The support group was formed when Dutch-Belgian couple De Jonge and Passtoors was arrested in South Africa in 1985 for smuggling weapons and explosives for the ANC into the country. De Jonge managed to seek refuge in the Dutch embassy in Pretoria, which caused a big diplomatic row. He stayed there for two years until he was exchanged with a South African prisoner. Passtoors was convicted of High Treason and imprisoned from 1985-1989. The support group, which campaigned for their release, closed down in 1989.
The State Archives collection focuses mainly on the Dutch squatter movement, and includes material related to the movement's activities against apartheid. The movement carried out radical actions against companies dealing with South Africa, and operated in a semi-underground manner. The archive is housed at the International Institute for Social History in Amsterdam.
The SA/NAM was founded in 1986 and worked until 1993 to co-ordinate development projects in South Africa and Namibia. In South Africa, most of the funds went to the Kagiso Trust. The funds mainly came from SA/NAM members, European NGOs and anti-apartheid organisations, as well as from the European Special Programme for Victims of Apartheid (ESP).
The Shipping Research Bureau was a specialist organisation, mainly dealing with research into the oil trade with South Africa and alerting the world to breaches of the UN oil embargo. It pressured national governments to adopt sanctions against South Africa. It was founded by the Komitee Zuidelijk Afrika (KZA) and Working Group Kairos in 1980, and continued operating until 1995.
Pieter Boersma is an Amsterdam-based photographer who had worked with the national AAMs and the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPAA) for many years. He took photographs of demonstrations and conferences, and visited projects of the ANC in Africa. He also attended numerous international anti-apartheid conferences.
The Miners' International Federation was founded in Jolimont, Belgium in 1890. The MIF was affiliated with the International Labour Organisation, which organised numerous conferences on South Africa and apartheid and was active on boycott issues related to workers’ rights. In 1995 the MIF merged with the International Federation of Chemical, Energy and General Workers' Unions (ICEM).
Ma Thoko was initiated by several gay members of the AABN, together with gay organisations in the Netherlands. It existed from 1990-1993 as a support group of non-racist gay organisations and policy in South Africa, especially GLOW.
In the Netherlands, as in several other countries, municipalities became active against apartheid in the second half of the 1980s. Their activities were especially directed towards consumer boycott campaigns and they worked with the national AAMs.
Karel Roskam was a radio journalist with the progressive broadcaster Vara. He was also a member of Omroep voor Radio Freedom. He produced numerous radio programmes and interviewed many people during the period 1961-1992.
The ICFTU was an international trade union founded in London in 1949 by unions opposing growing communist control of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). Its activities on South Africa were organised through the Coordination Committee on Southern Africa and the International Solidarity Fund Committee. ICFTU was dissolved in 2006 when it merged with the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) to form the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
The KZA existed from 1976 till 1996. It continued the work of the Angola Committee which started in 1961 in support of the liberation movements in the Portuguese colonies. It fundraised for material support to the liberation movements. One of its big campaigns was the oil boycott, mainly directed against (Royal Dutch) Shell. It bought shares in order to be able to attend shareholders meetings where it could pressure Shell to withdraw from South Africa. It initiated the formation of the Shipping Research Bureau, together with Kairos, and was part of the Liaison Group. The KZA merged with the AABN and the EMF in 1997 to form NIZA.
The ASVA was founded in 1945 as a student organisation at the University of Amsterdam. It became involved in general political activities and was very active in campaigns of the national AAMs as well as own campaigns for the scientific isolation of South Africa.
The ANJV started in 1945 as a socialist youth organisation. It was very active in international solidarity campaigns, and besides organising its own activities, it also participated in campaigns organised by the national AAMs. They were especially active in organising students at secondary schools.
The X-Y Movement started in 1973 and it received its funds from its members. Its main aim was to support liberation movements and work towards international structural change. It was active in boycott campaigns, gave direct support to liberation movements, and organised information activities. It also supported the work of the national AAMs.
