p. 334- 336|Historical Papers Archive of the University of the Witwatersrand [online] Accessed at: wits.ac.za and SAHA archive [link no longer available]. [13], A storm of international protest followed the Sharpeville shootings, including sympathetic demonstrations in many countries[14][15] and condemnation by the United Nations. The significance of the date is reflected in the fact that it now marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This year, UN and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) joined South Africans in commemorating the 61st anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre, using the flagship campaign #FightRacism to promote awareness of these critical issues. By lunchtime, the crowd outside the police station had grown to an estimated 20,000 people. On March 30, the South African government declared a state of emergency which made any protest illegal. (2007), New History of South Africa. "[6]:p.537, On 21 March 2002, the 42nd anniversary of the massacre, a memorial was opened by former President Nelson Mandela as part of the Sharpeville Human Rights Precinct.[22]. 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. The police and army arrested thousands of Africans, who were imprisoned with their leaders, but still the mass action raged. In March 1960, South African police shot dead 69 black protestors, sparking worldwide outrage . Some 20,000 Blacks gathered near a police station at Sharpeville, located about 30 miles (50 km) south of Johannesburg. We hope you and your family enjoy the NEW Britannica Kids. 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. Following the Brown decision, grassroots African American activists began challenging segregation through protests continuing into the 1960s (Aiken et al., 2013). Sharpeville was much more than a single tragic event. This set the UN on the path towards the recognition of all human rights for all and, eventually, the establishment of the Human Rights Council and the Universal Periodic Review of the human rights performance of all states. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. 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 ). 26 Black policemen and 365 Black civilians were injured no White police men were killed and only 60 were injured. Freedom Now Suite includes the composition Tears for Johannesburg in response to the massacre. It was a sad day for black South Africa. It also came to symbolize that struggle. 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. These resolutions established two important principles: that the human rights provisions in the UN Charter created binding obligations for member states, and that the UN could intervene directly in situations involving serious violations of human rights. 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. Accounting & Finance; Business, Companies and Organisation, Activity; Case Studies; Economy & Economics; Marketing and Markets; People in Business These protests were to begin on 31 March 1960, but the rival Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), led by Robert Sobukwe, decided to pre-empt the ANC by launching its own campaign ten days earlier, on 21 March, because they believed that the ANC could not win the campaign. A new, third level of content, designed specially to meet the advanced needs of the sophisticated scholar. Sharpeville had a high rate of unemployment as well as high crime rates. Sobukwe was only released in 1969. Over five thousand individuals came to protest the cause in Sharpeville. The Sharpeville Massacre took place in a south african police station of Sharpeville. But change can also be prompted by seemingly minor events in global affairs such as the Sharpeville massacre the so-called butterfly effect. [1], Victims were buried en masse in a ceremony performed by clergy. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The world should remember the contingency and fragility of the international human rights law system that we so easily take for granted today. Just after 1pm, there was an altercation between the police officer in charge and the leaders of the demonstration. Philip H. Frankel, An Ordinary Atrocity: Sharpeville and its Massacre (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001); Henry F. Jackson, From the Congo to Soweto: U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Africa Since 1960 (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1982); Meredith Martin, The History of Apartheid: The Story of the Colour War in South Africa (New York: London House & Maxwell, 1962). This caused many other countries to criticize South Africas apartheid policy. A lot of Afrikaners felt a sense of guilt for the behavior they allowed to happen from their race towards another. The significance of the date is reflected in the fact that. 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. However, the police simply took down the protesters names and did not arrest anyone. Fewer than 20 police officers were present in the station at the start of the protest. Mandela went into hiding in 1964, he was captured, tried, and sentenced to life imprisonment. The commission completed this task, under the chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt, when it finalised the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. 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. But attempts to transform this non-binding moral declaration into a binding legal code were immediately bogged down in Cold War disputes. Sharpeville was first built in 1943 to replace Topville, a nearby township that suffered overcrowding where illnesses like pneumonia were widespread. The police were armed with firearms, including Sten submachine guns and LeeEnfield rifles. Eyewitness accounts attest to the fact that the people were given no warning to disperse. The quest for international support, mass mobilization, armed operations, and underground organization became the basis for the ANCs Four Pillars of Struggle. Migration is a human right, How the Sharpeville massacre changed the United Nations, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Up to 20% off & extra perks with Booking.com Genius Membership, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 10% off selected orders over 100 - eBay discount code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK March 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this March, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. The Sharpeville Massacre, 1960 Police Attack Demonstrators in Sharpeville, March 21, 1960 Few events loom larger in the history of the apartheid regime than those of the afternoon of March 21, 1960, in Sharpeville, South Africa. 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. 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. 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. In the aftermath of the events of 21 March, mass funerals were held for the victims. Do you find this information helpful? Significant reshaping of international law is often the result of momentous occurrences, most notably the two world wars. On March 21, 1960, without warning, South African police at Sharpeville, an African township of Vereeninging, south of Johannesburg, shot into a crowd of about 5,000 unarmed anti-pass protesters, killing at least 69 people - many of them shot in the back - and wounding . 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 protesters offered themselves up for arrest for not carrying their passes. 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. Police were temporarily paralyzed with indecision. All that changed following the worlds moral outrage at the killings. Many people need to know that indiviual have their own rights in laws and freedom . Other protests around the country on 21 March 1960. It was one of the first and most violent demonstrations against apartheid in South Africa. And then there are those who feel deeply involved and moved, but also powerless to deal with the enormity of the situation (Krog 221). A policeman was accidently pushed over and the crowd began to move forward to see what was happening. 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. It authorized the limited use of arms and sabotage against the government, which got the governments attentionand its anger! Some of them had been on duty for over twenty-four hours without respite. His colleagues followed suit and opened fire. In 1960 it was the site of one of the earliest and most violent demonstrations against apartheid. 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. In order to reduce the possibility of violence, he wrote a letter to the Sharpeville police commissioner announcing the upcoming protest and emphasizing that its participants would be non-violent. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. He became South Africa's . 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. Sharpeville Massacre, The Origin of South Africa's Human Rights Day [online], available at: africanhistory.about.com [accessed 10 March 2009]|Thloloe, J. Weve been busy, working hard to bring you new features and an updated design. 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. Tafelberg Publishers: Cape Town. [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. In the 1960s, many of the colonial nations of Africa were gaining independence. Selinah was shot in her leg but survived the massacre. In addition other small groups of PAC activists presented themselves at police stations in Durban and East London. UNESCO marks 21 March as the yearly International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in memory of the massacre. The enforcement of Pass Laws and the reissue of laws that restricted the. 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 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. 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. In the late 1980s, one of the most popular anti-apartheid movements that contributed to the end of the apartheid was the Free Mandela campaign. [10] Few of the policemen present had received public order training. Tear gas was again fired into the crowd but because of wind the gas had little effect on dispersing the students, some of the protesters picked up the tear gas canisters and threw them back at the Guard. Knowing the democracy we have today was achieved in part because of the blood we sacrificed was worth it, she says. It was adopted on 21 December 1965. Sobukwe subsequently announced that: On the morning of 21 March, PAC members walked around Sharpeville waking people up and urging them to take part in the demonstration.