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. The PAC organised demonstration attracted between 5,000 and 7,000 protesters. Sharpeville Massacre, The Origin of South Africa's Human Rights Day [online], available at: africanhistory.about.com [accessed 10 March 2009]|Thloloe, J. Another officer interpreted this as an order and opened fire, triggering a lethal fusillade as 168 police constables followed his example. The people were throwing their hats to the aeroplanes. 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 . Furthermore, a new police station was created, from which the police were energetic to check passes, deporting illegal residents, and raiding illegal shebeens. As an act of rebellion the passes were set alight, as seen in a picture by Ranjith Kally. To read more about the protests in Cape Town. What happened on 21 March in Sharpeville? On the same day, the government responded by declaring a state of emergency and banning all public meetings. As a result of racial segregation, resistance from coloured people in both the United States and South Africa escalated. He became South Africa's . 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. By the end of the day, 69 people lay dead or dying, with hundreds more injured. 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 South African governments repressive measures in response to the Sharpeville Massacre, however, intensified and expended the opposition to apartheid, ushering in three decades of resistance and protest in the country and increasing condemnation by world leaders. "[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]. By mid-day approximately 300 armed policemen faced a crowd of approximately 5000 people. Protestors asyoung as 12and13were killed. March 16 saw a demonstration in Montgomery, Alabama in which 580 demonstrators planned to march from the Jackson Street Baptist Church to the Montgomery County Courthouse (Reed 26). . 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. In March 1960, Robert Sobukwe, a leader in the anti-apartheid Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) organized the towns first anti-apartheid protest. Plaatjie, T. (1998) Focus: 'Sharpeville Heroes Neglected', The Sowetan, 20 March.|Reverend Ambrose Reeves (1966). The, For one, African American leaders in the 90s to the 20s attempted to end the disenfranchisement of African Americans, done through poll taxes and literacy tests, by advocating their cause in the more sympathetic North. Ingrid de Kok was a child living on a mining compound near Johannesburg where her father worked at the time of the Sharpeville massacre. Business Studies. Policemen in Cape Town were forcing Africans back to work with batons and sjamboks, and four people were shot and killed in Durban. 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. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Tafelberg Publishers: Cape Town. 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. Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of the day that changed the course of South African history. In Cape Town, an estimated 95% of the African population and a substantial number of the Coloured community joined the stay away. We need the voices of young people to break through the silence that locks in discrimination and oppression. With the election of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa in 1994, the apartheid system ended. 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." 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. It had wide ramifications and a significant impact. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Following shortly, the Group Areas Act of 1950 was enacted as a new form of legislation alongside the Population Registration Act. Max Roach's 1960 Album We Insist! This angered the officers causing them to brutally attack and tear gas the demonstrators. In her moving poem Our Sharpeville she reflects on the atrocity through the eyes of a child. But change can also be prompted by seemingly minor events in global affairs, such as the Sharpeville massacre the so-called butterfly effect. In response, a police officer shouted in Afrikaans skiet or nskiet (exactly which is not clear). The officers asked the demonstrators to turn around; however, they did not budge. The ANC was encouraged and campaigned for democracy in South Africa. Improved homework resources designed to support a variety of curriculum subjects and standards. The police were armed with firearms, including Sten submachine guns and LeeEnfield rifles. [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. That date now marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and without the Sharpeville massacre, we may not have the international system of human rights that we have today. The term human rights was first used in the UN Charter in 1945. 20072023 Blackpast.org. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. Sixty-nine Africans were killed and 186 were wounded, with most shot in the back. 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 incident resulted in the largest number of South African deaths (up to that point) in a protest against apartheid. In 1960 it was the site of one of the earliest and most violent demonstrations against apartheid . 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. The Minister of Native Affairs declared that apartheid was a model for the world. 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. This shows a significant similarity in that both time periods leaders attempted to achieve the goal of ending. Just after 1pm, there was an altercation between the police officer in charge and the leaders of the demonstration. A state of emergency was announced in South Africa. Learn about employment opportunities across the UN in South Africa. In November 1961, a military branch of the party was organized with Mandela as its head. Time Magazine, (1960), The Sharpeville Massacre, A short history of pass laws in South Africa [online], from, Giliomee et al. The South African government then created the Unlawful Organizations Act of 1960 which banned anti-apartheid groups such as the Pan Africanist Congress and the African National Congress. 