The Foundation Malibongwe was initiated by the AABN in 1988 to organise a women’s conference with ANC women and women from inside South Africa to exchange information and to discuss gender policies for a new South Africa. The foundation closed down in 1991.
In 1969 the European Trade Union Secretariat (ETUS) adopted a new name, the European Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ECFTU). It was active in the area of code of conduct for companies investing in South Africa, the conduct of national and international trade unions towards South Africa and the application of the European Community Code of Conduct for multinational companies. In 1973 the ECFTU merged with the Trade Union Committee for the European Free Trade Area (EFTA-TUC) and continued as the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
The CPN was founded in 1935 and existed till 1991 when it merged with other political parties. The Working Group South Africa of the Party organised its solidarity work with South Africa and maintained contacts with the national AAMs and international solidarity organisations.
DAF Netherlands was established in 1965. It came out of the Comité Zuid-Afrika (founded in 1960), was affiliated to the IDAF, and was disbanded in 1991. It concentrated on fundraising for the defence of political prisoners and support to their families in South Africa. It also published informational materials.
CASA was initiated by the AABN in 1986 to organise a big conference and festival in which hundreds of cultural workers from the ANC and from inside South Africa participated to discuss the future cultural policy of the country and to exchange with Dutch cultural workers. It closed down in 1988.
Comité Zuid-Afrika (CZA, Committee on South Africa) was founded in 1959 and dissolved in 1971. One of its focus areas was political prisoners. The Defence and Aid Fund Nederland, which was founded in 1971, grew out of CZA.
The OvRF started in 1982 on the initiative of the AABN and mobilised people in the broadcasting sector to support Radio Freedom, the radio station of the ANC. Their aim being to raise financial support to train and equip several broadcasting stations for Radio Freedom. The organisation operated until 1995.
The BOA was established in 1970 by Esau du Plessis, an exiled South African. It mainly campaigned for the consumer boycott of Outspan fruit in the Netherlands.
The ASK operated from 1973 till 1990. It was a platform against racism and neo-colonialism and its members were individuals as well as organisations. Some of the organisations were the German Student Union, the Socialist German Work Youth, the German Communist Party and Spartakus. It was active in information campaigns and gave practical financial support to the liberation movements. It was a member of the Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organisation (AAPSO).
The Angola Comité was established in 1961 to support the freedom struggle in Angola, later expanding its focus to include the whole of Southern Africa. In 1976, following the end of Portuguese colonialism, the Angola Comité was renamed the Komitee Zuidelijk Afrika (KZA) (known in English as the Holland Committee on Southern Africa). KZA was involved in campaigns to isolate South Africa including campaigns for sanctions and divestment and against banks making loans to South Africa. With another Dutch organization, Werkgroep Kairos (Working Group Kairos/ Stichting Kairos), the KZA was active in the Shell boycott campaign. It also campaigned in support of the sports boycott of apartheid South Africa. The KZA had an important success in 1985 when it forced the banks to stop selling the South African gold coin, the Krugerrand. After the end of apartheid, the KZA, the Anti-Apartheids Beweging Nederland (Dutch Anti-Apartheid Movement) and the Eduardo Mondlane Stichting (Eduardo Mondlane Foundation) established the Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa (NiZA). In 2007 NiZA merged with ActionAid, and in 2012 became operational as ActionAid Netherlands.
Amnesty International (AI) Netherlands started in 1968 and was mainly active around issues concerning political prisoners, the death sentence and other human rights violations in South Africa.
Amnesty International was founded in 1961 in London as an independent organisation to mobilise public opinion in defence of people who are imprisoned because their ideas are unacceptable to the government in their country. One of their areas of work is campaigning for the release of political prisoners and actions against torture.
The Women’s Union started its activities in 1946 as the women’s union of the political party PvdA. In 1969 the Women's Union changed its name to Women's Contact. It was renamed the Red Women (Rooie Vrouwen) in 1975. They participated in campaigns of the national AAMs as well as Amnesty International Netherlands.
