The campaign slogan was "NO BAIL! We need the voices of young people to break through the silence that locks in discrimination and oppression. It also contributed the headline story at the Anti-Racism Live Global Digital Experience that marked March 21 internationally with acclaimed artists, actors and prominent speakers from South Africa including Thuli Madonsela, Zulaikha Patel and Zwai Bala. Unlike elsewhere on the East Rand where police used baton when charging at resisters, the police at Sharpeville used live ammunition. T he Sharpeville massacre, the name given to the murder of 69 unarmed civilians by armed South African police, took place on 21 March 1960. Eyewitness accounts attest to the fact that the people were given no warning to disperse. Fewer than 20 police officers were present in the station at the start of the protest. The police were armed with firearms, including Sten submachine guns and LeeEnfield rifles. Eyewitness accounts and evidence later led to an official inquiry which attested to the fact that large number of people were shot in the back as they were fleeing the scene. The significance of the date is reflected in the fact that. Take a minute to check out all the enhancements! Eventually a few of the demonstrators dared to cross the street, led by James Forman who had organized the march. Sharpeville is a township near Vereeniging, in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The University had tried to ban the protest; they handed out 12,000 leaflets saying the event was cancelled. It include with civil right that violence verses non-violence that the government could or. We must listen to them, learn from them, and work with them to build a better future.. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Krog was one of these Afrikaners. It was adopted on December 21 1965. [9] The Sharpeville police were not completely unprepared for the demonstration, as they had already driven smaller groups of more militant activists away the previous night. A policeman was accidently pushed over and the crowd began to move forward to see what was happening. Some 20,000 Blacks gathered near a police station at Sharpeville, located about 30 miles (50 km) south of Johannesburg. 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). A deranged White man, David Pratt, made an assassination attempt on Dr. Verwoerd, who was seriously injured. Many others were not so lucky: 69 unarmed and non-violent protesters were gunned down by theSouth Africanpolice and hundreds more were injured. He became South Africa's . Even so and estimated 2000 to 3000 people gathered on the Commons. The ANC Vice-President, Oliver Tambo, was secretly driven across the border by Ronel Segal into the then British controlled territory of Bechunaland. On 24 March 1960, in protest of the . In the 1960s, many of the colonial nations of Africa were gaining independence. For the next two and a half decades, the commission held to this position on the basis that the UN Charter only required states to promote, rather than protect, human rights. 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. We hope you and your family enjoy the NEW Britannica Kids. The Supreme Courts decision in the famous and landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 set a precedent for desegregation in schools. The massacre occurred at the police station in the South African township of Sharpeville, A child demonstrates in front of Johannesburgs city hall after the Sharpeville massacre (AFP/Getty), The aftermath of the Sharpeville massacre, The BritishAnti-Apartheid Movement marks the tenth anniversary of the massacre with a re-enactmentin Trafalgar Square, A family member stands next to a memorial toone of the victims of the Sharpeville massacre ahead of Human Rights Day in 2016 (AFP/Getty), Its been 60 years since dozens of protesters were killed at a peaceful anti-apartheid rally in South Africa. As the small crowd approached the station, most of the marchers, including Sobukwe, were arrested and charged with sedition. Throughout the 1950s, South African blacks intensified their resistance against the oppressive apartheid system. 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. 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. 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). 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. But attempts to transform this non-binding moral declaration into a binding legal code were immediately bogged down in cold war disputes. 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. 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 ). 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. Pass laws intended to control and direct their movement and employment were updated in the 1950s. In the following days 77 Africans, many of whom were still in hospital, were arrested for questioning . Omissions? In 1946, the UN established the Commission on Human Rights, whose first job was to draft a declaration on human rights. When protesters reconvened in defiance, the police charged at them with batons, tear gas and guns. One of the insights was that international law does not change, unless there is some trigger for countries to change their behaviour. Eyewitness accounts of the Sharpeville massacre 1960 The day of the Massacre, mourning the dead and getting over the shock of the event Baileys African History Archive (BAHA) Tom Petrus, author of 'My Life Struggle', Ravan Press. People often associate their behavior and actions from the groups they belong to. Selinah Mnguniwas 23 years old and already three months