Sharpeville massacre, (March 21, 1960), incident in the Black township of Sharpeville, near Vereeniging, South Africa, in which police fired on a crowd of Black people, killing or wounding some 250 of them. 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. 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Sharpeville Massacre, The Origin of South Africa's Human Rights Day [online], available at: africanhistory.about.com [accessed 10 March 2009]|Thloloe, J. Lined up outside was a large contingent of armed police with some atop armoured cars. Some were shot in the back as they fled.[1]. Business Studies. The Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), a splinter group of the African National Congress (ANC) created in 1959, organized a countrywide demonstration for March 21, 1960, for the abolition of South Africas pass laws. [7][8], On 21 March, 1960, a group of between 5,000 and 10,000 people converged on the local police station, offering themselves up for arrest for not carrying their passbooks. Some of them had been on duty for over twenty-four hours without respite. 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. News reports about the massacre spread across the world. 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. Time Magazine, (1960), The Sharpeville Massacre, A short history of pass laws in South Africa [online], from, Giliomee et al. NO FINE!" 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. There were also youth problems because many children joined gangs and were affiliated with crimes instead of schools. The significance of the date is reflected in the fact that it now marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The OHCHR Regional Office for Southern Africa also produced a series of digital stories on the Sharpeville massacre and young peoples concerns about their human rights. This shows a significant similarity in that both time periods leaders attempted to achieve the goal of ending. UNESCO marks 21 March as the yearly International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in memory of the massacre. He was tricked into dispersing the crowd and was arrested by the police later that day. [3], South African governments since the eighteenth century had enacted measures to restrict the flow of African South Africans into cities. March 21, is celebrated as a public holiday in honor of human rights and to commemorate the . There was no evidence that anyone in the gathering was armed with anything other than stones. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. 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. As an act of rebellion the passes were set alight, as seen in a picture by Ranjith Kally. 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. 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. 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. A robust humanrights framework is the only way to provide a remedy for those injustices, tackle inequality and underlying structural differences, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The South African government began arresting more nonconformists and banning resistance organizations, such as the African National Congress and the Pan African Congress. Pass laws intended to control and direct their movement and employment were updated in the 1950s. 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. Its been 60 years since the Sharpeville massacre, when 69 unarmed civilians were killed by armed South African police on March 21 1960. [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. It was adopted on December 21 1965. By continuing to use this site, you consent to the terms of our cookie policy, which can be found in our. 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). In my own research on international human rights law, I looked to complexity theory, a theory developed in the natural sciences to make sense of the ways that patterns of behaviour emerge and change, to understand the way that international human rights law had developed and evolved. 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.". The United Nations Security Council and governments worldwide condemned the police action and the apartheid policies that prompted this violent assault. The central issues stem from 50 years of apartheid include poverty, income inequality, land ownership rates and many other long term affects that still plague the brunt of the South African population while the small white minority still enjoy much of the wealth, most of the land and opportunities, Oppression is at the root of many of the most serious, enduring conflicts in the world today. The Population Registration Act of 1950 enacted, requiring segregation of Europeans from Afrikaans . These protestors included a large number of northern college students. However, the governments method of controlling people who resisted the apartheid laws didnt have the same effect from the early 1970s and onward. 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. 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. By mid-day approximately 300 armed policemen faced a crowd of approximately 5000 people. Massacre in Sharpeville. This was in direct defiance of the government's country-wide ban on public meetings and gatherings of more than ten persons. Weve been busy, working hard to bring you new features and an updated design. Policemen in Cape Town were forcing Africans back to work with batons and sjamboks, and four people were shot and killed in Durban. The police shot many in the back as they turned to flee, causing some to be paralyzed. When an estimated group of 5000 marchers reached Sharpeville police station, the police opened fire killing 69 people and injuring 180 others in what became known as the Sharpeville Massacre. But it was not until after Sharpeville that the UN made clear that the countrys system of racial segregation would no longer be tolerated. 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. 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). Other witnesses claimed there was no order to open fire, and the police did not fire a warning shot above the crowd. 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 ANC Vice-President, Oliver Tambo, was secretly driven across the border by Ronel Segal into the then British controlled territory of Bechunaland. 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. When it seemed the whole group would cross, police took action, with mounted officers and volunteers arriving at 1:12 pm. The victims included about 50 women and children. [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. The massacre was one of the catalysts for a shift from passive resistance to armed resistance by these organisations. A dompass in those days was an Identification Document that determined who you were, your birth date, what race you are and permission from your employers to be in a specific place at a specific time. This detailed act separated tribes based on ethnics; consequently, further detailing segregation amongst the natives . A state of emergency was declared in South Africa, more than 11,000 people were detained, and the PAC and ANC were outlawed. The story of March 21 1960 is told by Tom Lodge, a scholar of South African politics, in his book Sharpeville. 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. 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. Participants were instructed to surrender their reference books (passes) and invite arrest. As they attempted to disperse the crowd, a police officer was knocked down and many in the crowd began to move forward to see what had happened. 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. Mandela went into hiding in 1964, he was captured, tried, and sentenced to life imprisonment. 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. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The quest for international support, mass mobilization, armed operations, and underground organization became the basis for the ANCs Four Pillars of Struggle. 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. It was a system of segregation put in place by the National Party, which governed in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. The officers asked the demonstrators to turn around; however, they did not budge. The apartheid in South Africa which was in effect from 1948 until 1994 was not only a racist policy which greatly affected the quality of life of minorities in the country for the worse but was a outright crime against humanity. Freedom Now Suite includes the composition Tears for Johannesburg in response to the massacre. Sharpeville was first built in 1943 to replace Topville, a nearby township that suffered overcrowding where illnesses like pneumonia were widespread. Take a minute to check out all the enhancements! Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. Protestors asyoung as 12and13were killed. Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of the day that changed the course of South African history. 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. Riding into the small group of protestors, they forced most to withdraw, but a few stood fast around a utility pole where horsemen began to beat them. In the aftermath of the events of 21 March, mass funerals were held for the victims. [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. This caused many other countries to criticize South Africas apartheid policy. After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station. The events also prompted theInternational Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discriminationwhich took effect on 4 January 1969. In 1960, states had no binding international human rights obligations and there were no oversight mechanisms. One of the insights was that international law does not change, unless there is some trigger for countries to change their behaviour. 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. "[18][19], Since 1994, 21 March has been commemorated as Human Rights Day in South Africa. 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. The apartheid system forcefully suppressed any resistance, such as at Sharpeville on March 21 1960, when 69 blacks were killed, and the Soweto Riots 1976-77, when 576 people died. 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. The Black resistance began to gain more momentum and increasingly became more threatening. the Sharpeville Massacre In 1960, states had no binding international human rights obligations with oversight mechanisms. The police assembled and used disproportionate responses to the protest. He became South Africa's . In 1960 it was the site of one of the earliest and most violent demonstrations against apartheid. The term human rights was first used in the UN Charter in 1945. Furthermore, the history of the African civil rights movement validated: Nationalism has been tested in the peoples struggles . Sixty-nine Africans were killed and 186 were wounded, with most shot in the back. Courtesy BaileySeippel Gallery/BAHA Source. At the annual conference of the African National Congress (ANC) held in Durban on 16 December 1959, the President General of the ANC, Chief Albert Luthuli, announced that 1960 was going to be the "Year of the Pass." Sharpeville Massacre. 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. At this point the National Guard chose to disperse the crowd, fearing that the situation might get out of hand and grow into another violent protest. (2000) Focus: 'Lest We Forget', Sunday World, 19 March. 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. NO DEFENCE! In March 1960, Robert Sobukwe, a leader in the anti-apartheid Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) organized the towns first anti-apartheid protest. [5], F-86 Sabre jets and Harvard Trainers approached to within 30 metres (98ft) of the ground, flying low over the crowd in an attempt to scatter it. Some estimates put the size of the crowd at 20,000. All Rights Reserved. Just after 1pm, there was an altercation between the police officer in charge and the leaders of the demonstration. About 69 Blacks were killed and more than 180 wounded, some 50 women and children being among the victims. 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]. The firing lasted for approximately two minutes, leaving 69 people dead and, according to the official inquest, 180 people seriously wounded. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. The Sharpeville massacre was reported worldwide, and received with horror from every quarter. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. Dr. Verwoerd praised the police for their actions. Following the Brown decision, grassroots African American activists began challenging segregation through protests continuing into the 1960s (Aiken et al., 2013). After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station. But in the aftermath of the Sharpeville massacre, the UN adopted a more interventionist stance towards the apartheid state. In November 1961, a military branch of the party was organized with Mandela as its head. [12], Many White South Africans were also horrified by the massacre. This movement sought to overcome the subjugation the racist South African government and apartheid laws imposed on Blacks. But it was not until after Sharpeville that the UN made clear that the countrys system of racial segregation would no longer be tolerated. They met a police line a few blocks from the Courthouse and were forbidden from proceeding because they did not have a parade permit (Reed 26). It include with civil right that violence verses non-violence that the government could or. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Robert Sobukwe and other leaders were arrested and detained after the Sharpeville massacre, some for nearly three years after the incident. Philip Finkie Molefe, responsible for establishing the first Assemblies of God church in the Vaal, was among the clergy that conducted the service.[11]. During the shooting about 69 black people were killed. Throughout the 1950s, South African blacks intensified their resistance against the oppressive apartheid system. On March 21, demonstrators disobeyed the pass laws by giving up or burning their pass books. 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. These two industries experienced rapid growth in the immediate aftermath of World War II and continued growing into the 1950s and 1960s. This article first appeared on The Conversation, Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. The event has been seen by some as a turning point in South African history. In Pretoria a small group of six people presented themselves at the Hercules police station. The Sharpeville Massacre awakened the international community to the horrors of apartheid. 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. A week after the state of emergency was declared the ANC and the PAC were banned under the Unlawful Organisations Act of 8 April 1960. When police opened . All that changed following the worlds moral outrage at the killings. . 1960 police killing of protesters in Transvaal (now Gauteng), 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. It was one of the first and most violent demonstrations against apartheid in South Africa. Following the Sharpeville massacre, as it came to be known, the death toll rose to 69 and the number of injuries to 180. According to an account from Humphrey Tyler, the assistant editor at Drum magazine: The police have claimed they were in desperate danger because the crowd was stoning them. 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. [10] Few of the policemen present had received public order training. With the election of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa in 1994, the apartheid system ended. Yet only three policemen were reported to have been hit by stones - and more than 200 Africans were shot down. On 1 April 1960, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 134. Stephen Wheatley explores how this tragedypaved the way for themodern United Nations, Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, Jennifer Davis: Exiled hero of South Africas anti-apartheid movement, Ralph Ziman: I hated apartheid. Many others were not so lucky: 69 unarmed and non-violent protesters were gunned down by theSouth Africanpolice and hundreds more were injured. But attempts to transform this non-binding moral declaration into a binding legal code were immediately bogged down in cold war disputes. Accounting & Finance; Business, Companies and Organisation, Activity; Case Studies; Economy & Economics; Marketing and Markets; People in Business Some 20,000 Blacks gathered near a police station at Sharpeville, located about 30 miles (50 km) south of Johannesburg. . 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.
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