The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Apartheid in South Africa

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the origins, principles, and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) alongside the institutionalisation, legal statutes, and racial ideology of Apartheid South Africa.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

A document consisting of 30 articles adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 in Paris, France (with 48 in favor, 0 against, and 8 abstentions) to set a common standard of achievement for all people and all nations.

UN Charter

The foundational treaty signed on 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, USA, following the United Nations Conference on International Organisation, which officially brought the United Nations into being on 24 October 1945.

Allied Freedoms

Four essential freedoms adopted by the Allies during WWII: freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom from fear, and freedom of want.

Jan Smuts

The South African prime minister, Cambridge scholar, and Boer War soldier who engaged in strategic planning for the Allied Powers in WWII and inspired the Bill of Rights, but was portrayed by National Party propaganda as a traitor.

Dignity (UDHR Principle)

A foundational principle of the UDHR declaring that every person has inherent worth and deserves respect.

Equality (UDHR Principle)

A key UDHR principle stating that all human beings are endowed with equal rights.

Freedom (UDHR Principle)

The principle that individuals should possess the right to act, think, speak, and make choices without unfair restrictions.

Non-discrimination (UDHR Principle)

The standard of treating everyone fairly and equally without judging or treating them unfairly regardless of race, sex, language, or religion.

Apartheid

An Afrikaans word meaning "apartness," referring to an institutionalised system of racial segregation and discrimination designed to maintain white minority power and protect white economic interests.

Racism

Prejudice, discrimination, or unfair treatment of people because of their race, ethnicity, or skin colour, grounded in the false belief that some groups are superior to others.

Types of Racism

The four categories of racism identified in the notes: historical racism, scientific racism, institutional racism, and xenophobia.

Myth of Race

The widely held but false belief that race is a biological division separating humans into superior and inferior groups, refuted by the fact that humans are $99.9\%$ genetically alike and skin colour is simply an adaptation to sunlight levels.

Ethnic Group

A social group focused on cultural phenomena, recommended as a replacement for the social construct of "race."

National Party

The political party that won the South African election on 26 May 1948 by promising white voters to protect white economic power and legally entrench racial segregation.

Native Land Act of 1913

Early segregation legislation introduced by English-speaking politicians that allocated $87\%$ of good land to whites and $13\%$ of bad land to blacks.

Population Registration Act (1950)

An apartheid law that made racial classification compulsory, dividing the population into four legal categories: black, white, coloured, and Indian (Asian).

Pass Laws

The most hated apartheid regulations, which required non-white South Africans to carry pass books detailing their racial classification to control where they lived, worked, and attended school.

Apartheid Classification Tests

A series of subjective tests used by the apartheid government to classify individuals racially: the appearance test, the pencil test, the ancestry test, and the social acceptance test.

The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act (1949)

An early apartheid law that prohibited marriage between individuals of different racial classifications.

Amendment to the Immorality Act (1950)

Apartheid legislation enacted to outlaw sexual relations between white people and people of other racial groups.

Suppression of Communism Act (1950)

An apartheid statute passed in 1950 used by the National Party to suppress political opposition under the pretext of fighting communism.

Group Areas Act (1950)

An apartheid statute that legally separated different racial groups into distinct, designated residential and business areas.

Bantu Education Act (1953)

An apartheid law passed in 1953 that segregated and strictly controlled the schooling and educational curriculum of black South Africans.

Reservation of Separate Amenities Act (1963)

An apartheid law listed in the notes that legalised the segregation of public facilities and amenities based on race.