pregnant when she was injured in the Sharpeville massacre on 21 March 1960. The logjam was only broken after the Sharpeville massacre, as the UN decided to deal with the problem of apartheid South Africa. The movement in this period that revived the political opposition against the apartheid was the Black Consciousness Movement. The presence of armoured vehicles and air force fighter jets overhead also pointed to unnecessary provocation, especially as the crowd was unarmed and determined to stage a non-violent protest. All that changed following the worlds moral outrage at the killings. The police ordered the crowd to disperse within 3 minutes. Three people were killed and 26 others were injured. The incident resulted in the largest number of South African deaths (up to that point) in a protest against apartheid . On March 21, an estimated 7,000 South Africans gathered in front of the Sharpeville police station to protest against the restrictive pass laws. 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. The Minister of Justice called for calm and the Minister of Finance encouraged immigration. It also came to symbolize that struggle. By continuing to use this site, you consent to the terms of our cookie policy, which can be found in our. Selinah was shot in her leg but survived the massacre. March 21, is celebrated as a public holiday in honor of human rights and to commemorate the . His protest was ignored, and the government turned a blind eye to the increasing protests from industrialists and leaders of commerce. 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. And then there are those who feel deeply involved and moved, but also powerless to deal with the enormity of the situation (Krog 221). However, the governments method of controlling people who resisted the apartheid laws didnt have the same effect from the early 1970s and onward. All the evidence points to the gathering being peaceful and good humoured. [13], A storm of international protest followed the Sharpeville shootings, including sympathetic demonstrations in many countries[14][15] and condemnation by the United Nations. 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. He was followed by Dr. Yusuf Dadoo, Chairperson of the South African Indian Congress and Chairperson of the underground South African Communist Party. Early in 1960 both the ANC and PAC embarked on a feverish drive to prepare their members and Black communities for the proposed nationwide campaigns. The Sharpeville Massacre awakened the international community to the horrors of apartheid. The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on March 21, 1960, in the township of Sharpeville, South Africa. Philip Finkie Molefe, responsible for establishing the first Assemblies of God church in the Vaal, was among the clergy that conducted the service.[11]. These protestors included a large number of northern college students. Attending a protest in peaceful defiance of the apartheid regime, Selinah and many other young people were demonstrating against pass laws designed to restrict and control the movement and employment of millions of Black South Africans. Find out what the UN in South Africa is doing towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. In November 1961, a military branch of the party was organized with Mandela as its head. 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. On March 21st, 1960, the Pan Africanists Congress, an anti-Apartheid splinter organization formed in 1959, organized a protest to the National Partys pass laws which required all citizens, as well as native Africans, to carry identification papers on them at all times. 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. The South African Police (SAP) opened fire on the crowd when the crowd started advancing toward the fence around the police station; tear-gas had proved ineffectual. Time Magazine, (1960), The Sharpeville Massacre, A short history of pass laws in South Africa [online], from, Giliomee et al. Furthermore, during the nineties to the twenties, leaders of African Americans sought to end segregation in the South, as caused by Plessy v. Ferguson. Confrontation in the township of Sharpeville, Gauteng Province. [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. Crowds fleeing from bullets on the day of the Massacre. In March 1960 the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), an antiapartheid party, organized nationwide protests against South Africas pass laws. 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). Nearly 300 police officers arrived to put an end to the peaceful protest. On the same day, the government responded by declaring a state of emergency and banning all public meetings. Race, ethnicity and political groups, is an example of this. Accessible across all of today's devices: phones, tablets, and desktops. Across the street came 40 or so students who planned on joining the group en route to the Courthouse. In 1960, states had no binding international human rights obligations and there were no oversight mechanisms. 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. It had wide ramifications and a significant impact. 20072023 Blackpast.org. But in the aftermath of the Sharpeville massacre, the UN adopted a more interventionist stance towards the apartheid state. The Sharpeville massacre was a turning point in South African history. By 1960, however, anti-apartheid activism reached the town. For the next two and a half decades, the commission held to this position on the basis that the UN Charter only required states to promote, rather than protect, human rights. 