United Nations Security Council resolution 591, adopted unanimously on 28 November 1986, after recalling resolutions

418 __NOTOC__ Year 418 ( CDXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Theodosius (or, less frequently, year 11 ...

(1977),

421 __NOTOC__ Year 421 ( CDXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Agricola and Eustathius (or, less frequently, year 117 ...

(1977), 473 (1980) and

558 __NOTOC__ Year 558 ( DLVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 558 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

(1984), the Council strengthened the mandatory arms embargo against

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

South Africa imposed by Resolution 418, and made it more comprehensive. Resolution 591 sought to clarify vague terms from previous resolutions on the topic. The Council recognised the struggle of the South African people, calling for the establishment of a

democratic state Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choose gover ...

with full

civil and political rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

as enshrined in the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...

(1948). It also condemned the " racist regime" in South Africa for its repression against opponents of apartheid, killing demonstrators, holding of

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

s and defiance of Security Council and

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...

resolutions. The resolution urged Member States to ensure that components of embargoed items did not reach South Africa through third countries, including spare parts for aircraft and other military equipment belonging to South Africa, and any items which other countries may feel are destined for use by the South African police force or

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. Items included aircraft, aircraft engines or parts, electronic and telecommunications equipment, computers and

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer cas ...

vehicles. In terms of "arms and related material" from Resolution 418, this included

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

, strategic and

conventional weapon The terms conventional weapons or conventional arms generally refer to weapons whose ability to damage comes from kinetic, incendiary, or explosive energy and exclude weapons of mass destruction (''e.g.'' nuclear, biological, radiological and c ...

s, all military and paramilitary police vehicles and equipment and other related material. The Council urged particularly against any cooperation in the nuclear field. The Council then went on to urge Member States to not receive any imports of arms, ammunition or military vehicles from South Africa, asking those that had not yet done so to put an end to all exchanges and visits, including by government personnel. It also requested Member States, and those who are not a member of the United Nations, to not participate in any activities in the country that may contribute to South Africa's military capability, ensuring national legislation should reflect this. However though they did not agree with apartheid policies some states still cooperated with South Africa;

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and the military government of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

provided arms and

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

acted as a third country which goods were delivered. Also, as many

UN member states The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest intergovernmental organization. The criteria ...

observed the resolution, non-member states and territories, including

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, saw a rising share of its companies operating in South Africa, though it did not necessarily provide weaponry, due to pressure from other states. Finally, Resolution 591 called on the Secretary-General

Javier Pérez de Cuéllar Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar de la Guerra (; ; 19 January 1920 – 4 March 2020) was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. He later served as Prime Mini ...

to report on the progress of the implementation of the current resolution by no later than 30 June 1987. Though the resolution was adopted unanimously, its rulings were voluntary. The sanctions were lifted under Resolution 919 in 1994.

References

External links

*
Text of the Resolution at undocs.org
{{UNSCR 1986 0591 United Nations Security Council Resolution 591 United Nations Security Council sanctions regimes 0591 Boycotts of apartheid South Africa November 1986 events

See also

References

External links