Reddy. [6]:p.163, The African National Congress (ANC) prepared to initiate a campaign of protests against pass laws. Time Magazine, (1960), The Sharpeville Massacre, A short history of pass laws in South Africa [online], from, Giliomee et al. In 1960, states had no binding international human rights obligations with oversight mechanisms. As part of its response, the General Assembly tasked the UN Commission on Human Rights to prepare the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the first global human rights treaty. Under this system there was an extended period of gruesome violence against individuals of colored skin in South Africa. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The row of graves of the 69 people killed by police at the Sharpeville Police Station on 21 March 1960. International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, "Outside South Africa there were widespread reactions to Sharpeville in many countries which in many cases led to positive action against South Africa"., E.g., "[I]mmediately following the Sharpeville massacre in South Africa, over 1000 students demonstrated in Sydney against the apartheid system"., United Nations Security Council Resolution 610, United Nations Security Council Resolution 615, "The Sharpeville Massacre A watershed in South Africa", "The photos that changed history Ian Berry; Sharpeville Massacre", "Sharpeville Massacre, The Origin of South Africa's Human Rights Day", "Influential religious leader with 70-years in ministry to be laid to rest", "The Sharpeville Massacre - A watershed in South Africa", "Macmillan, Verwoerd and the 1960 'Wind of Change' Speech", "Naming history's forgotten fighters: South Africa's government is setting out to forget some of the alliance who fought against apartheid. This detailed act separated tribes based on ethnics; consequently, further detailing segregation amongst the natives . To read more witness accounts of the Sharpeville Massacre, click on the 'Witness accounts' tab above. What happened on 21 March in Sharpeville? At its inaugural session in 1947, the UN Commission on Human Rights had decided that it had no power to take any action in regard to any complaints concerning human rights. A robust humanrights framework is the only way to provide a remedy for those injustices, tackle inequality and underlying structural differences, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Do you find this information helpful? African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. In particular, the African work force in the Cape went on strike for a period of two weeks and mass marches were staged in Durban. Early on that March morning, demonstrations against the pass laws, which restricted the rights of apartheid South Africas majority black population, had begun in Sharpeville, a township in Transvaal. Witness History. That date now marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and without the Sharpeville massacre, we may not have the international system of human rights that we have today. The Sharpeville massacre sparked hundreds of mass protests by black South Africans, many of which were ruthlessly and violently crushed by the South African police and military. There was no evidence that anyone in the gathering was armed with anything other than stones. It had wide ramifications and a significant impact. During the shooting about 69 black people were killed. On the 21st of March 1960, black residents of Sharpeville took to the police station to protest against the use of the dompas in South Africa. Often times individuals feel proud to be a member of their group and it becomes an important part of how they view themselves and their identity. However, many people joined the procession quite willingly. [17], Not all reactions were negative: embroiled in its opposition to the Civil Rights Movement, the Mississippi House of Representatives voted a resolution supporting the South African government "for its steadfast policy of segregation and the [staunch] adherence to their traditions in the face of overwhelming external agitation. At the end of the bridge, they were met by many law enforcement officers holding weapons; thus, the demonstrators were placing their lives in danger. The victims included about 50 women and children. How the Sharpeville massacre changed the course of human rights Only the four Native Representatives and members of the new Progressive Party voted against the Bill. People often associate their behavior and actions from the groups they belong to. The moral outrage surrounding these events led the United Nations General Assembly to pronounce 21 March as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial . The call for a stay away on 28 March was highly successful and was the first ever national strike in the countrys history. [10] Some insight into the mindset of those on the police force was provided by Lieutenant Colonel Pienaar, the commanding officer of the police reinforcements at Sharpeville, who said in his statement that "the native mentality does not allow them to gather for a peaceful demonstration. A black person would be of or accepted as a member of an African tribe or race, and a colored person is one that is not black or white. As well as the introduction of the Race Convention, Sharpeville also spurred other moves at the UN that changed the way it could act against countries that breached an individuals human rights. In my own research on international human rights law, I looked to complexity theory, a theory developed in the natural sciences to make sense of the ways that patterns of behaviour emerge and change, to understand the way that international human rights law had developed and evolved. With the election of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa in 1994, the apartheid system ended. Many people set out for work on bicycles or on foot, but some were intimidated by PAC members who threatened to burn their passes or "lay hands on them"if they went to work (Reverend Ambrose Reeves, 1966). These resolutions established two important principles: that the human rights provisions in the UN Charter created binding obligations for member states, and the UN could intervene directly in situations involving serious violations of human rights. The event also played a role in South Africa's departure from the Commonwealth of Nations in 1961. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. How the 1960 Sharpeville massacre sparked the birth of international There were also youth problems because many children joined gangs and were affiliated with crimes instead of schools. All the evidence points to the gathering being peaceful and good humoured. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? All Rights Reserved. [7][8], On 21 March, 1960, a group of between 5,000 and 10,000 people converged on the local police station, offering themselves up for arrest for not carrying their passbooks. A week later, a breakaway group from the ANC, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) held its first conference in Johannesburg. Many others were not so lucky: 69 unarmed and non-violent protesters were gunned down by theSouth Africanpolice and hundreds more were injured. The march was also led by Clarence Makwetu, the Secretary of the PACs New Flats branch. Foundation remembers Sharpeville Massacre victims As segregation and civil rights become national topics, their. apartheid: aftermath of the deadly Sharpeville demonstration, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Sharpeville-massacre, Canadian Museum for Human Rights - The Sharpeville Massacre, South African History Online - Sharpeville Massacre, Sharpeville massacre - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Sharpeville massacre - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Riding into the small group of protestors, they forced most to withdraw, but a few stood fast around a utility pole where horsemen began to beat them. Race, ethnicity and political groups, is an example of this. All that changed following the worlds moral outrage at the killings. According to his "Testimony about the Launch of the Campaign," Sobukwe declared: At the press conference Sobukwe emphasized that the campaign should be conducted in a spirit of absolute non-violence and that the PAC saw it as the first step in Black people's bid for total independence and freedom by 1963 (Cape Times, 1960). The significance of the date is reflected in the fact that. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Its been 60 years since dozens of protesters were killed at a peaceful anti-apartheid rally in South Africa. Yet only three policemen were reported to have been hit by stones - and more than 200 Africans were shot down. This movement sought to overcome the subjugation the racist South African government and apartheid laws imposed on Blacks. This translates as shot or shoot. The protesters offered themselves up for arrest for not carrying their passes. On March 21, 1960. The police shot many in the back as they turned to flee, causing some to be paralyzed. In 1994, Mandela signed the nations first post-apartheid constitution near the site of the 1960 massacre. News reports about the massacre spread across the world. Weve been busy, working hard to bring you new features and an updated design. International sympathy lay with the African people, leading to an economic slump as international investors withdrew from South Africa and share prices on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange plummeted. By comparing and contrasting the American Jim Crow Laws and South African apartheid, we have evidence that both nations constitutions led to discrimination, activism, reform and reconciliation. I hated what it did to people, As Israelis dedicated to peace, we oppose Trump's apartheid plan, UN human rights head in unprecedented action against Indian government, Anyone can become a climate refugee. Along the way small groups of people joined him. Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. This article first appeared on The Conversation, Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. The police and army arrested thousands of Africans, who were imprisoned with their leaders, but still the mass action raged. PDF "A tragic turning-point: remembering Sharpeville fifty years on" The same safe and trusted content for explorers of all ages. The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on March 21, 1960, in the township of Sharpeville, South Africa. The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960 at the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa (today part of Gauteng). Eventually a few of the demonstrators dared to cross the street, led by James Forman who had organized the march. 