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. This, said Mr Subukwe, would cause prisons to become overcrowded, labour to dry up and the economy to grind to a halt. During those five months roughly 25,000 people were arrested throughout the nation. Kgosana agreed to disperse the protestors in if a meeting with J B Vorster, then Minister of Justice, could be secured. The people of South Africa struggle day by day to reverse the most cruel, yet well-crafted, horrific tactic of social engineering. The concept behind apartheid emerged in 1948 when the nationalist party took over government, and the all-white government enforced racial segregation under a system of legislation . About 69 Blacks were killed and more than 180 wounded, some 50 women and children being among the victims. Many of the civilians present attended voluntarily to support the protest, but there is evidence that the PAC also used coercive means to draw the crowd there, including the cutting of telephone lines into Sharpeville, and preventing bus drivers from driving their routes. Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of the day that changed the course of South African history. By lunchtime, the crowd outside the police station had grown to an estimated 20,000 people. 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. Only the four Native Representatives and members of the new Progressive Party voted against the Bill. 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. After apartheid ended, President Nelson Mandela chose Sharpeville as the place to sign South Africas new constitution on December 10, 1996. Amid confusion, two shots were fired into the air by somebody in the crowd. Along the way small groups of people joined him. Sixty-nine protesters died, and the massacre became an iconic moment in the struggle against apartheid. For them to gather means violence. This shows a significant similarity in that both time periods leaders attempted to achieve the goal of ending. The quest for international support, mass mobilization, armed operations, and underground organization became the basis for the ANCs Four Pillars of Struggle. [21], In 1998, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) found that the police actions constituted "gross human rights violations in that excessive force was unnecessarily used to stop a gathering of unarmed people. And with the 24th Amendment, Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Voting Rights Act of 1965 being ratified, the civil rights movement and the fight to end segregation reached its legal goal (infoplease.com). Tafelberg Publishers: Cape Town. Accounting & Finance; Business, Companies and Organisation, Activity; Case Studies; Economy & Economics; Marketing and Markets; People in Business 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. Its been 60 years since the Sharpeville massacre, when 69 unarmed civilians were killed by armed South African police on March 21 1960. They were mild campaigns at first, but as the government became more hostile, so did ANC protests. On this 60th anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre, the world should remember the contingency and fragility of the international human rights law system that we so easily take for granted today. It authorized the limited use of arms and sabotage against the government, which got the governments attentionand its anger! Steven Wheatley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. The police and army arrested thousands of Africans, who were imprisoned with their leaders, but still the mass action raged. 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. They also perpetuated the segregation within, The increase in the segregationist laws in the 1950s was met with resistance in the form of the Defiance Campaign that started in 1952. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. Significant reshaping of international law is often the result of momentous occurrences, most notably the first and second world wars. "[1] He also denied giving any order to fire and stated that he would not have done so. Sharpeville was much more than a single tragic event. Learn about employment opportunities across the UN in South Africa. All Rights Reserved. 1960 police killing of protesters in Transvaal (now Gauteng), South Africa. But in the aftermath of the Sharpeville massacre, the UN adopted a more interventionist stance to the apartheid state. By 9 April the death toll had risen to 83 non-White civilians and three non-White police officers. However, Foreign Consulates were flooded with requests for emigration, and fearful White South Africans armed themselves. Massacre in Sharpeville. As the campaign went on, the apartheid government started imposing strict punishments on people who violated the segregationist laws. The protesters responded by hurling stones (striking three policemen) and rushing the police barricades. Pretoria, South Africa, The blood we sacrificed was worth it - Sharpeville Massacre, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Welcome to the United Nations country team website of South Africa. The Sharpeville Massacre is commemorated through Human Rights Day, a public holiday in South Africa, which honours those whose lives were sacrificed in the fight for democracy. Pheko, M. (2000) Focus: 'Lest We Forget Sharpeville', The Sowetan, 20 March. The term human rights was first used in the UN Charter in 1945. 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. When it seemed the whole group would cross, police took action, with mounted officers and volunteers arriving at 1:12 pm. 