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. In response, a police officer shouted in Afrikaans skiet or nskiet (exactly which is not clear), which translates either as shot or shoot. However, Foreign Consulates were flooded with requests for emigration, and fearful White South Africans armed themselves. Unlike elsewhere on the East Rand where police used baton when charging at resisters, the police at Sharpeville used live ammunition. Sharpeville was much more than a single tragic event. Police officers attempted to use tear gas to repel these advances, but it proved ineffectual, and the police fell back on the use of their batons. But in the aftermath of the Sharpeville massacre, the UN adopted a more interventionist stance to the apartheid state. Just after 1pm, there was an altercation between the police officer in charge and the leaders of the demonstration. [16], The Sharpeville massacre contributed to the banning of the PAC and ANC as illegal organisations. Both were tasked with mobilizing international financial and diplomatic support for sanctions against South Africa. [10], PAC actively organized to increase turnout to the demonstration, distributing pamphlets and appearing in person to urge people not to go to work on the day of the protest. . This translates as shot or shoot. The Sharpeville Massacre On the morning of March 21, 1960, several thousand residents of Sharpeville marched to the township's police station. 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. After apartheid ended, President Nelson Mandela chose Sharpeville as the place to sign South Africas new constitution on December 10, 1996. . The laws said that blacks could not enter white areas unless they carried documents known as pass books. Time Magazine, (1960), The Sharpeville Massacre, A short history of pass laws in South Africa [online], from, Giliomee et al. Policemen in Cape Town were forcing Africans back to work with batons and sjamboks, and four people were shot and killed in Durban. The Department of Home Affairs (a government bureau) was responsible for the classification of the citizenry. . On the 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. Following shortly, the Group Areas Act of 1950 was enacted as a new form of legislation alongside the Population Registration Act. By lunchtime, the crowd outside the police station had grown to an estimated 20,000 people. Under the country's National Party government, African residents in urban districts were subject to influx control measures. the Sharpeville Massacre 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. It was a system of segregation put in place by the National Party, which governed in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. There were also youth problems because many children joined gangs and were affiliated with crimes instead of schools. All that changed following the worlds moral outrage at the killings. The two causes went hand in hand in this, rocketing in support and becoming the main goal of the country - the end of segregation was the most dire problem that the Civil Rights Movement needed to solve. Sharpeville: A Massacre and Its Consequences | Foreign Affairs When protesters reconvened in defiance, the police charged at them with batons, tear gas and guns. The event was an inspiration for painter Oliver Lee Jackson in his Sharpeville Series from the 1970s.[23]. Do you find this information helpful? By 1960, however, anti-apartheid activism reached the town. The Sharpeville Massacre took place in a south african police station of Sharpeville. March 21 Massacre in Sharpeville In the Black township of Sharpeville, near Johannesburg, South Africa, Afrikaner police open fire on a group of unarmed Black South African demonstrators,. Many people need to know that indiviual have their own rights in laws and freedom . Our work on the Sustainable Development Goals. Participants were instructed to surrender their reference books (passes) and invite arrest. But in the aftermath of the Sharpeville massacre, the UN adopted a more interventionist stance towards the apartheid state. 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. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? The events also prompted theInternational Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discriminationwhich took effect on 4 January 1969. Early on the 21st the local PAC leaders first gathered in a field not far from the Sharpeville police station, when a sizable crowd of people had joined them they proceeded to the police station - chanting freedom songs and calling out the campaign slogans "Izwe lethu" (Our land); "Awaphele amapasti" (Down with passes); "Sobukwe Sikhokhele" (Lead us Sobukwe); "Forward to Independence,Tomorrow the United States of Africa.". "[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. Aftermath: Sharpeville Massacre 1960 | South African History Online 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. Massacre in Sharpeville - HISTORY The massacre was photographed by photographer Ian Berry, who initially thought the police were firing blanks. 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. What Was The Cause Of The Sharpeville Massacre - 97 Words | Bartleby Please note: Text within images is not translated, some features may not work properly after translation, and the translation may not accurately convey the intended meaning. On 1 April 1960, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 134. Krog was one of these Afrikaners. 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. Only the four Native Representatives and members of the new Progressive Party voted against the Bill. [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. The poet Duncan Livingstone, a Scottish immigrant from the Isle of Mull who lived in Pretoria, wrote in response to the Massacre the Scottish Gaelic poem Bean Dubh a' Caoidh a Fir a Chaidh a Marbhadh leis a' Phoileas ("A Black Woman Mourns her Husband Killed by the Police"). Eventually a few of the demonstrators dared to cross the street, led by James Forman who had organized the march. Learn about employment opportunities across the UN in South Africa. Another officer interpreted this as an order and opened fire, triggering a lethal fusillade as 168 police constables followed his example. Robert Sobukwe and other leaders were arrested and detained after the Sharpeville massacre, some for nearly three years after the incident. The Minister of Native Affairs declared that apartheid was a model for the world. The victims included about 50 women and children. During the shooting about 69 black people were killed. 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. 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. This day is now commemorated annually in South Africa as a public . BBC World Service - Witness History, The Sharpeville massacre 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. The Sharpeville massacre, the name given to the murder of 69 unarmed civilians by armed South African police, took place on 21 March 1960. 