Freedom Charter

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The Freedom Charter was declared at the Congress of the People in Kliptown, South Africa on 26 June 1955 by the African National Congress and its allies the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats and the Coloured People's Congress. It was later adopted by all four organisations.

The meeting in 1955 was broken up by police on the second day, although by then the charter had been read in full. The famous Nelson Mandela escaped this meeting under the disguise of a milkman, because at that time he was restricted by banning orders, which limited his movement and who he could talk to.

The charter was drafted by Z.K. Mathews, Lionel 'Rusty' Bernstein and others of the South African Communist Party (Obituary, The Times, London, 27 June 2002). The document is notable for its demand for and commitment to a non-racial South Africa, and this has remained the platform of the ANC, in contrast to the Africanist position of the Pan Africanist Congress; the charter also contains calls for democracy and human rights, land reform, labour rights, and nationalization.