Text calling for mandatory selective sanctions against South Africa vetoed in Security Council.

Text calling for mandatory selective sanctions against South Africa vetoed in Security Council

The United Kingdom and the United States on 15 November vetoed a draft resolution by which the Security Council would have decided to impose mandatory selective sanctions against South Africa under Chapter VII of the Charter.

In opposing the text (S/17633), the United Kingdom said the draft was likely to be "counter-productive" and would have the effect of "pre-empting the strategy which we have agreed with our Commonwealth partners"--a reference to the 20 October plan of Commonwealth leaders, formulated at a meeting in the Bahamas, to impose economic measures against South Africa immediately, to be reinforced by further measures in six months if Pretoria failed to make progress.

The United States said that "actively engaged" as it was in seeking a negotiated solution to the Namibian problem, "we would negate utterly our good offices by supporting mandatory sanctions". It sincerely regretted that the draft "persisted in that short-sighted course of action".

The Council vote--12 in favour to 2 against, with 1 abstention (France)--came after five Council meetings on the situation in Namibia. India, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, and Mauritius, on behalf of the African Group, had requested the meetings.

The text--submitted by Burkina Faso, Egypt, India, Madagascar, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago--would have had the Council adopt, "as a matter of utmost urgency", enforcement measures, including an oil and arms embargo, a ban on all new investments in South Africa and Namibia and on "all new government and bank loans and credit guarantees to the racist Pretoria regime and the so-called interim government at Windhoek".

The enforcement measures would have included termination of all export credit guarantees for exports to South Africa and Namibia; and bans on importation or enrichment of uranium from Namibia and South Africa; on supply of technology, equipment and licenses for nuclear plants in South Africa, including the exchange of nuclear information with Pretoria; and on visits to and from South Africa and Namibia by military, security, intelligence and other defense personnel.

The measures would have also included the prohibition of the sale and export of computers capable of being used by the "racist army, police and security forces"; cessation of funding for permanent or temporary trade missions or for participating in exhibitions and trade fairs in South Africa and Namibia; termination of double taxation agreements with South Africa; and prohibition of the sale of krugerrands and all other coins minted in South Africa or Namibia.

South Africa's "persistent refusal" to comply with Council and General Assembly resolutions on Namibia would have been cited as "a serious threat to international peace and security" and its "continued illegal occupation" of Namibia as "a breach of international peace". The "repeated armed attacks perpetrated from Namibia by South Africa against independent and sovereign States in southern Africa" would have been termed "grave acts of aggression".

South Africa: In a 12 November letter from South Africa...