20072023 Blackpast.org. The Apartheid was initiated as a ploy for Europeans to better control the exploited populations for economic gain, as maintaining tension between the different racial classifications diverted attention from the Europeans as it fed hatred between groups. In March 1960, South African police shot dead 69 black protestors, sparking worldwide outrage . By the 25 March, the Minister of Justice suspended passes throughout the country and Chief Albert Luthuli and Professor Z.K. The term human rights was first used in the UN Charter in 1945. On 1 April 1960, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 134. A lot of Afrikaners felt a sense of guilt for the behavior they allowed to happen from their race towards another. [20], Sharpeville was the site selected by President Nelson Mandela for the signing into law of the Constitution of South Africa on 10 December 1996. During this event 5,000 to 7,000 protesters went to the police station after a day of demonstrations, offering themselves for arrest for not carrying passbooks. After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station. Some 20,000 Blacks gathered near a police station at Sharpeville, located about 30 miles (50 km) south of Johannesburg. When it seemed the whole group would cross, police took action, with mounted officers and volunteers arriving at 1:12 pm. The ratification of these laws may have made the separate but equal rhetoric illegal for the U.S. but the citizens inside it still battled for their beliefs. They met a police line a few blocks from the Courthouse and were forbidden from proceeding because they did not have a parade permit (Reed 26). [5], F-86 Sabre jets and Harvard Trainers approached to within 30 metres (98ft) of the ground, flying low over the crowd in an attempt to scatter it. When the demonstrators began to throw stones at the police, the police started shooting into the crowd. Three people were killed and 26 others were injured. After some demonstrators, according to police, began stoning police officers and their armoured cars, the officers opened fire on them with submachine guns. In my own research, I have looked to complexity theory a theory developed in the natural sciences to make sense of the ways that patterns of behaviour emerge and change to understand the way that international human rights law developed and evolved. The Supreme Courts decision in the famous and landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 set a precedent for desegregation in schools. On the morning of 21 March Robert Sobukwe left his house in Mofolo, a suburb of Soweto, and began walking to the Orlando police station. Amid confusion, two shots were fired into the air by somebody in the crowd. [5], The official figure is that 69 people were killed, including 8 women and 10 children, and 180 injured, including 31 women and 19 children. That impact is best broken down into its short-term, medium-term, and long-term significance. Aftermath: Sharpeville Massacre 1960 | South African History Online The argument against apartheid was now framed as a specific manifestation of a wider battle for human rights and it was the only political system mentioned in the 1965 Race Convention: nazism and antisemitism were not included. When the marchers reached Sharpeville's police station a heavy contingent of policemen were lined up outside, many on top of British-made Saracen armored cars. The impact of the events in Cape Town were felt in other neighbouring towns such as Paarl, Stellenbosch, Somerset West and Hermanus as anti-pass demonstrations spread. The police ordered the crowd to disperse within 3 minutes. The logjam was only broken after the Sharpeville massacre, as the UN decided to deal with the problem of apartheid South Africa. The 1960 Sharpeville Massacre was the result of a peaceful protest regarding racist South African policies of apartheid. In 1960 it was the site of one of the earliest and most violent demonstrations against apartheid. Sobukwe was only released in 1969. Mr. Tsolo and other members of the PAC Branch Executive continued to advance - in conformity with the novel PAC motto of "Leaders in Front" - and asked the White policeman in command to let them through so that they could surrender themselves for refusing to carry passes. Britannica does not review the converted text. Stephen Wheatley explores how this tragedy paved the way for the modern United Nations, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. The 1960 Sharpeville Massacre was the result of a peaceful protest regarding racist South African policies of apartheid. The police also have said that the crowd was armed with 'ferocious weapons', which littered the compound after they fled. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. When an estimated group of 5000 marchers reached Sharpeville police station, the police opened fire killing 69 people and injuring 180 others in what became known as the Sharpeville Massacre. Although blood was not shed on Krogs hands directly, she took on the shame of her race. In 1946, the UN established the Commission on Human Rights, whose first job was to draft a declaration on human rights. The Sharpeville massacre was reported worldwide, and received with horror from every quarter. Some were shot in the back as they fled.