unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (09/12/89)
ACTIVITIES OF TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND NAMIBIA
FIVE MORE STATEMENTS HEARD IN PUBLIC HEARINGS ON ACTIVITIES OF
TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND NAMIBIA
GENEVA, 5 September -- Public hearings on the role of
transnational corporations in South Africa and Namibia continued
this morning in Geneva.
The hearings which began in Geneva yesterday, are being conducted
by a panel of eminent persons, serving in their personal
capacity, appointed by Secretary-General Javier Perez de
Cuellar.
Statements this morning were made by Kaare Willoch, former Prime
Minister of Norway; Manfred Graf von Roon, representing the
International Chamber of Commerce; and Rudolph Gruber, Director
of the South Africa Foundation of the Federal Republic of
Germany.
A statement on United Nations activities in the field of human
rights was made by the Deputy Director of the Centre for Human
Rights, Kwadwo Nyamekye, on behalf of the
Under-Secretary-General for Human Rights, Jan Martenson.
KAARE WILLOCH, former Prime Minister of Norway, said Norway
introduced in l987 a general ban on goods reaching Norway from
South Africa and Namibia and the export of goods to South Africa
and Namibia from Norway. There was also a ban on the transport
of passengers or cargo to or from Norway and South Africa and
Namibia.
He said trade sanctions had had little impact on South Africa
thus far, though they were certainly felt in some branches of
industry. Other branches were happy as their products replaced
imports and were thus accorded a form of protectionism.
In his view, social and economic pressures would ultimately end
apartheid. There was some merit in the opinion that existing
Western firms be encouraged to train blacks and develop a
constructive relationship with black trade unions.
The most effective part of the sanctions programme were the
purely financial ones, such as restrictions on loans. This had
a substantial impact on South African economic policy.
Government and business leaders in South Africa were much more
concerned on financial sanctions than on any other form of
sanctions.
In reply to a question, he said certain trade sanctions could
result in higher unemployment and lead to a revolutionary
situation and away from attempts to achieve a peaceful
transition from apartheid. The economic and social factors in
South Africa were such that it would be impossible to uphold
apartheid.
KWADWO NYAMEKYE, Deputy Director of the United Nations Centre for
Human Rights, speaking on behalf of the Under-Secretary-General
for Human Rights, Jan Martenson, said the elimination of
apartheid was one of the prime objectives of the United Nations
activities in the field of human rights. It had established a
specific organ with a mandate to lead the combat against
apartheid, the Special Committee against Apartheid. Moreover,
the Commission on Human Rights and almost all other human rights
organs of the United Nations had repeatedly taken firm stands
against apartheid. As long as apartheid was allowed to
continue, the achievements of societies all over the world in
guaranteeing human rights and equality through law would be
endangered and no group would be completely free from the
spectre of eventual subjugation to a similar system.
He said the Commission on Human Rights had established in l967 an
Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts to study human rights violations
in southern Africa. The Group had produced a number of studies
concerning the question of apartheid from the point of view of
international penal law, paving the way for the preparation of
international conventions on the suppression and punishment of
crimes of apartheid. The Commission had also established a
group to consider reports submitted by States parties to that
Convention.
The group reported that the role played by transnational
corporations in South Africa exhausted South African and
Namibian natural resources, which belonged to the people;
exploited the labour force of that region with the single aim of
making larger profits, and, by operating in South Africa and
Namibia, they strengthened the apartheid regime, helped to
perpetuate the oppression of the African majority and enhanced
the repression against those fighting for their independence.
He said the Commission on Human Rights had reaffirmed its view
that the activities of transnational corporations operating in
South Africa perpetuated the crime of apartheid. It condemned
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