UN General Assembly
1995

“Our common humanity transcends the oceans and all national boundaries. It binds us together in common cause against tyranny, to act together in defence of our very humanity. Let it never be asked of any one of us what we did when we knew that another was oppressed.” Mankind should learn to act against all tyranny in a unified manner through the United Nations. This should be our basic aim for the future. South Africa also wishes to call attention to the activities of mercenaries, irrespective of their origin and objectives. Their destabilizing activities cannot be tolerated. We call on the international community and the United Nations to be seized of this problem of mercenaries. The women of South Africa have lived, in varying degrees, under three forms of oppression, relating to race, to class and to gender. One of the first steps towards initiating positive change in the lives of all South African women was the entrenchment of gender rights in our Bill of Rights. It was with much pride that the South African