[1]. Everyone should have an equal rights and better community . Initially the police commander refused but much later, approximately 11h00, they were let through; the chanting of freedom songs continued and the slogans were repeated with even greater volume. Now aged 84, Selinah says she is still proud of her efforts to end apartheid. The South African government began arresting more nonconformists and banning resistance organizations, such as the African National Congress and the Pan African Congress. It was a system of segregation put in place by the National Party, which governed in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. For them to gather means violence. It's been 60 years since the Sharpeville massacre, when 69 unarmed civilians were killed by armed South African police on March 21 1960. These protestors included a large number of northern college students. Find out what the UN in South Africa is doing towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. NO DEFENCE! Mandela and was given a life sentence in prison for treason against the South African government in 1964. The key developments were the adoption of Resolution 1235 in 1967, which allowed for the examination of complaints of gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as exemplified by the policy of apartheid, and Resolution 1503 in 1970, which allowed the UN to examine complaints of a consistent pattern of gross and reliably attested violations of human rights. Another officer interpreted this as an order and opened fire, triggering a lethal fusillade as 168 police constables followed his example. According to an account from Humphrey Tyler, the assistant editor at Drum magazine: The police have claimed they were in desperate danger because the crowd was stoning them. As the number of UN members from Africa increased, the commission reversed its no power to act position and turned its attention to the human rights situation in South Africa. The South African government then created the Unlawful Organizations Act of 1960 which banned anti-apartheid groups such as the Pan Africanist Congress and the African National Congress. In the aftermath of the events of 21 March, mass funerals were held for the victims. The Sharpeville massacre sparked hundreds of mass protests by black South Africans. On the day passes were suspended (25 March 1960) Kgosana led another march of between 2000 and 5000 people from Langa to Caledon Square. The apartheid system forcefully suppressed any resistance, such as at Sharpeville on March 21 1960, when 69 blacks were killed, and the Soweto Riots 1976-77, when 576 people died. Choose a language from the menu above to view a computer-translated version of this page. The protesters offered themselves up for arrest for not carrying their passes. The police response to the protest became the primary cause of the massacre. Sharpeville Massacre - YouTube During those five months roughly 25,000 people were arrested throughout the nation. Corrections? Police reports in 1960 claimed that young and inexperienced police officers panicked and opened fire spontaneously, setting off a chain reaction that lasted about forty seconds. The Department of Home Affairs (a government bureau) was responsible for the classification of the citizenry. Sharpeville Massacre, The Origin of South Africa's Human Rights Day [online], available at: africanhistory.about.com [accessed 10 March 2009]|Thloloe, J. By 1960, however, anti-apartheid activism reached the town. Pass Laws and Sharpeville Massacre | South African History Online It was one of the first and most violent demonstrations against apartheid in South Africa. A posseman. On March 21, an estimated 7,000 South Africans gathered in front of the Sharpeville police station to protest against the restrictive pass laws. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. Sharpeville was first built in 1943 to replace Topville, a nearby township that suffered overcrowding where illnesses like pneumonia were widespread. Find out more about our work towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The significance of the date is reflected in the fact that it now marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. That date now marks the International Day for the. Copyright 2023 United Nations in South Africa, Caption: Selinah Mnguni, a Sharpeville massacre survivor, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Although this event in itself acted as a turning point in the struggle of black South Africans towards restoring dignity, but there were certain events which happened before Sharpeville massacre that caused widespread frustration and resentment in the black African community. On 21 March 1960, the police opened fire on a group of demonstrators who had gathered peacefully outside Sharpeville police station in response to a nationwide call by the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) to protest against the hated pass system; 67 people died and hundreds more were wounded. It include with civil right that violence verses non-violence that the government could or. By lunchtime, the crowd outside the police station had grown to an estimated 20,000 people. The police assembled and used disproportionate responses to the protest. Many people need to know that indiviual have their own rights in laws and freedom . the Sharpeville Massacre "[6]:p.538, The uproar among South Africa's black population was immediate, and the following week saw demonstrations, protest marches, strikes, and riots around the country. The rally began peacefully, the iron bell was rung (usually it was rung to signal victories in football games) and one speaker started to speak. Robert Sobukwe | South African History Online [6]:p.534, By 10:00, a large crowd had gathered, and the atmosphere was initially peaceful and festive. On March 30, the South African government declared a state of emergency which made any protest illegal. The Sharpeville massacre also touched off three decades of protest in South Africa, ultimately leading to freedom for Nelson Mandela, who had spent 27 years in prison. In her moving poem Our