribution over several decades to the efforts in eliminating apartheid andn in their support to all South Africans who had courageously struggled against apartheid and suffered from it.

Mr Kilker a former WHO official served with the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia, then with UNOMSA.