The Association of West-European Parliamentarians for Action against Apartheid (AWEPAA) started in 1984 to mobilise politicians in European parliaments in the struggle against apartheid. Parliamentarians worked for effective sanction policies, they monitored the implementation and they sought to hold governments accountable for their policies. In 1993, AWEPAA was renamed the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA).
African Skies is a foundation for audio-visual archives and productions on Southern Africa. African Skies was founded in 1995, shortly after the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994. The roots of African Skies can be found in the Dutch Anti-Apartheid Movement. The Dutch AAM facilitated and sponsored the foundation of African Skies.
This archive will eventually contain the digital reproduction of every page, article and advert published in the Guardian (since 1821) and the Observer (since 1791). Currently it is up to 2000. A search for Rivonia Trial reveals articles from both newspapers.
Photocopies of papers collected by Joel Joffe, lawyer acting for Nelson Mandela, relating to Nelson Mandela's trial in Pretoria 1962 and the Rivonia Trial (1963-1964) The collection includes Nelson Mandela's application to have the Pretoria trial postponed, October 1962; Nelson Mandela's address to the court in mitigation of the sentence of five years imprisonment detailing his political commitment and activities in the African National Congress (ANC), November1962; copy of the indictment in the Rivonia trial, initial statement made by Nelson Mandela to his lawyers, giving details of his early life, notes by Nelson Mandela on his life and his association; copy of Nelson Mandela's statement from the dock, signed by Nelson Mandela referring to an Imbizo.
The personal papers of Ruth First The collection is made up of background material, correspondence and reviews concerning "No Easy Walk to Freedom" edited by Ruth First. Printed copies of Nelson Mandela’s speech at the Rivonia Trial. Drafts of sections of the book, and a typescript of Mary Benson’s statement before the UN Special Committee on Apartheid in 1964, with handwritten alterations. Correspondence, mainly between Ruth First and Heinemann Publishers, as well as clippings of newspaper reviews. Material on political detention between 1963 and 1970, including a copy of the 1963 Detention Act, a radio script by Mary Benson entitled "Nelson Mandela and the Rivonia Trial," and notes produced by Ruth First. Press releases and conference papers concerning the Symposium on the exploitation of Blacks in South Africa and Namibia, organized by the United Nations in 1978, with observances of the 60th birthday of Nelson Mandela. Transcripts of interviews with Robben Island political prisoners. Correspondence from friends and acquaintances, and materials from South African newspapers concerning the Rivonia Trial.
The personal papers of Mary Benson. The collection includes: Nelson Mandela’s statement from the dock at the Rivonia Trial. Correspondence, reports and statements about the treatment of political prisoners in South Africa; Reports by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) and Amnesty International. Attempts to publicise the conditions of prisoners, particularly Nelson Mandela, and information about the medical treatment of prisoners. Papers related to Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment, collected by Benson when writing her biography of Mandela, "Nelson Mandela: the Man and the Movement." Correspondence between Mandela and Mary Benson and between Benson and others people mainly related to Mandela and campaigns for his release from prison. Correspondents include Helen Suzman, Elinor Birley, Hilda Bernstein, Oliver Tambo, Winnie Mandela, Denis Healey and Ismail Ayob. Typed notes on Mandela and other prisoners, as well as lists of political prisoners. News clippings concerning Mandela, mainly from British newspapers. Includes reports on the dropping of negligence charges against Mandela in 1967.
Malcolm Frederick folder includes a letter to Whoopee Goldberg and Nelson Mandela's response to Miriam Makeba regarding the Children of Africa charity event.
Bernie Grant collection documents the concerns of numerous oppressed peoples of and diverse communities the material includes an official invitation and programme to the inauguration of Nelson Mandela, footage and newspaper articles.
Country files compiled by Tom Sargant arranged by country and reflecting related aspect of justice and law in the British colonies and dependent territories. Events in South Africa are covered in some depth over three decades and the most file focuses on the Rivonia trial and opponents of Apartheid. The records detail a large proportion of the ANC leadership detained, including its president , Chief Albert Luthuli, Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu as well as other opponents of Apartheid such as Helen Joseph the secretary of the South African Women's Federation. Also includes schedule of the charges faced by the defendants in the first treason trail.
