RESOLUTION B3-0360, 0365, 0375, 0410 and 0421/93

Resolution on South Africa

The European Parliament,

-recalling its previous resolutions on South Africa,

A.having regard to the progress made by South African society towards the establishment of a democratic state,

B.whereas the holding of general elections conforming to the principle of one-person-one-vote is an indispensable element for the transformation of South Africa into a non-racial democracy which respects human rights,

C.having regard to the negotiations between the South African Government and the ANC,

D.having regard to the results of the first international conference of the ANC,

E.having regard to the all-party agreement to resume negotiations on 5 April 1993,

F.gravely concerned about the economic situation in South Africa, in particular in the townships where poverty, unemployment, racial inequalities in the distribution of wealth and income and social imbalances are in great measure a consequence of the past system of apartheid,

1.Welcomes the prospect within the near future of South Africa's first one-person-one-vote elections to a Constituent Assembly, which will have as its main task the drawing up and adoption of a new democratic constitution for South Africa to create a just and equitable society and which will open the way to the election after five years of a democratic government and parliament;

2.Believes it is therefore essential for the electoral process and the elections to the Constituent Assembly to be free and fair and judged to be so by the international community;

3.Calls, therefore, on the South African Government and where appropriate on all negotiating parties to ensure:

(a)the early establishment of the Independent Electoral Commission, in which not only the Government, the ANC and the other political parties should be represented, but also representatives of civil society, such as the Independent Forum for Electoral Education, which is supported by the South African churches and several other non-governmental organizations,

(b)free and fair access to the mass media by all political parties,

(c)unimpeded access to and simple formalities for, voter registration,

(d)equitable financial resources available to all parties,

(e)the training of neutral monitors;

4.Calls on the international community, in particular the UN, the Organization for African Unity and the European Community, to provide international monitoring of the election campaign to ensure fair elections without fraud, intimidation or ballot rigging;

5.Calls on the Council and the Commission to make proposals to contribute to a programme of reconstruction to repair the harm done by apartheid and to achieve the vision of a new South Africa;

6.Calls therefore on the Council and Commission to seek active ways of contributing to the development of a democratic South Africa through positive measures and to promote investment that will help relieve the terrible unemployment and enable the country to address the numerous and urgent social and economic needs of the people of South Africa;

7.Welcomes the ANC statement that, on the announcement of an agreed date for elections, and on the establishment of the Transitional Executive Council, the Independent Electoral and Media Commissions and the Enactment of the Transition to Democracy Act, the remaining non-mandatory sanctions should be lifted;

8.Calls on the international community and, in particular, the EC, to ensure strict observance of the arms embargo until a democratic government has been installed;

9.Expresses its concern and anxiety at the violence within South Africa which still causes enormous loss of life and suffering and poses a major threat to the democratic process;

10.Believes that the democratic transformation now underway in South Africa offers the prospect that all the peoples of southern Africa can live in peace and freedom and jointly engage in the current task of reconstruction and equitable development;

11.Welcomes the constructive approach of the ACP-EEC Joint Assembly to the problems faced by the countries of southern Africa and South Africa and hopes that the meeting of the Joint Assembly in Gaborone will provide a sound basis for strengthening the relations between a future democratic South Africa and the member countries of the Convention, particularly those of the southern African region;

12.Welcomes the decision of the Bureau of the ACP-EEC Joint Assembly to invite Mr Nelson Mandela and President Frederick De Klerk to address the meeting in Gaborone, and thus to lend its support to the consolidation of the democratic constitutional reform process in South Africa;

13.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, EPC, the Secretaries-General of the UN and the OAU, the Government of South Africa, the ANC and other CODESA participants, the South African Council of Churches, and the SACBC.