Nelson Mandela Speech to the UN Special Committee against Apartheid - Essay Example

Rhetorical Criticism Paper Nelson Mandela Speech to the UN Special Committee against Apartheid Introduction This paper will focus on the speech by Nelson Mandela to the Special Committee against Apartheid in June 1990.Apartheid is form of racial discrimination that existed in South Africa for many years. Apartheid means apart-ness in Afrikaans. It was practiced in South Africa where blacks and coloreds were segregated from the whites. This speech was part of the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa through the United Nations. The UN campaign against apartheid started in 1950 when the General Assembly declared apartheid as a form of racial discrimination. The first meeting of the Special Committee against Apartheid was held in April, 1963. Since then the UN passed many resolutions regarding apartheid. In 1976 the UN Centre against apartheid was created. Prior to Mandela’s speech in 1990, the General Assembly adopted the “Declaration on Apartheid and its Destructive Consequences in South Africa”. This declaration called for negotiations between all parties to end apartheid and create a democracy free from racial discrimination (Mosman 20). This paper refers to Mandela’s speech after the declaration and was a follow up regarding what was happening regarding apartheid in South Africa. Nelson Mandela is the person giving the speech to the Special Committee against Apartheid. He is giving the speech because even though the journey to stop apartheid had began through UN efforts, he believed that nothing much was happening in South Africa especially after the declaration by the UN General Assembly in December 1989. The speech is a passionate appeal to the United Nations to end apartheid in South Africa. The speech was made to the Special Committee against Apartheid in New York in June 1990. The audience included the permanent representative and Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid, the President of the UN General Assembly, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Excellencies and permanent representatives of the UN and Heads and Observer Missions. The audience represented people from around the world who were member states of the United Nations. This was a forum of member states of the United Nations and a great opportunity for Nelson Mandela to explain the oppressiveness of Apartheid to the world. Analysis of the Artifact Canon of invention Nelson Mandela is honored and privileged to speak to the gathering, but he is sad that it not a happy occasion but a tragedy. The tragedy is that he is here to speak about a crime against humanity known as apartheid (Mandela 52). He wishes it was a speech about victory and justice to those who have faced apartheid in their own home land. He calls it a racist tyranny against the vision of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Mandela explains how apartheid has killed children and created orphans, widows and widowers. He applauds the December 1989 declaration against apartheid but the process of implementation is slow. He says that South Africa has not achieved much and the United Nations needs to do more to end apartheid in South Africa. Canon of Arrangement Mandela’s speech is in a logical manner. He introduces the issue of apartheid by showing that he is honored to address a gathering of that magnitude. The speech is followed with facts regarding apartheid. He gives descriptions of how apartheid is inhuman and the devastating effects it has had on the people of South Africa. He shows his distress at the slow pace of finding a speedy solution. Mandela recognizes the efforts made by the UN’s efforts especially through the declaration on apartheid in December of the previous year. However, he provides proof that nothing much is going on in South Africa and he requires more effort by the UN member states and the world at large to ensure that the declarations implemented to end apartheid. He pays tribute to people around the world who contributed to his freedom from prison. He also recognizes other nations who also fight for freedom and human rights in their countries such as Palestine (Feit 11). Canon of Style When Nelson Mandela says “Enough is Enough” in his speech, he communicates the seriousness of the purpose of his speech. His reference to the future generations and the questions they will ask about apartheid get the audience to seriously think about the gravity of Apartheid. He touches on the emotions by asking them how they will explain that apartheid took place for so many years, a crime against humanity and racial tyranny (Dinah and Shelton 25). He gives the example of the UN that started talking about racial discrimination in 1946 and this was 1990 (Mandela 19). His choices of words are descriptive that a person can get the sense of what was going on in South Africa. The reference to the visions of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights helps to emphasis apartheid as a crime against humanity. Canon of Delivery Mandela’s speech is articulate, serious, controlled and emotional. He gets his point across to the gravity of the situation in South Africa. He does not speak fast. He speaks clearly and makes pauses to make the message get across to his audience. He gets the attention of the audience especially when he says enough is enough and gets applause. Everyone in the audience is attentive and understands what Mandela is talking about. His message is clear, full of facts and shows the need for speedy solution o end apartheid. He expresses gratitude to those who support his cause, but at the same time he expresses his anger at the slow pace to end apartheid. The delivery of his speech is effective. Canon of Memory Mandela has a good memory on all the issues relating to apartheid. He uses note cards and an outline as mnemonics to remember the key points of his speech. Mandela did not have to memorize his speech as he had all the information and facts about what was happening in South Africa. His struggle for freedom and 27 years imprisonment