In 1994, the system of apartheid came to an end in South Africa, as the nation held its first free and fair democratic elections. The end of apartheid came after decades of struggle by activists in South Africa, combined with an international campaign of boycotts and divestment. Keep reading to learn more about the history of apartheid in South Africa, and its continuing influence on international law.

Colonialism and Legal Apartheid

In 1652, the Dutch East India Company established an outpost in what is now present-day Cape Town. The colony expanded steadily, as more Dutch settlers established a permanent presence in the Cape, bringing with them enslaved people from present-day Indonesia and East Africa. Britain occupied the colony following the French Revolution, to prevent it from falling into French hands, and assumed permanent possession after the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars. 

During the Dutch and British colonial eras, segregation was pervasive but largely informal. This changed with the establishment of the independent state of South Africa in the twentieth century. In 1931, with the passage of the Statute of Westminster, the Union of South Africa became an independent state. Beginning in the 1930s, apartheid became a rallying cry^[1]Calvin J. Allen, The Effective Role of United States International Tax Law in Dismantling Apartheid in the Union of South Africa and in Rebuilding the Union of South Africa after the Demise of Apartheid, 27 T. MARSHALL L. REV. … Continue reading for white nationalist parties in South Africa, in lockstep with a rising tide of nationalism and fascist sentiment across the globe. In 1948, the National Party came to power. The Party, which opposed entering World War II against Nazi Germany on the basis of their shared racist ideology, swiftly set about constructing the legal framework for a formalized system of apartheid, built upon the foundational segregation of the colonial era. 

Most of the major laws establishing apartheid^[2]South Africa and the Rule of Law (1960). This document can be found in HeinOnline’s Civil Rights and Social Justice Collection. were passed in the early 1950s, in the years immediately following the National Party’s assumption of power, including laws that forbade interracial marriage and disenfranchised non-white voters. Where one could live was determined according to their assigned “group area,” which corresponded to one’s racial classification. In theory, this meant that Black South Africans had their own semi-sovereign territories, and white South Africans their own, with other areas reserved for the use of Asian and coloured (the official South African demographic category for people of mixed-race parentage) people. In practice, however, land ownership was disproportionate, with white South Africans owning more than 90% of land—despite never making up more than 15% of the population—and controlling access to employment and resources and dominating the government.

The International Movement against Apartheid

It did not take long for international condemnations of South Africa’s policies to be heard. As early as the late 1950s, apartheid was the subject of hearings at the then-relatively new United Nations, which called for the National Party to reverse its policies^[3]Committee Report on Apartheid, 10 U.N. Rev. 24 (August-September 1963). This document can be found in HeinOnline’s United Nations Law Collection. and rescind the major apartheid laws in 1958.

As international outrage grew, so did resistance from within South Africa. The African National Congress (ANC), a political party founded in 1912 as an advocate for the Black African people of colonial South Africa, became the main opposition in the wake of the National Party’s rise to power. In the 1950s, the ANC conducted nonviolent campaigns of civil disobedience. The campaign was met with violent repression^[4]Special Meetings Mark 26th Anniversary of Sharpeville Massacre; Secretary-General Says Racial Discrimination Should Cease Everywhere, 23 U.N. Chron. 44 (January-March 1986). This document can be found in HeinOnline’s United Nations Law … Continue reading at the hands of South African police and, in 1960, the ANC was declared a banned organization.

After its prohibition, the ANC founded an underground paramilitary organization, uMkhonto weSizwe (literally, “Spear of the Nation”) in 1961. Under the command of Nelson Mandela, uMkhonto weSizwe launched a campaign of armed resistance to apartheid, which led to Mandela’s arrest and imprisonment in 1962. Like its parent organization, the Spear of the Nation was designated a terrorist group by South Africa, and outlawed. Although never officially banned by the United States, Department of Defense materials^[5]Terrorist Group Profiles (1988). This document can be found in HeinOnline’s Legal Classics collection. from the Reagan administration describe the ANC and uMkhonto weSizwe as terrorist organizations. uMkhonto weSizwe, and other groups representing the armed resistance, worked in concert with nonviolent activists in trade unions and community organizations to exert pressure upon the white nationalist regime through the 1990s.

