ethnic forces, and dismantling of their command structures; peaceful return of SWAPO personnel from outside Namibian territory to participate in the elections; and establishment of the military section of UNTAG, mentioned, ante.

Primary responsibility for maintaining law and order in Namibia during the transition period would rest with existing police forces, accompanied, when appropriate, by United Nations personnel.

The full text of the proposal (U.N. Doc. S/12636, Apr. 10, 1978), reads: PROPOSAL FOR A SETTLEMENT OF THE NAMIBIAN SITUATION

I. Introduction

1. Bearing in mind their responsibilities as members of the Security Council of the United Nations, the Governments of Canada, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States have consulted with the various parties involved with the Namibian situation with a view to encouraging agreement on the transfer of authority in Namibia to an independent government in accordance with Resolution 385 (1976), adopted unanimously by the Security Council on 30 January 1976.

2. To this end, our Governments have drawn up a proposal for the settlement of the Namibian question designed to bring about a transition to independence during 1978 within a framework acceptable to the people of Namibia and thus to the international community. While the proposal addresses itself to all elements of Resolution 385 (1976), the key to an internationally acceptable transition to independence is free elections for the whole of Namibia as one political entity with an appropriate United Nations role in accordance with Resolution 385 (1976). A resolution will be required in the Security Council requesting the Secretary-General to appoint a United Nations Special Representative whose central task will be to make sure that conditions are established which will allow free and fair elections and an impartial electoral process. The Special Representative will be assisted by a United Nations Transition Assistance Group.

3. The purpose of the electoral process is to elect representatives to a Namibian Constituent Assembly which will draw up and adopt the Constitution for an independent and sovereign Namibia. Authority would then be assumed during 1978 by the Government of Namibia.

4. A more detailed description of the proposal is contained below. Our Governments believe that this proposal provides an effective basis for implementing Resolution 385 (1976) while taking adequate account of the interests of all parties involved. In carrying out his responsibilities the Special Representative will work together with the official appointed by South Africa (the Administrator General) to ensure the orderly transition to independence. This working arrangement shall in no way constitute recognition of the legality of the South African presence in and administration of Namibia.

II. The electoral proce88

5. In accordance with Security Council Resolution 385 (1976), free elections will be held, for the whole of Namibia as one political entity, to enable the people of Namibia to freely and fairly determine their own future. The elections will be under the supervision and control of the United Nations in that, as a condition to the conduct of the electoral process, the elections themselves, and the certification of their results, the United Nations Special Representative will have to satisfy himself at each stage as to the fairness and appropriateness of all measures affecting the political process at all levels of administration before such measures take effect. Moreover the Special Representative may himself make proposals in regard to any aspect of the political process. He will have at his disposal a substantial civilian section of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group, sufficient to carry out his duties satisfactorily. He will report to the Secretary-General of the United

Nations, keeping him informed and making such recommendations as he considers necessary with respect to the discharge of his responsibilities. The Secretary-General, in accordance with the mandate entrusted to him by the Security Council, will keep the Council informed.

6. Elections will be held to select a Constituent Assembly which will adopt a Constitution for an independent Namibia. The Constitution will determine the organization and powers of all levels of government. Every adult Namibian will be eligible, without discrimination or fear of intimidation from any source, to vote, campaign and stand for election to the Constituent Assembly. Voting will be by secret ballot, with provisions made for those who cannot read or write. The date for the beginning of the electoral campaign, the date of elections, the electoral system, the preparation of voters' rolls, and other aspects of electoral procedures will be promptly decided upon so as to give all political parties and interested persons, without regard to their political views, a full and fair opportunity to organize and participate in the electoral process. Full freedom of speech, assembly, movement and press shall be guaranteed. The official electoral campaign shall commence only after the United Nations Special Representative has satisfied himself as to the fairness and appropriateness of the electoral procedures. The implementation of the electoral process, including the proper registration of voters and the proper and timely tabulation and publication of voting results will also have to be conducted to the satisfaction of the Special Representative.

7. The following requirements will be fulfilled to the satisfaction of the United Nations Special Representative in order to meet the objective of free and fair elections:

A. Prior to the beginning of the electoral campaign, the Administrator General will repeal all remaining discriminatory or restrictive laws, regulations, or administrative measures which might abridge or inhibit that objective. B. The Administrator General shall make arrangements for the release, prior to the beginning of the electoral campaign, of all Namibian political prisoners or political detainees held by the South African authorities so that they can participate fully and freely in that process, without risk of arrest, detention, intimidation or imprisonment. Any disputes concerning the release of political prisoners or political detainees shall be resolved to the satisfaction of the Special Representative acting on the independent advice of a jurist of international standing who shall be designated by the Secretary-General to be legal adviser to the Special Representative.

C. All Namibian refugees or Namibians detained or otherwise outside the territory of Namibia will be permitted to return peacefully and participate fully and freely in the electoral process without risk of arrest, detention, intimidation or imprisonment. Suitable entry points will be designated for these purposes.