did not require mnemonics. He spoke from his heart and expressed himself to the audience. Assessment of the Impact Nelson Mandela’s speech to the Special Committee against Apartheid achieved its purpose. The main purpose of the speech was to update the UN on issues regarding Apartheid in South Africa especially after the declaration by the UN General Assembly in December 1989. The speech highlighted that a lot had o be done the end apartheid. The implementation of the declaration was moving at a slow pace. After Mandela’s speech, countries around the world put pressure on the South African white minority government to abolish apartheid. Apartheid was abolished in 1990 but the final end came 4 years after Mandela’s’ speech in 1994. The elections were held this year, and ANC won the presidential elections with a 63% majority. Nelson Mandela became the first black president of a non racial democratic South Africa. This shows that the speech was effective and nations acted with their conscious to pressure the South African government to end apartheid. Nelson Mandela maintained his credibility throughout his speech. He had just been freed from 27 years imprisonment because of his fight for a free South Africa where everyone was equal, black or white (Lichtenstein 25). He was credible because of what he had endured all the many years he was in prison fighting for his country. The fact that the UN allowed him to give a speech about apartheid in South Africa was an indication that they trusted what he had to say about South Africa. He was the one man who had the facts of the situation in South Africa and urgently wanted support and a solution from countries all around the world. He was the voice of South Africa to the world. The audience reacted positively towards his speech. The audience gave him a very huge applause especially when he strongly stated “Enough is Enough”. The applause indicated that they clearly understood Mandela’s message on apartheid. The audience listened to his speech without any interruptions indicating their concern on the issue of apartheid. The audience represented countries around the world. This provided a great opportunity for Mandela to tell the world the truth about apartheid in South Africa. Historically, apartheid was abolished and the first democratic elections were held in 1994 with the election of Nelson Mandela as president. In 1991, President De Klerk repealed all the apartheid laws and began the process of writing a new constitution (Heribert and Moodley 19). In 1994, after Mandela’s speech the UN General Assembly deleted the matter of apartheid from its agenda. In the same year Mandela gave his first address to the General Assembly as democratic of South Africa. Mandela brought the people of South Africa together. All blacks, whites and coloreds came together as one nation. Mandela fought for equality and he achieved his dream when he voted in 1994 at the age of 75. He led the country through a period of truth, reconciliation and forgiveness for the country to heal as a nation. South Africa became a multi racial nation and through democracy created an equal society. In conclusion, Nelson Mandela’s speech to the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid in 1990 gave Mandela to speak to the world about apartheid. This was his first speech to the United Nations Organization since being released from 27 years in prison (Maylan 95). Mandela showed his gratitude to the UN and the nations that supported his cause especially through the declaration made in December 1989. However, he was saddened that despite the good effort little of the declaration had been implemented. His speech was an appeal to the international community to abolish apartheid, a racist tyranny that was a crime against humanity. The declaration in 1989 was the first step for a new constitution on for South Africa (Price 91). His speech touched hi audience that in 1994, the South African government gave into pressure from countries around the world and abolished apartheid. Mandela went to become the first black president in a multi racial democracy. At long last the blacks were free and South Africa became a nation where everyone had equal rights. His speech was effective and achieved the purpose that was intended. Works Cited Adam, Heribert, and Kogila Moodley. South Africa without apartheid: dismantling racial domination. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986. Print. Alex Lichtenstein. Making Apartheid Work: African Trade Unions and the 1953 Native Labour (Settlement of Disputes) Act in South Africa. The Journal of African History, Vol. 46, No. 2, Cambridge University Press, 2005. Edward Feit. Urban Revolt in South Africa 1960- 1964: A Case Study. Northwestern University Press, Evanston, 1971. Mosman. Apartheid. IMinds, 2009. Print. Nelson Mandela. We Defy’: Ten Thousand Protest Against ‘Unjust Laws: A Statement of the Campaign’s Aims, Drum, August 1952.Web http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/Mandela/1950s/defiance/html Robert Price. The Apartheid State in Crisis: Political Transformation in South Africa 1975- 1990. Oxford University Press, New York, 1991. Paul Maylam. Explaining the Apartheid City: 20 Years of South African Urban Historiography. Journal of Southern African Studies. Vol. 21, No. 1, Special Issue: Urban Studies and Urban Change in Southern Africa, 1995. Shelton, Dinah, and Dinah Shelton. Encyclopedia of genocide and crimes against humanity. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2005. Print. Anglin, William S and Joachim Lambek. The Heritage of Thales. New York: Springer Publishers, 1998. Long, Anthony A. The Cambridge Companion to Early Greek philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. McKirahan, Richard D. Philosophy Before Socrates: An introduction with Texts and Commentary. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishers, 2010. Tankha, Vijay. Ancient Greek Philosophy: Thales to Gorgias. Delhi: Pearson Longman Publishers, 2006. Vardanyan, Vilen. Panorama of Psychology. Central Milton Keynes: AuthorHouse Publishers, 2011. Read More