UN General Assembly
1992

also add to this the lightning spread of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), along with other diseases which have disappeared elsewhere, and the number of hotbeds of tension which already exist, not to mention those which may yet arise. In this respect, it is South Africa which first comes to mind. None the less, one would have thought a few months ago that the present session would be the opportunity for the international community to rejoice over the irreversible changes since the advent of President Frederick De Klerk. But what do we see today, over and above the formal abrogation - I was going to say theoretical abrogation of the apartheid laws? Blacks still do not have the same rights as the rest of South African society, and violence has been omnipresent in recent months, sometimes achieving proportions which cast doubt upon the willingness of the South African Government to change. The continuation of such an atmosphere would be a serious threat to the progress we have all welcomed.