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. [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. In response, a police officer shouted in Afrikaans skiet or nskiet (exactly which is not clear). In the aftermath of the events of 21 March, mass funerals were held for the victims. According to his "Testimony about the Launch of the Campaign," Sobukwe declared: To read more witness accounts of the Sharpeville Massacre, click on the, According to an account from Humphrey Tyler, the assistant editor at, Afrikaner Nationalism, Anglo American and Iscor: formation of Highveld Steel and Vanadium Corporation, 1960-70 in Business History", The Sharpeville Massacre: Its historic significance in the struggle against apartheid, The PAC's War against the State 1960-1963, in The Road to Democracy in South Africa: 1960-1970, The Sharpeville Massacre - A watershed in SouthAfrica, Saluting Sharpevilles heroes, and South Africa's human rights, New Books | Robert Sobukwes letters from prison, South African major mass killings timeline 1900-2012, Origins: Formation, Sharpeville and banning, 1959-1960, 1960-1966: The genesis of the armed struggle, Womens resistance in the 1960s - Sharpeville and its aftermath, Eyewitness accounts of the Sharpeville massacre 1960, List of victims of police action, 21 March, 1960 (Sharpeville and Langa), A tragic turning-point: remembering Sharpeville fifty years on by Paul Maylam, Apartheid: Sharpeville Massacre, 21 March 1960, Commission of Enquiry into the Occurrences at Sharpeville (and other places) on the 21st March, 1960, Volume 1, Johannesburg, 15 June 1960, Commission of Enquiry into the Occurrences at Sharpeville (and other places) on the 21st March, 1960, Volume 2, Johannesburg, 15 June 1960, Documents, and articles relating to the Sharpeville Massacre 1960, Editorial comment: The legacy of Sharpeville, From Our Vault: Sharpeville, A Crime That Still Echoes by J Brooks Spector, 21 March 2013, South Africa, Message to the PAC on Sharpeville Day by Livingstone Mqotsi, Notes on the origins of the movement for Sanctions against South Africa by E.S. This riot was planned to be a peaceful riot for a strike on an 8-hour day, ended up turning into a battle between protesters and the police. It also came to symbolize that struggle. The enforcement of Pass Laws and the reissue of laws that restricted the. The adoption of the Race Convention was quickly followed by the international covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and on Civil and Political Rights in 1966, introduced to give effect to the rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 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. 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 . At least 180 were wounded. The mood of the protest had started out as peaceful and festive when there were . The PAC organised demonstration attracted between 5,000 and 7,000 protesters. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [10] At about 13:00 the police tried to arrest a protester, and the crowd surged forward. The Afrikaner poet Ingrid Jonker mentioned the Sharpeville Massacre in her verse. Individuals over sixteen were required to carry passbooks, which contained an identity card, employment and influx authorisation from a labour bureau, name of employer and address, and details of personal history. 351 Francis Baard Street,Metro Park Building ,10th Floor Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Lancaster University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation UK. The Sharpeville massacre was reported worldwide, and received with horror from every quarter. I will argue that the massacre created a major short-term crisis for the apartheid state, a crisis which appeared to Following the Brown decision, grassroots African American activists began challenging segregation through protests continuing into the 1960s (Aiken et al., 2013). The event also played a role in South Africa's departure from the Commonwealth of Nations in 1961. The Sharpeville massacre sparked hundreds of mass protests by black South Africans. The massacre was one of the catalysts for a shift from passive resistance to armed resistance by these organisations. 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 Cape Town, an estimated 95% of the African population and a substantial number of the Coloured community joined the stay away. 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. [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. Without the Sharpeville massacre, we may not have the international human rights law system we have today. By lunchtime, the crowd outside the police station had grown to an estimated 20,000 people. After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station. According to the police, protesters began to stone them and, without any warning, one of the policemen on the top of an armoured car panicked and opened fire. 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 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. 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. In the aftermath of the events of 21 March, mass funerals were held for the victims. The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on March 21, 1960, in the township of Sharpeville, South Africa. 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. With the election of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa in 1994, the apartheid system ended. Britannica does not review the converted text. Many people need to know that indiviual have their own rights in laws and freedom .