Invitation, letters written to Sean Lamas an Irish leader, leaflets distributed by the world campaign for the release of South African political prisoners and other activities organised by the Anti- Apartheid Movement- mentions and names the accused in the Rivonia trial, quotes Nelson Mandela's Rivonia speech. Includes a copy of Anti- Apartheid news on the Rivonia trial.
Newspaper articles from The Irish Times, The Guardian, New York Herald Tribune reporting on the Rivonia or sabotage trial of 1962-1964. Includes newspaper clippings on the raids, the death and burial of Albert Luthuli in 1967.
Letter/leaflet dated 13 August 1963 from the African National Congress in reply to the South African police statement that the African National Congress has been smashed. Enclosure mentions that the ANC is Alive, demands that South African leaders must be freed- free Mandela, free Sisulu, free Mbeki, free Sobukwe, free Kathrada. Deals with the Treason trial, the Rivonia trial includes Newsclippings from the Guardian, London and the Observer.
United Nations Special Committe on Policies of Apartheid
Correspondence sent to the Permanent mission of Ireland to the United Nations from the Secretary Department of External Affairs includes a publication " Apartheid and repressive measures in South Africa"
The statement made by Dennis Brutus, director of campaign for the Release of Political Prisoners in South Africa at the eighty fifth meeting of the special committee on 27th February 1967. Statement describes the prison conditions and the segregated section in Robben Island where he worked in the leadership section with Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners sentenced to life.
Nelson Mandela president of the ANC and chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party have agreed of measures to end the violence between their supporters, but they remain split on political issues. They failed to agree on election date for the country's first multiracial elections. The leaders had not met for two years 23-6-1993
Nelson Mandela's first television interview on the 21- 6- 1961. Footage on some black workers defying stay away strike call by Nelson Mandela and going to work.
The Queen' s visit to South Africa since 1947. On the 21st March 1995 the Queen awarded the honorary order of Merit upon Nelson Mandela, and told the Parliament that South Africa's spirit of reconciliation was shining example to the world.
Mr. Nelson Mandela former Transvaal president of the banned African National Congress, appeared in court on charges of incitement and leaving South Africa illegally. The trial transferred from Johannesburg to Pretoria on security grounds. The trial was adjourned for a week to give Mr. Mandela time to appoint defense counsel. Mr Mandela was remanded in custody. Mr Mandela was dressed in tribal dress. Attending the trial was his wife, Mrs. Winnie Mandela and his sister, Ms Leabi Mandela. The courtroom packed with supporters of Mr. Mandela, Mr Mandela that his counsel was unable to appear for him because he was confined to Johannesburg under the suppression of Communism act. Mr. Mandela said the sudden transfer of the trial to Pretoria had deprived him of his attorney services. 17 October 1962
Former president Mr. Nelson Mandela celebrates his birthday with South African children. Nelson Mandela took time out to celebrate his 89th birthday with children at his annual children's party, tributes continue to pour in for South Africa's anti- apartheid icon.
The deputy president of South African Kgalema Motlanthe attends Nelson Mandela's release anniversary and pay tribute to the celebrated freedom charter. 12 -02-2010.
ANC leader Nelson Mandela inaugurated as the first black president of South Africa on 1--05-1994. The ceremony passed without incident despite a heavy security operation. Britain was represented by the Duke of Edinburg and foreign Sec Douglas Hurd.
Mediators Lord Carrington and Henry Kissinger today admitted defeat in their attempts to get Inkatha to take part in the forthcoming elections. Both the ANC and the government insisted that there could be no discussion of Inkatha ' s demands that the elections date be delayed. The news comes on the day that the ANC president Nelson Mandela and President De Klerk have been appearing in their one and only television debate on how parties are waging their election campaigns.
