UN Security Council Resolution 418 | ||
---|---|---|
Date | 4 November 1977 | |
Meeting no. | 2,046 | |
Code | S/RES/418 (Document) | |
Subject | South Africa | |
Voting summary |
| |
Result | Adopted | |
Security Council composition | ||
Permanent members | ||
Non-permanent members | ||
|
International opposition to apartheid in South Africa |
---|
United Nations Security Council Resolution 418, adopted unanimously on 4 November 1977, imposed a mandatory arms embargo against South Africa. [1] This resolution differed from the earlier Resolution 282, which was only voluntary. The embargo was subsequently tightened and extended by Resolution 591.
The embargo was lifted by Resolution 919 [2] following democratic elections in South Africa in 1994.
The embargo had a direct impact on South Africa in a number of ways:
The South African government devised a number of strategies to bypass the embargo to obtain military technology and components that it was unable to procure openly. United Nations Security Council Resolution 591 was passed in 1986 to extend the embargo and to tighten some of the loopholes.
Many armaments were wholly designed and manufactured in South Africa, as reflected by the growth and export business of Armscor. South African defence industries were able to successfully meet demand in some areas such as ammunition, infantry weapons, missile technology and armoured vehicles but struggled when it came to the development of combat aircraft, attack helicopters and main battle tanks. [7]
Notable operations that came to light were:
Computer and air traffic control radar systems ostensibly destined for civilian use were diverted to the military. [9]
The South African government was able to hire the services of foreign technicians, for example Israeli specialists who had worked on the Lavi fighter aircraft were recruited by Atlas Aircraft Corporation to work on the Atlas Cheetah and Atlas Carver. [9]
In some cases, foreign armaments were simply produced under license in South Africa, as in the case of the Warrior-class strike craft, the R4 assault rifle and Atlantis Diesel Engines.
South Africa exchanged military technology with other states in a similar position to itself, notably through the Israel–South Africa Agreement, as well as with Taiwan and Morocco. Between 1977 and 1991, Morocco was involved in transfer of French technology, French armaments and designs to South Africa, and in return South African Forces and specialists went to train the Moroccan Armed Forces and Police [10]
Denel Dynamics, formerly Kentron, is a division of Denel SOC Ltd, a South African armaments development and manufacturing company wholly owned by the South African Government. It underwent a name change from Kentron to Denel Aerospace Systems in early 2004 and later to Denel Dynamics. Denel Dynamics is located in Centurion, South Africa. Several sites are operating according to ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certified.
From the 1960s to the 1990s, South Africa pursued research into weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons under the apartheid government. South Africa’s nuclear weapons doctrine was designed for political leverage rather than actual battlefield use, specifically to induce the United States of America to intervene in any regional conflicts between South Africa and the Soviet Union or its proxies. To achieve a minimum credible deterrence, a total of six nuclear weapons were covertly assembled by the late 1980s.
Armscor, the Armaments Corporation of South Africa is the arms procurement agency of the South African Department of Defence. It was originally established in 1968 as an arms production company, primarily as a response to the international sanctions by the United Nations against South Africa due to apartheid which began in 1963 and were formalised in 1977.
Four South African alleged arms smugglers were arrested by HM Customs & Excise officers in Coventry in March 1984 and charged with conspiring to export arms from Britain to apartheid South Africa in contravention of the mandatory United Nations arms embargo. They became known as the Coventry Four.
An arms embargo is a restriction or a set of sanctions that applies either solely to weaponry or also to "dual-use technology." An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes:
The Atlas Aircraft Corporation was a South African aircraft manufacturer. It was a division of the South African government-owned defence conglomerate Armaments Corporation of South Africa.
The Atlas Carver was a proposed South African twin-engine, delta wing fourth-generation fighter aircraft. In development during the 1980s and early 1990s, the Carver was ultimately cancelled during 1991.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 282, adopted on July 23, 1970, concerned by violations of the arms embargo passed against South Africa in Resolution 191, the Council reiterated its total opposition to the policies of apartheid and reaffirmed its previous resolutions on the topic. The Council called upon states to strengthen the arms embargo by ceasing the provision of military training to members of the South African armed forces and by taking appropriate action to give effective to the resolution's measures.
