ABSTRACT
The purpose of this article is to firmly probe the inhuman act of apartheid within the framework of international human rights, featuring its literal origins, legal codification, statutes, and enactments, along with global suggestions. By excavating into the systemic persecution, inherent in apartheid-era and drawing correspondence with ultramodern-day forms of racial and ethnic differentiation worldwide, the article aims to deepen the conception of apartheid as a offence against humanity. It seeks to assess the effectiveness of transnational legal mechanisms, such as the Convention for Suppression of the Crime of Apartheid, and the Rome Statute, in addressing such abuses, while exploring how advocacy movements and transitional justice initiatives have contributed to dismembering these systems. Ultimately, the article aspires to offer actionable perceptions and recommendations for the purpose of combating present-day apartheid-like regimes, emphasizing the enduring importance of global solidarity, legal responsibility, and structural reforms in achieving ethnic justice and equality.
Apartheid, a structure of deep- rooted racial ban and discrimination, showcases one of the gravest violations of international human rights. Though it is most eminently associated with South Africa’s state policy from 1948 to 1994, apartheid as a concept and crime goes beyond geographical boundaries, circumscribing any systemic oppression based on racial dominio. This article draws the attention towards the social aspects, including the literal and legal aspects of Apartheid, and thereby, analyses the violations caused to the rules, regulations and frameworks of International Human Rights. It simultaneously inspects the reaction to segregation and racial discrimination of the world at large, provides different ways to address it, and its consequences in contemporary world.
KEYWORDS: Apartheid, Racial Discrimination, Inhuman Act, Human Rights
INTRODUCTION
In contemporary times, Apartheid, being an African term, which signifies “separateness,” stands as one of the symbols of racial discrimination and segregation globally. Apartheid was originally found in South Africa from a period of 1948 to 1994. Being a global structure, it was designed to separate different groups according to their race. This was done to ensure the supremacy of the white people over the black South Africans and the other racial and ethnic communities. This regime took away the basic fundamental rights of the non-white South Africans including the land ownership rights, political and social rights, the right to education, health and employment facilities. Different enactments and other statutes led to the foundation of this system which took way the rights and downgraded the racial and ethnic groups, thereby creating a hierarchy based on race.
Not only in South Africa, but also in many other countries, apartheid became a dominant symbol of inequality among human beings. The international human rights community including the United Nations criticized the offense of apartheid as a crime against humanity. From recommendations to unanimous campaigns that rose worldwide for the removal of apartheid, to cultural avoidance, apartheid in South Africa officially ended when Nelson Mandela was elected as the country’s first black President in 1994. Although such happened, racial segregation and discrimination continues as a headline for similar systematic abuses around the world.
This article scrabbles into the history, processes, and global indications of apartheid, inspecting its enduring relevance in the perspective of international human rights. By investigating the legal frameworks, international advocacy efforts, and correspondence with modern problems, it focuses on shedding light on the lesson that apartheid provides for addressing modern forms of racial and ethnic differentiation.