Human Rights, Evolution, and Apartheid in South Africa

Vocabulary flashcards covering the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human evolution, genetics, pre-apartheid segregation laws, and main apartheid legislation in South Africa.

headquarters

The main offices where the leaders of an organisation work.

fundamental

Most important, and from which everything else develops.

United Nations Organisation (UN)

An international organisation formed in 1945 with headquarters in New York, created to maintain peace, promote economic and social development, and protect fundamental human rights.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A landmark declaration drawn up by the UN in December 1948 listing 30 fundamental human rights, stating that all people are equal regardless of race, gender, or religion.

UNESCO

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation; a part of the UN that runs projects to improve education standards and uses education and science to promote justice and human rights.

UNICEF

The UN International Children's Emergency Fund; a part of the UN that sets up programmes to protect children's rights, such as tackling the problem of child soldiers.

genetic

Passed on in the body cells from one generation to the next.

ancestors

Your relatives who lived a long time ago; previous generations of your family.

evolution

The theory of the development of animals and plants from earlier, simpler forms.

complex

Made up of many different parts.

World Heritage Sites

Places around the world thought by the United Nations to be of special importance.

hominids

Human-like creatures that lived in South and East Africa about five million years ago; they were different from apes but were not yet fully modern humans.

The Cradle of Humankind

The area around the Sterkfontein Caves in South Africa where over 500 hominid bones were found, declared a World Heritage Site by the UN in 1999.

cultures

The customs and traditions of a society.

technologies

The way things are made; knowledge and methods used to make things.

environments

The surroundings in which people live and which affect their lives (such as weather, vegetation, soil type, and so on).

myth

A belief that is not based on fact.

stereotypes

Fixed ideas people have about a particular person or thing, which are not based on fact.

racist attitudes

Ways of behaving towards people of other races.

segregation

Separation based on race.

reserves

Rural areas set aside where only black people could own land under pre-apartheid and apartheid laws.

pass

An official government document that controlled the movement of black people in South Africa.

non-combatant

Not involving any fighting.

informal settlement

Settlement in which people build their own houses; they lack proper roads and services.

1913 Land Act

A South African law that set aside reserves for black land ownership comprising only 7% of the total land, causing severe overcrowding.

apartheid

A policy introduced in 1948 by the National Party in South Africa based on the forced racial separation of group populations and white control.

Population Registration Act

An apartheid law that divided the population into four race groups (black, white, coloured, and Indian) and issued identity cards stating each person's race group.

Mixed Marriages Act and Immorality Act

Apartheid laws that made marriages and romantic relationships between white people and people of other race groups illegal.

Group Areas Act

An apartheid law that identified separate residential areas for each race group and forcibly removed people living in areas allocated to another group.

Separate Amenities Act

An apartheid law forcing the segregation of public facilities, transportation, venues, and sports competitions by race group.

Bantu Education Act

An apartheid law under which the government took over control of black children's education to train them strictly for manual labor and obedience, providing minimal funding.

Separate Representation of Voters Act

An apartheid law that removed coloured voters in the Cape from the voters' roll, limiting political voting rights strictly to white citizens.

Homelands system

An apartheid system that established ten separate, geographically fragmented territories (Bantustans) based on ethnic groups, stripping black South Africans of their citizenship.