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 police ordered the crowd to disperse within 3 minutes. By standing strong in the face of danger, the adults and children taking part in this demonstration were able to fight for their constitutional right to vote. 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. 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. "The blood we sacrificed was worth it" - Sharpeville Massacre Just after 1pm, there was an altercation between the police officer in charge and the leaders of the demonstration. Three people were killed and 26 others were injured. Max Roach's 1960 Album We Insist! I will argue that the massacre created a major short-term crisis for the apartheid state, a crisis which appeared to The significance of the date is reflected in the fact that. To share with more than one person, separate addresses with a comma. Many others were not so lucky: 69 unarmed and non-violent protesters were gunned down by theSouth Africanpolice and hundreds more were injured. Let's Take Action Towards the Sustainable Development Goals. A week later, a breakaway group from the ANC, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) held its first conference in Johannesburg. One of the insights was that international law does not change, unless there is some trigger for countries to change their behaviour. This angered the officers causing them to brutally attack and tear gas the demonstrators. 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). On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Sharpeville Massacre - The Presidential Years - Nelson Mandela Sharpeville was first built in 1943 to replace Topville, a nearby township that suffered overcrowding where illnesses like pneumonia were widespread. Black citizens began to resist this prejudice though and also used violence against the enforcers of Apartheid. 20072023 Blackpast.org. Sharpeville massacre marked turning point in South Africa's history OHCHRs regional representative Abigail Noko used the opportunity to call on all decision-makers to give youth a seat at the decision-making table. Other evidence given to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission "the evidence of Commission deponents reveals a degree of deliberation in the decision to open fire at Sharpeville and indicates that the shooting was more than the result of inexperienced and frightened police officers losing their nerve. The subject of racial discrimination in South Africa was raised at the UN General Assembly in its first session, in 1946, in the form of a complaint by India concerning the treatment of Indians in the country. [6]:p.534, By 10:00, a large crowd had gathered, and the atmosphere was initially peaceful and festive. At this conference, it was announced that the PAC would launch its own anti-pass campaign. The event has been seen by some as a turning point in South African history. Its been 60 years since the Sharpeville massacre, when 69 unarmed civilians were killed by armed South African police on March 21 1960. Tafelberg Publishers: Cape Town. The PAC called on its supporters to leave their passes at home on the appointed date and gather at police stations around the country, making themselves available for arrest. It was adopted on 21 December 1965. To re-enable the tools or to convert back to English, click "view original" on the Google Translate toolbar. 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. 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 . Dr. Verwoerd praised the police for their actions. Expert Answers. In the aftermath of the events of 21 March, mass funerals were held for the victims. 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. The commission completed this task, under the chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt, when it finalised the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. That day about 20,000 people gathered near the Sharpeville police station. Lancaster University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation UK. Following the Brown decision, grassroots African American activists began challenging segregation through protests continuing into the 1960s (Aiken et al., 2013). Robert Sobukwe | South African History Online 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. [6]:p.163, The African National Congress (ANC) prepared to initiate a campaign of protests against pass laws. [3], South African governments since the eighteenth century had enacted measures to restrict the flow of African South Africans into cities. When the news of the Sharpeville Massacre reached Cape Town a group of between 1000 to 5000 protestors gathered at the Langa Flats bus terminus around 17h00 on 21 March 1960. Police were temporarily paralyzed with indecision. Youth standing up against racism was the 2021 theme, aimed at fostering a global culture of tolerance, equality and non-discrimination that calls on each one of us to stand up against racial prejudice and intolerant attitudes. 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. Sharpeville Massacre. On 24 March 1960, in protest of the massacre, Regional Secretary General of the PAC, Philip Kgosana, led a march of 101 people from Langa to the police headquarters in Caledon Square, Cape Town. Sharpeville had a high rate of unemployment as well as high crime rates. Sharpeville Massacre - South Africa: Overcoming Apartheid Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. A state of emergency was announced in South Africa. Within hours the news of the killing at Sharpeville was flashed around the world. The subject of racial discrimination in South Africa was raised at the UN General Assembly in its first session, in 1946, in the form of a complaint by India concerning the treatment of Indians in the country. All the evidence points to the gathering being peaceful and good humoured. Sharpeville Massacre, The Origin of South Africa's Human Rights Day [online], available at: africanhistory.about.com [accessed 10 March 2009]|Thloloe, J. 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 enforcement of Pass Laws and the reissue of laws that restricted the. Pogrund,B. 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. [5] The police began shooting shortly thereafter. 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). These laws restricted blacks movements within the country. Witness History. This was in direct defiance of the government's country-wide ban on public meetings and gatherings of more than ten persons. When police opened . There was no evidence that anyone in the gathering was armed with anything other than stones. UNESCO marks 21 March as the yearly International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in memory of the massacre. Dr. Verwoerd praised the police for their actions. In her moving poem Our Sharpeville she reflects on the atrocity through the eyes of a child. The logjam was only broken after the Sharpeville massacre, as the UN decided to deal with the problem of apartheid South Africa. It was one of the first and most violent demonstrations against apartheid in South Africa.