The African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela has alleged that widespread sabotage is taking place in the current election. Polling stations in areas predominated by black voters have run out of ballot papers and voting has been extended for an extra day.
Opening session of the South African Parliament 17-02-1995. President Mandela said government money was not limitless and that care has to be taken. He warned anarchists that they would not be tolerated.
Commonwealth leaders meeting / Lockerbie trial : Nelson Mandela has caused a controversy by siding with Colonel Gaddafi in the diplomatic wrangle over how to bring the Lockerbie bombers to justice. He has called for a fair trial in a neutral country for the two Libyans accuses of the attack.
All eight men found guilty in South Africa's sabotage trial were sentenced to life imprisonment. Nelson Mandela the 46 year old former chief of banned African National Congress and the other seven were found guilty of sabotage and plotting to overthrow the government. Mr. Justice Quartus De Wet pronounced the guilt of eight men. A crowd of some 500 people stood silently outside the court as police stood ready to quell disturbances. In the crowd were Nelson Mandela 's wife Winnie and Mrs. Sisulu. Mrs. Mandela was allowed into the court after an argument with a police officer. When she came outside she explained to the Africans waiting outside, that the sentences would be announced on that day. When the crowd heard the verdict they raised their fists. The sign of Amandla the African National Congress party and chanted- 12 June 1962
British members of Parliament taking part in the campaign to mobilise world opinion over the sentence of Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Petition with 91000 signatures from groups representing 258 million people in 29 countries calling for the release of all South African political prisoners. In South Africa Mrs. Mandela spoke about her husband, Nelson Mandela, the leader of the banned African National Congress who is imprisoned for life with seven others. 15 June 1964
Television pictures of Nelson Mandela, the jailed South African nationalist leader, taken on the 13 February 1986.These were taken by an American camera crew at Medipark Clinic in Cape Town where Mandela was being taken for a medical check up.
The Welsh Committee of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was established in 1981 and adopted the name The Wales Anti-Apartheid Movement (WAAM). WAAM operated as a national movement in Wales, with a clear Welsh identity. It was dissolved in 1994 following the first democratic elections in South Africa and its assets were transferred to Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) Wales, which continues to campaign and work for peace and democracy in Southern Africa.
The UAG grew out of the Uppsala South Africa Committee (USAK) which was started in 1963 by the Uppsala Student Union. It reorganised itself in 1968 and became UAG which operated till 1994. It developed into a general membership organisations which also supported the armed struggle.
Reverend Terence McCaughey is a Presbyterian minister, and served as president of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement. He is currently the president of Irish anti-war lobby group Peace and Neutrality Alliance (PANA), and is a former spokesman for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
The Programme to Combat Racism started in 1968 as part of the WCC Programme Unit on Justice and Service. Its aim was to develop policies and programmes contributing to the liberation of victims of racism. Much of its attention and focus was on southern Africa, especially apartheid and the divestment campaign. It established a special fund from which donations to liberation movements were made and to solidarity organisations around the world.
John de Courcy Ireland was, amongst others, Secretary of the Central Branch of the Labour Party, and was involved in numerous progressive organisations. He had a distinguished and lifelong commitment to Irish and international maritime history and affairs, to radical politics and to humanism. He and his wife, Betty, were affiliated with The Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement. He was also a founding member of the Irish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
The Irish AAM was established in 1964 and functioned till 1994. It was co-founded by Kader Asmal (who later became a South African MP and cabinet member) and started with sport, cultural, economic and academic boycotts and grew into an organisation that was active in all areas of anti-apartheid and solidarity. It gave direct support to the liberation movements and worked closely with the ANC. It continues to be active as the Ireland South Africa Association.
The Irish AAM was established in 1964 and functioned till 1994. It was co-founded by Kader Asmal (who later became a South African MP and cabinet member) and started with sport, cultural, economic and academic boycotts and grew into an organisation that was active in all areas of anti-apartheid and solidarity. It gave direct support to the liberation movements and worked closely with the ANC. It continues to be active as the Ireland South Africa Association.