Sharpeville she reflects on the atrocity through the eyes of a child. Similarly, African American leaders from the fifties to the sixties also fought for the end of segregation, in cases such as Brown v. Board of Education. A few days later, on 30 March 1960, Kgosana led a PAC march of between 30 000-50 000 protestors from Langa and Nyanga to the police headquarters in Caledon Square. In Pretoria a small group of six people presented themselves at the Hercules police station. Racial and religious conflicts; conflicts between dictatorial governments and their citizens; the battle between the sexes; conflicts between management and labor; and conflicts between heterosexuals and homosexuals all stem, in whole or in part, to oppression. In Cape Town, an estimated 95% of the African population and a substantial number of the Coloured community joined the stay away. It is likely that the police were quick to fire as two months before the massacre, nine constables had been assaulted and killed, some disembowelled, during a raid at Cato Manor. [16], The Sharpeville massacre contributed to the banning of the PAC and ANC as illegal organisations. The mood of the protest had started out as peaceful and festive when there were . The quest for international support, mass mobilization, armed operations, and underground organization became the basis for the ANCs Four Pillars of Struggle. But in the aftermath of the Sharpeville massacre, the UN adopted a more interventionist stance to the apartheid state. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Other PAC members tried to stop bus drivers from going on duty and this resulted in a lack transport for Sharpeville residents who worked in Vereeniging. By the end of the day, 69 people lay dead or dying, with hundreds more injured. The Minister of Justice called for calm and the Minister of Finance encouraged immigration. The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on March 21, 1960, in the township of Sharpeville, South Africa. Both were tasked with mobilizing international financial and diplomatic support for sanctions against South Africa. International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Committee Member - MNF Research Advisory Committee, PhD Scholarship - Uncle Isaac Brown Indigenous Scholarship. (1997) Focus: 'Prisoner 1', Sunday Life, 23 March. Sharpeville, a black suburb outside of Vereeniging (about fifty miles south of Johannesburg), was untouched by anti-apartheid demonstrations that occurred in surrounding towns throughout the 1950s. Tafelberg Publishers: Cape Town. and [proved to be] the only antidote against foreign rule and modern imperialism (Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom 2008, 156) . Dr. Verwoerd praised the police for their actions. . Some of them remain in prison", "Sharpeville Memorial, Theunis Kruger Street, Dicksonville, Sharpville ABLEWiki", Calls for inquiry into Israels Gaza killings, Storming of the Kempton Park World Trade Centre, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sharpeville_massacre&oldid=1140778365, Killings by law enforcement officers in South Africa, Short description is different from Wikidata, Use South African English from April 2016, All Wikipedia articles written in South African English, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 19:08. A week after the state of emergency was declared the ANC and the PAC were banned under the Unlawful Organisations Act of 8 April 1960. This angered the officers causing them to brutally attack and tear gas the demonstrators. OHCHRs regional representative Abigail Noko used the opportunity to call on all decision-makers to give youth a seat at the decision-making table. Without the Sharpeville massacre, we may not have the international human rights law system we have today. This was in direct defiance of the government's country-wide ban on public meetings and gatherings of more than ten persons. Stephen Wheatley is a professor of international law at Lancaster University. The campaign slogan was "NO BAIL! Langa Township was gripped by tension and in the turmoil that ensued, In the violence that followed an employee of the Cape Times newspaper Richard Lombard was killed by the rioting crowd. Following shortly, the Group Areas Act of 1950 was enacted as a new form of legislation alongside the Population Registration Act. There were 249 victims in total, including 29 children, with 69 people killed and 180 injured. The ANC and PAC were forced underground, and both parties launched military wings of their organisations in 1961. Learn about employment opportunities across the UN in South Africa. Following the dismantling of apartheid, South African President Nelson Mandela chose Sharpeville as the site at which, on December 10, 1996, he signed into law the countrys new constitution. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The event was an inspiration for painter Oliver Lee Jackson in his Sharpeville Series from the 1970s.[23]. Half a century has passed but memories of the Sharpeville massacre still run deep. [3], South African governments since the eighteenth century had enacted measures to restrict the flow of African South Africans into cities. This abuse towards people of colour in South Africa made people around the world want to protest against South Africa's government. South Africa had already been harshly criticised for its apartheid policies, and this incident fuelled anti-apartheid sentiments as the international conscience was deeply stirred.
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