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49 ICJ Newsl. 1 (1992)

handle is hein.icj/icjnews0049 and id is 1 raw text is: ADIT CETR FORTH IDPNEC OF JUGE AN LAWER A 1992 NO41 Violence hinders free elections in South Africa F ree and fair elections are impossi- ble in the present climate of vio- lence, an ICJ mission concluded after visiting Natal and Transvaal in March. And Chief Minister Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party bears responsi- bility for the escalation of violence, the ICJ added. The members of the mission were Secretary-General Adama Dieng, Swedish attorney Christian Ahlund, Namibia Supreme Court Judge Enoch Dumbutshena, British lawyer John Macdonald and Legal Officer for Africa Philip Amoah. Based on their observations, they said that violence is the most press- ing problem which South Africa faces. There are no easy answers ... but per- haps our most important message is that it is a problem which everyone must address. Even with the National Peace Ac- cord, the jurists said, it would not be possible to hold free and fair elections on a one-person, one-vote basis in the One of many homes destroyed during attacks in Umlazi. (Peter Williams / WCC) parts of South Africa we have visited. That is not just our view - it is the view of General Steyn, the Regional Commissioner of Police for Natal. It is also the view of the vast majority of people we have spoken to right across the political spectrum. The first stop on the two-week tour was a railway station in Soweto, where the African Defence Force was searching passengers for weapons be- fore they boarded the trains. People were not delayed by the search and it ICJ looks ahead at triennial meeting M embers, honorary members, na- tional sections and affiliates from around the world gathered in Cartigny for the ICJ's triennial meeting on 21-23 January. Besides dealing with the business at hand, the more than 70 participants celebrated the 40th anni- versary of the Commission. Two of the participants played a significant role in ICJ history - former Secretaries-Gen- eral Norman Marsh (1956 to 1958) and Niall MacDermot (1970 to 1990). In his report, Secretary-General Adama Dieng gave a comprehensive picture of ICJ activities since the previ- ous triennial meeting. Global events had a bearing on much of the work. While the world has changed, the essential mission of the ICJ - to pro- mote the rule of law and the legal pro- tection of human right - has not changed, Mr. Dieng said. As walls which keep people in are replaced by walls that keep people out, as the ri- valry between East and West is re- placed by conflict between North and South, the role of the ICJ becomes even more vital. Continued on Page 7 would have been difficult to smuggle any weapons past the army. It is clear that the government could have stopped the violence on the trains months ago by adopting the proce- dures which we witnessed. If they had done so, hundreds of lives would have been saved, the mission said. The government has also made a mistake in ducking the issue of dan- gerous weapons, the mission said, af- Continued on Page 4 New home for ICJ As of 1 July the ICJ will be en- sconced in its new headquarters, which will enable the staff to be more efficient and more accessible to the United Nations. The address: P.O. Box 160 26 chemin de Joinville 1216 Cointrin/Geneva Switzerland The new telephone number will be: (41 22) 788 47 47. And the fax number will be: (41 22) 788 48 80.

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