tions, which the United States never joined, the Soviet Union and China, as
well as France, Britain, and the United States, had permanent seats and
vetoes in the U.N. Security Council, and ather countries, including third
world countries, served in turn on the Security Council and formed a
majority in the General Assembly,"? From 1952 onward, the General As-
sembly passed annual resolutions condemning apartheid.
Then, as the
number of independent Asian and African states increased) each with a seat
in the General Assembly, the United Nations devoted more and more
attention to racism in South Africa. By 1967, the General Assembly had
created both a Special Committee onApartheid
and a Unit on Apartheid,
which issued a stream of publications exposing and denouncing the effects
of South Africa's racial policies. The General Assembly also declared that
South Africa's mandate over South West Africa (Namibia) was terminated
and established a U.N. Council for Namibia. In 1971, the International
Court of Justice; gave an advisory opinion to the effect that South Africa's
control of Namibia was illegal.71 Two years later, the General Assembly
declared apartheid to be "a crime against humanity." In 1977, after South
Africa's police were known to have killed Steve Biko and its government