United Nations Security Council resolution 591, adopted unanimously on 28 November 1986, after recalling resolutions 418 (1977), 421 (1977), 473 (1980) and 558 (1984), the Council strengthened the mandatory arms embargo against apartheid South Africa imposed by Resolution 418, and made it more comprehensive. Resolution 591 sought to clarify vague terms from previous resolutions on the topic.
Foreign relations of South Africa during apartheid refers to the foreign relations of South Africa between 1948 and the early 1990s. South Africa introduced apartheid in 1948, as a systematic extension of pre-existing racial discrimination laws. Initially the regime implemented an offensive foreign policy trying to consolidate South African hegemony over Southern Africa. These attempts had clearly failed by the late 1970s. As a result of its racism, occupation of Namibia and foreign interventionism in Angola, the country became increasingly isolated internationally.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 421, adopted unanimously on December 9, 1977, after recalling Resolution 418, the Council decided to establish a committee to oversee the implementation of that resolution. It tasked the committee to report back on its observations and recommendations regarding ways in which the arms embargo could be made more effective against South Africa and to ask Member States as to how they are implementing the resolution.
United Nations Security Council resolution 473, adopted unanimously on 13 June 1980, after recalling resolutions 392 (1976), 417 (1977), 418 (1977), 454 (1979) and 466 (1980) and letters from the Committee for South Africa, the council expressed its concern and condemned South Africa for the killing of protesters, including schoolchildren, opposed to apartheid.
United Nations Security Council resolution 546, adopted on 6 January 1984, after hearing representations from the People's Republic of Angola, the council recalled resolutions 387 (1976), 428 (1978), 447 (1979), 454 (1979), 475 (1980) and 545 (1983), and expressed its concern at the continuing attacks on the country by South Africa through occupied South West Africa.
United Nations Security Council resolution 558, adopted unanimously on 13 December 1984, after recalling resolutions 418 (1977) and 421 (1977) which imposed a compulsory arms embargo on South Africa and established a committee to monitor it, the council stressed the continuing need for all Member States and international organisations to observe the arms embargo.
United Nations Security Council resolution 571, adopted unanimously on 20 September 1985, after hearing representations from the People's Republic of Angola, the Council recalled resolutions including 387 (1976), 418 (1977), 428 (1978), 447 (1979), 454 (1979), 475 (1980), 545 (1983) and 546 (1984), and expressed its concern at the continuing attacks on the country by South Africa through occupied South West Africa.
United Nations Security Council resolution 574, adopted unanimously on 7 October 1985, after hearing representations from the People's Republic of Angola, the Council recalled resolutions 387 (1976), 418 (1977), 428 (1978), 447 (1979), 454 (1979), 475 (1980), 545 (1983), 546 (1984), 567 (1985) and 571 (1985), and expressed its concern at the continuing attacks on the country by South Africa through occupied South West Africa.
United Nations Security Council resolution 919, adopted unanimously on 25 May 1994, after recalling all resolutions on South Africa, in particular resolutions 282 (1970), 418 (1977), 421 (1977), 558 (1984) and 591 (1986), the Council welcomed the recent general elections and new government and decided, under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, to terminate the arms embargo and all other restrictions against South Africa.
Since the end of apartheid, foreign trade in South Africa has increased, following the lifting of several sanctions and boycotts which were imposed as a means of ending apartheid.
The Israel–South Africa Agreement (ISSA) was a secret defense co-operation agreement signed in 1975 between Israel and the government of South Africa. The agreement outlined the two nations’ cooperation on nuclear issues. It was signed by South African Prime Minister P.W. Botha and Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres.
As a response to South Africa's apartheid policies, the international community adopted economic sanctions as condemnation and pressure.