The European Economic Community was established in 1957 as a customs union towards the unification of Europe. Since 1993 it operates as the European Union - a political and economic union of European countries. The EEC was important with respect to sanctions against South Africa. The organisation was a rallying point for European anti-apartheid organisations to act against South Africa. Amongst other, it imposed a ban on trade and investments by member states in 1986.
The Danish Church Aid (DCA) was established in 1966 as a church-based relief and development organisation. In the 1970s it became more involved in activities against colonialism and racism in South Africa, inspired by the Programme to Combat Racism of the World Council of Churches.
The Council of the Church of Norway, the official Norwegian church, became involved in anti-apartheid issues through their contacts with churches in South Africa around 1948. It worked especially with the South African Council of Churches and the Christian Institute. South Africa became the central focus for the Church of Norway’s international work. It gave a lot of direct, financial support as well.
The Council of the Church of Norway, the official Norwegian church, became involved in anti-apartheid issues through their contacts with churches in South Africa around 1948. It worked especially with the South African Council of Churches and the Christian Institute. South Africa became the central focus for the Church of Norway’s international work. It gave a lot of direct, financial support as well.
COSAWR was founded in 1978 by South African draft (military service) resisters active in the UK. It was a self-help organisation for those escaping conscription in the SADF and to support those who were resisting conscription within the country. It raised the issue of militarism in South Africa and conducted research into the South African military structure and resistance to it. COSAWR established a presence in several other European countries. Its magazine 'Resister' became the leading magazine on South Africa's militarisation.
This Committee was formed in 1947 to organise relief work in Europe after World War II. It started to include Southern Africa in its operations from around 1960. It is one of the biggest fund raising agencies for relief work and development aid. It supported the liberation movements and the SACC directly and lobbied for divestments.
The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) was established in 1974 by several peace and other organisations concerned about the growing arms trade. It is a broad coalition of organisations working towards ending the arms trade. It works through local groups and networks and organises demonstrations and campaigns.
AAM London was the umbrella organisation for the 32 anti-apartheid groups in the Greater London area, and a regional committee of the national anti-apartheid movement. It took an active role in promoting the boycott movement, encouraging local groups to picket supermarkets, branches of Barclays Bank, Shell garages and other organisations supporting apartheid. It also encouraged involvement by the trade unions and churches, among many other organisations, in the anti-apartheid struggle.
The AAM started in 1959 under the name The Boycott Movement Committee. It changed its name to AAM in 1960 after the Sharpeville massacre to become a permanent organisation. It grew into one of the biggest anti-apartheid organisations in the world with committees covering specific subjects and branches all over the UK. It was a member of the European Liaison Group. It was often the fore-runner and initiator of international campaigns and worked closely with the ANC and UN agencies. It dissolved itself in 1995 to continue as Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA).
Amnesty International was founded in 1961 in London as an independent organisation to mobilise public opinion in defence of people who are imprisoned because their ideas are unacceptable to the government in their country. One of their areas of work is campaigning for the release of political prisoners and actions against torture.
The Liaison Group was formed in 1972 and continued to work until 1988 to lobby the European Parliament and Council of Ministers. It was affiliated with most of the main European AAMs.
The Association of West-European Parliamentarians for Action against Apartheid (AWEPAA) started in 1984 to mobilise politicians in European parliaments in the struggle against apartheid. Parliamentarians worked for effective sanction policies, they monitored the implementation and they sought to hold governments accountable for their policies. In 1993, AWEPAA was renamed the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA).
The Non-Aligned Movement was founded in Belgrade in 1961 by countries not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It focused on national struggles for independence, eradication of poverty and economic development. It supported the liberation movements and took an active stance against apartheid. As of 2012, the movement has 120 members and 17 observer countries.
The TUC is a federation of trade unions in the UK which started in 1868. It gave direct support to unions in South Africa and was active in boycott campaigns nationally and internationally.
