United Nations Security Council Resolution 418

UN Security Council
Resolution 418
ARA Drummond (formerly SAS Good Hope), an D'Estienne d'Orves class corvette whose sale to South Africa was blocked by UNSCR 418
Date 4 November 1977
Meeting no. 2,046
Code S/RES/409 (Document)
Subject South Africa
Voting summary
 15 voted for
None voted against
None abstained
Result Adopted
Security Council composition
Permanent members
Non-permanent members

United Nations Security Council Resolution 418, adopted unanimously on 4 November 1977, imposed a mandatory arms embargo against South Africa.[1] This resolution differed from the earlier Resolution 282, which was only voluntary. The embargo was subsequently tightened and extended by Resolution 591.

The embargo was lifted by Resolution 919[2] following democratic elections in South Africa in 1994.

Impact

The embargo had a direct impact on South Africa in a number of ways:

Circumvention of the embargo

The South African government devised a number of strategies to bypass the embargo to obtain military technology and components that it was unable to procure openly. United Nations Security Council Resolution 591 was passed in 1986 to extend the embargo and to tightened some of the loopholes.

Local production

Many armaments were wholly designed and manufactured in South Africa, as reflected by the growth and export business of Armscor.

Smuggling

Notable operations that came to light were:

  • The 1984 case of the Coventry Four. Four South African businessmen in the UK were found to be operating a front company on the behalf of Kentron that was sourcing materiel in defiance of the ban.
  • The arrest and imprisonment of Gerald Bull for developing the G5 howitzer for Armscor.
  • The nuclear weapons program reached its peak during the embargo. According to David Albright, components for the program were imported without the knowledge of the international community, or put to ingenious uses that had not been envisaged by the enforcers of the embargo.[7]

Dual purpose equipment

Computer and air traffic control radar systems ostensibly destined for civilian use were diverted to the military.[8]

Use of foreign specialists

The South African government was able to hire the services of foreign technicians, for example Israeli specialists who had worked on the Lavi fighter aircraft were recruited by Atlas Aircraft Corporation to work on the Atlas Cheetah and Atlas CAVA.[8]

Licensed production

In somes cases, foreign armaments were simply produced under license in South Africa, as in the case of the Warrior class strike craft, the R4 assault rifle and Atlantis Diesel Engines.

Co-operation with other states

South Africa exchanged military technology with other states in a similar position to itself, notably through the Israel–South Africa Agreement.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Resolution 418". United Nations. November 4, 1977.
  2. ↑ "Resolution 919". United Nations. May 26, 1994.
  3. ↑ "Victor Moukambi dissertation.doc" (PDF). University of Stellenbosch. 2008-10-13. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  4. ↑ Andre Wessels (20 April 2007). "The South African Navy During The Years of Conflict In Southern Africa, 1966-1989". —. Sabinet Online Ltd. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 October 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2008. External link in |publisher= (help)
  5. ↑ Hilton Hamann (2001). Days of the Generals. South Africa: Zebra. p. 99. ISBN 1-86872-340-2. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
  6. ↑ David Albright (July 1994). "South Africa and the Affordable Bomb". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: 37–47.
  7. ↑ David Albright (July 1994). "South Africa and the Affordable Bomb". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: 41.
  8. 1 2 Geldenhuys, Deon (1990). Isolated States: A Comparative Analysis. Cambridge University Press.
  9. ↑ "Africa Review" (PDF). National Security Archive. 1981-06-08. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
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