Post Conflict Development Countries |
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South Africa |
The United Kingdom took permanent possession of South Africa in 1815. Dutch settlers
were defeated in the Boer War 1899-1902.
Although a member of both League of Nations and the UN, South Africa refused to
sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1945, due to the official policy
of apartheid - separate development of the races.
South Africa disengaged from the Commonwealth, which objected to the country's racist
policies, and declared itself a republic in 1961.
The African National Congress (ANC), the principal antiapartheid organization, was
banned in 1960 and its leader was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964. Immediately
after that, the UN imposed sanctions.
A multiracial forum began working on a new constitution in 1991. In 1993, an interim
constitution which dismantled apartheid was passed. The peaceful transition of South
Africa into a democracy has been a success.
South Africa was ruled by a white minority until 1994 when the first multiracial
election resulted in a victory for ANC.
A new national constitution was approved and adopted in May 1996.
In 1997, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission started the painful process of
national recovery by facilitating hearings regarding human rights violations between
1960 and 1993.
In 2004, ANC won South Africa's elections again. |
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