Born in 1909 in Birmingham, Richard Albert Etheridge had a lifelong involvement with the Amalgamated Engineering Union. In 1940 he started work at the Austin Motor Co.'s Longbridge plant, and was elected shop steward in the following year. He was also elected secretary of the Austin AEU Shop Stewards' Committee. In 1946, Etheridge was elected to the AEU's Birmingham District Committee, remaining a member until 1965 when he was elected President of the newly-created Birmingham West District, a post he held until 1975. In 1963, and again from 1966 to 1974, he was elected an AEU to the annual Trades Union Congress. A lifelong supporter of the Communist Party, he helped formulate Party policy with regard to the motor industry, and stood as a candidate in the 1950 general election. From 1961 to 1973, Etheridge was a member of the Party's Executive Committee. He died in 1985.
The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is an international trade union federation of transport workers' unions. The ITF was founded in London in 1886 by European Seafarers and Dockers’ union leaders who realised the need to organise internationally against strike breakers. The ITF represents transport workers at world level and promotes their interests through global campaigning and solidarity. It works for the advancement of fundamental human rights and trade union rights and opposes discrimination. The Reports on Africa contains reports on its activities, amongst others, in South Africa.
The Coventry Labour Representation Committee was founded in December 1902. The Coventry Borough Labour Party, which grew out of it and was established in 1906, expanded its influence so that by 1923 Coventry had returned its first Labour MP. The party was instrumental in establishing the Coventry Anti-apartheid Committee in 1960. The early records of the party were destroyed during the blitz on the city in 1940, and the surviving records mostly date from after the war.
Amnesty International was founded in 1961 in London as an independent organisation to mobilise public opinion in defence of people who are imprisoned because their ideas are unacceptable to the government in their country. One of their areas of work is campaigning for the release of political prisoners and actions against torture.
The sections of the collection related to the Rivonia Trial are press cuttings concerning political protest, especially the Treason and Rivonia Trials c 1958-1962. Related collection also at Institute of Commonwealth Studies, London University.
The Oil Working Group was created in 1980 by War on Want, the Methodist Church Overseas Division and the United Reform Church to raise the issue of illegal oil exports to Southern Africa. They lobbied oil companies, raised questions at annual general meetings, undertook research and publicised their findings. The group was renamed Embargo in 1985 and ELTSA took over its administration. Embargo functioned until 1993.
Liberation started in 1954 as the Movement for Colonial Freedom (MCF) and changed its name in 1970 to Liberation. Its mission was to work towards the political freeing of colonial peoples and political independence. It worked with trade unions and the labour party, supported the AAM, War on Want and other organisations. It did a lot of educational work, organised public meetings and conferences, and lobbied government. It dissolved in 1997.
Hannah Stanton was a missionary and anti-apartheid activist who worked in South Africa and the UK. Following the increased violence and activities of the South African police, culminating in the Sharpeville Massacre of 21 March 1960, she found herself under surveillance. On 30 March 1960 she was arrested and held without charge, and without access to a lawyer until 21 May 1960, when she was deported to the UK. During this time she was held at Pretoria Central Gaol, where she shared a cell with Helen Joseph. After her deportation she became involved in various anti-apartheid campaigns, including those of the AAM.
In 1983 the Ethical Investment Research Service (EIRIS) was founded as a socially responsible investment (SRI) research house with a purview extending beyond its national boundaries in the United Kingdom. EIRIS was first established by a group of British churches and charities, including Christian Concern for Southern Africa, who needed information to put their principles into practice regarding their investments. At that time, they were particularly keen on understanding more about what British companies were doing to alleviate the situation in apartheid South Africa.
Christian Concern for Southern Africa (CCSA) was founded in 1972 as an interdenominational Christian body concerned with raising awareness of the political situation in South Africa and to co-ordinate the response of British Churches. In particular, the involvement of oil companies was targeted leading to the establishment of the Oil Working Group in 1979. The organisation also worked towards sanctions against South Africa, and provided an Ethical Investment Research Service. It was dissolved in 1993.