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. [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. 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. Later, in the fifties and the sixties, these same goals, enlign poll taxes and literacy tests, were once again fought for by African American leaders, through advocacy and agitation. 351 Francis Baard Street,Metro Park Building ,10th Floor [16], The Sharpeville massacre contributed to the banning of the PAC and ANC as illegal organisations. The protesters offered themselves up for arrest for not carrying their passes. Just after 1pm, there was an altercation between the police officer in charge and the leaders of the demonstration. Nearly 300 police officers arrived to put an end to the peaceful protest. 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. Lined up outside was a large contingent of armed police with some atop armoured cars. Even so and estimated 2000 to 3000 people gathered on the Commons. a photographer whose pictures of the killings caused an . About 69 Blacks were killed and more than 180 wounded, some 50 women and children being among the victims. 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. Following the Sharpeville massacre, as it came to be known, the death toll rose to 69 and the number of injuries to 180. Robert Sobukwe and other leaders were arrested and detained after the Sharpeville massacre, some for nearly three years after the incident. The police ordered the crowd to disperse within 3 minutes. 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. The massacre was photographed by photographer Ian Berry, who initially thought the police were firing blanks. After translating an article, all tools except font up/font down will be disabled. Sharpeville was much more than a single tragic event. But attempts to transform this non-binding moral declaration into a binding legal code were immediately bogged down in Cold War disputes. Amid confusion, two shots were fired into the air by somebody in the crowd. 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. The Minister of Justice called for calm and the Minister of Finance encouraged immigration. Sharpeville is a township near Vereeniging, in the Gauteng province of South Africa . The Sharpeville massacre sparked hundreds of mass protests by black South Africans. This day is now commemorated annually in South Africa as a public . The event has been seen by some as a turning point in South African history. Kgosana agreed to disperse the protestors in if a meeting with J B Vorster, then Minister of Justice, could be secured. It was one of the first and most violent demonstrations against apartheid in South Africa. Find out more about our work towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The policemen were apparently jittery after a recent event in Durban where nine policemen were shot. 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. 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 Sharpeville massacre was a turning point in South African history. Sources disagree as to the behaviour of the crowd: some state that the crowd was peaceful, while others state that the crowd had been hurling stones at the police and that the mood had turned "ugly". Freedom Now Suite includes the composition Tears for Johannesburg in response to the massacre. Throughout the 1950s, South African blacks intensified their resistance against the oppressive apartheid system. It was a sad day for black South Africa. The term human rights was first used in the UN Charter in 1945. In the 1960s, many of the colonial nations of Africa were gaining independence. Mandela went into hiding in 1964, he was captured, tried, and sentenced to life imprisonment. 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). ISCOR and SASOL, the state's metal and fuel companies, were and continue to be the two key role players in the provision of employment in the Sharpeville region. 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. However, the police simply took down the protesters names and did not arrest anyone. At this conference, it was announced that the PAC would launch its own anti-pass campaign. Approximately 10,000 Africans were forcibly removed to Sharpeville. Non-compliance with the race laws were dealt with harshly. Copyright 20102023, The Conversation Media Group Ltd. March 21 is a public holiday in South Africa in commemoration of the Sharpeville massacre. In the aftermath of the events of 21 March, mass funerals were held for the victims. A deranged White man, David Pratt, made an assassination attempt on Dr. Verwoerd, who was seriously injured. 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. 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. "[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. We must listen to them, learn from them, and work with them to build a better future.. The police assembled and used disproportionate responses to the protest. 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. Police arrested more than 11,000 people and kept them in jail. After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station. The firing lasted for approximately two minutes, leaving 69 people dead and, according to the official inquest, 180 people seriously wounded. The laws said that blacks could not enter white areas unless they carried documents known as pass books. Britannica does not review the converted text.