South-West Africa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
South-West Africa (Afrikaans: Suidwes-Afrika; German: Südwestafrika) was the name of what is today the Republic of Namibia.
As a German colony from 1884 it was known as German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika). Germany had a difficult time administering the territory, which owing to the German's brutal native policy, experienced many insurrections, especially those led by guerilla leader Jakobus Morenga. In 1915, the area was conquered from Germany during World War I, and consequently declared a League of Nations Mandate under the Treaty of Versailles, with South Africa responsible for its administration.
The Mandate was supposed to become a United Nations Trust Territory when League of Nations Mandates were transferred to the United Nations following World War II, but the Union of South Africa refused to agree to allow the territory to begin the transition to independence and it essentially became a de facto fifth province of South Africa, even though it was never actually incorporated into the country. South Africa also formally excluded Walvis Bay from the mandate and annexed it as a South African enclave.
These actions of South Africa gave rise to several opinions of the International Court of Justice. In 1950, it ruled that South Africa did not have any obligation to convert South-West Africa to a United Nations Trust Territory, but was still bound by the League of Nations Mandate with the United Nations General Assembly assuming the supervisory role. It also clarified that the General assembly was empowered to receive petitions from the inhabitants of South-West Africa and to call for reports from the mandatory nation, South Africa.[1] The General Assembly constituted the Committee on South-West Africa to perform the supervisory functions.[2] In another advisory opinion issued in 1955, the Court further ruled that the General Assembly was not required to follow League of Nations voting procedures in determining questions concerning South-West Africa.[3] In 1956, the Court further ruled that the Committee had the power to grant hearings to petitioners from the mandated territory.[4] In 1960, Ethiopia and Liberia filed a case in the International Court of Justice against South Africa alleging that South Africa had not fulfilled its mandatory duties. This case did not succeed, with the Court ruling in 1966 that they were not the proper parties to bring the case.[5][6] In 1966, the General Assembly passed resolution 2145 (XXI) which declared the Mandate terminated and that South Africa had no further right to administer South-West Africa. In 1971, acting on a request for advisory opinion from the United Nations Security Council, the International Court of Justice ruled that the continued presence of South Africa in Namibia was illegal and that South Africa was under an obligation to withdraw from Namibia immediately. It also ruled that all member states of the United Nations were under an obligation to recognize the invalidity of any act performed by South Africa on behalf of Namibia.[7]
South-West Africa had been known internationally as Namibia since 1968, when the United Nations General Assembly changed the territory's name[8]. This resulted in a protracted struggle between South Africa and forces fighting for independence, particularly after the formation of the South-West Africa People's Organisation in 1960.
The territory became the independent Republic of Namibia in 1990, with Walvis Bay only becoming part of Namibia in 1994.
[edit] References
- ^ International Status of South-West Africa - Advisory Opinion
- ^ List of United Nations Organisations and Resolutions concerning Namibia
- ^ Voting Procedure on Questions Relating to Reports and Petitions Concerning the Territory of South-West Africa - Advisory Opinion
- ^ Admissibility of Hearings of Petitioners by the Committee on South-West Africa - Advisory Opinion
- ^ South-West Africa Cases (Preliminary Objections) Ethiopia v. South Africa and Liberia v. South Africa
- ^ South-West Africa Cases (Second Phase) Ethiopia v. South Africa and Liberia v. South Africa
- ^ Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia (South-West Africa) Notwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276(1970) - Advisory Opinion
- ^ Decolonization and Self-governing territories