Following the arrest of Mandela and his comrades, in 1963 the United Nations passed a non-binding resolution recommending arms embargos^[6]Committee Report on Apartheid, 10 U.N. Rev. 24 (August-September 1963). This document can be found in HeinOnline’s United Nations Law Collection. against South Africa. In the following years, a number of countries acted independently to limit trade and investment in apartheid South Africa. Nevertheless, South Africa not only maintained the system of apartheid within its own borders, it also used military force against neighboring nations, in the interest of maintaining the power of their white populations over Black Africans. In 1976, South African police opened fire on crowds of protesting Black students in the township of Soweto, killing hundreds of children and young people.

In the wake of the Soweto Massacre, news of which was disseminated worldwide, global public opinion turned even more firmly against the apartheid regime in South Africa. In 1977, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously^[7]Questions Relating to Southern Africa, 32 Report of the Security Council 10 (1976-1977). This document can be found in HeinOnline’s United Nations Law Collection. to pass a resolution forbidding all member states from selling weapons to South Africa. By the 1980s, the global legal consensus was that apartheid South Africa represented a criminal regime. In the United States, sanctions against South Africa found bipartisan support, with legislators advancing a program of economic sanctions against South Africa in 1986. Ronald Reagan vetoed^[8]Ronald Reagan, Message to the House of Representatives Returning Without Approval a Bill Concerning Apartheid in South Africa, 1986 Pub. Paper 1278 (1986). This document can be found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Presidential Library. the bill, but his veto was overruled by Congress, and the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act^[9]To prohibit loans to, other investments in, and certain other activities with respect to South Africa, and for other purposes, Public Law 99-440, 99 Congress. 100 Stat. 1086 (1986). This law can be found in HeinOnline’s United States Statutes … Continue reading became law in 1986.

Criminal Apartheid and the Rome Statute

Apartheid in South Africa was ultimately brought to an end by a combination of years of sustained internal resistance from Black South Africans combined with an international campaign to isolate the white supremacist regime from trade, investment, and cultural institutions. By 1990, South Africa was a pariah state, with its economy struggling under the strain.^[10]South Africa: Relationship With Western Financial Institutions of international sanctions. This report can be found in HeinOnline’s GAO Reports and Comptroller General Decisions. A shift occurred with the resignation of the previous hard-right president of South Africa, following a stroke in 1989. The new president, F.W. de Klerk, repealed a number of apartheid laws, released Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners, and began a process of negotiating an end to apartheid with the ANC.

The years-long process culminated with the end of apartheid with the first elections open to all citizens of South Africa,^[11]George Devenish, Constitutional and Political Developments, 6 S. AFR. HUM. RTS. Y. B. 19 (1995). This article can be found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. regardless of race, in 1994. The election resulted in a landslide victory for the ANC, and established Mandela as the first Black president of South Africa. The ANC oversaw the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,^[12]James L. Gibson, The Contributions of Truth to Reconciliation: Lessons from South Africa, 50 J. CONFLICT RESOL. 409 (June 2006). This article can be found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. which held hearings on the abuses suffered under the apartheid regime.

In 1998, apartheid was defined as a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute,^[13]United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (Rome, 15 June-17 July 1998) Official Records (15). This document can be found in HeinOnline’s United Nations Law Collection. which established the International Criminal Court in 2002. This strengthened existing prohibitions against racial segregation from the prior International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination^[14]“International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,” (1965): [i]-[cxxviii]. This treaty can be found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Treaties and Agreements Library. (CERD). In 2024, a country was found to be in breach of article 3 of CERD—the section that prohibits apartheid and racial discrimination—for the first time in recent history when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) determined that Israel’s actions in occupied Palestine met the criteria^[15]Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem – Advisory Opinion, 2024 International Court of Justice Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders [i] … Continue reading for the crime of apartheid. The ICJ’s advisory opinion is strongly disputed by Israel and its principal ally, the United States. The same year, the ICJ began reviewing a case filed by South Africa^[16]Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) – Order, 2024 International Court of Justice Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders [i] (2024). This … Continue reading against Israel. The case remains disputed at present.

Further Research

If you’re interested in further research into international justice, be sure to check out HeinOnline’s United Nations Law Collection. In addition to an extensive collection of treaties registered with the United Nations, the database also features numerous publications related to the International Court of Justice, including advisory opinions and rulings on international disputes from 1947 through the present day.