D. The Special Representative with the assistance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other appropriate international bodies will ensure that Namibians remaining outside of Namibia are given a free and voluntary choice whether to return. Provision will be made to attest to the voluntary nature of decisions made by Namibians who elect not to return to Namibia.

8. A comprehensive cessation of all hostile acts shall be observed by all parties in order to ensure that the electoral process will be free from interference and intimidation. The annex [not reproduced in this Digest] describes provisions for the implementation of the cessation of all hostile acts, military arrangements concerning the United Nations Transition Assistance Group, the withdrawal of South African forces, and arrangements with respect to other organized forces in Namibia, and with respect to the forces of SWAPO. These provisions call for:

A. A cessation of all hostile acts by all parties and the restriction of South African and SWAPO armed forces to base.

B. Thereafter a phased withdrawal from Namibia of all but 1,500 South African troops within 12 weeks and prior to the official start of the political campaign. The remaining South African force would be restricted to Grootfontein or Oshivello or both and would be withdrawn after the certification of the election.

C. The demobilization of the citizen forces, commandos, and ethnic forces, and the dismantling of their command structures.

D. Provision will be made for SWAPO personnel outside of the territory to return peacefully to Namibia through designated entry points to participate freely in the political process.

E. A military section of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group to make sure that the provisions of the agreed solution will be observed by all parties. In establishing the military section of UNTAG, the Secretary-General will keep in mind functional and logistical requirements. The five Governments, as members of the Security Council, will support the Secretary-General's judgement in his discharge of this responsibility. The Secretary-General will, in the normal manner, include in his consultations all those concerned with the implementation of the agreement. The Special Representative will be required to satisfy himself as to the implementation of all these arrangements and will keep the Secretary-General informed of developments in this regard.

9. Primary responsibility for maintaining law and order in Namibia during the transition period shall rest with the existing police forces. The Administrator General to the satisfaction of the United Nations Special Representative shall ensure the good conduct of the police forces and shall take the necessary action to ensure their suitability for continued employment during the transition period. The Special Representative shall make arrangements when appropriate for United Nations personnel to accompany the police forces in the discharge of their duties. The police forces would be limited to the carrying of small arms in the normal performance of their duties.

10. The United Nations Special Representative will take steps to guarantee against the possibility of intimidation or interference with the electoral process from whatever quarter.

11. Immediately after the certification of election results, the Constituent Assembly will meet to draw up and adopt a Constitution for an independent Namibia. It will conclude its work as soon as possible so as to permit whatever additional steps may be necessary prior to the installation of an independent Government of Namibia during 1978.

12. Neighboring countries shall be required to ensure to the best of their abilities that the provisions of the transitional arrangements, and the outcome of the election, are respected. They shall also be requested to afford the necessary facilities to the United Nations Special Representative and all United Nations personnel to carry out their assigned functions and to facilitate such measures as may be desirable for ensuring tranquillity in the border

areas.

U.N. Doc. S/12636, Apr. 10, 1978, without the letter of transmittal and annex, was printed in Dept. of State Bulletin, Vol. 78, No. 2015, June 1978, pp. 53-54. For the full text of U.N. Doc. S/12636, including the letter of transmittal and annex, see also, International Legal Materials, Vol. 17, No. 3, May 1978, pp. 762 ff. The United Nations General Assembly Ninth Special Session, on Namibia, convened on April 24, 1978, in pursuance of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 32/9 H, November 4, 1977. The following day, April 25, Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs Donald Jamieson addressed the General Assembly on behalf of the Contact Group on Namibia, all members of the Security Council (Canada, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States), and included a résumé of Contact Group efforts toward resolving the Namibian situation during the preceding twelve months. Excerpts from his address follow:

In the spring of 1977, it became apparent to all of us that the installation of the Turnhalle constitution, as it was called, was im

minent. The adoption of legislation to bring it into effect, forecast for June 1977, would have resulted in the unilateral establishment of a government based on ethnic groups and excluding participation by any political party, and most importantly by one of the major political movements in the territory, SWAPO [South West African People's Organization]. . .

.. [O]ur five countries decided to make a concerted effort to investigate whether, by means of the existing relations between themselves and South Africa, it might not be possible to find a practical way of implementing Security Council Resolution 385 which was adopted unanimously. . .

From the outset, our five governments . . . were acting as a result of the responsibilities which we bear as members of the U.N. Security Council. We have acted as an informal contact group, and it has been our intention-clearly expressed to all parties-to bring this exercise within the scope of the Security Council at the earliest feasible time.

On April 7, 1977, our five governments presented to South African Prime Minister Vorster an aide-memoire expressing our belief in the necessity for a Namibian settlement in keeping with Resolution 385 and thereby acceptable to the international community. We emphasized that the activities of the Turnhalle conference [South African-sponsored constitutional conference held in Windhoek..., beginning September 1975] did not meet those standards and informed the Government of South Africa that, in the absence of an early South African agreement to pursue an internationally acceptable solution, the five would be obligated to consider very seriously the measures to be taken. . . .

After further informal exchanges, a contact group comprising senior officials of our governments and including senior representatives of our New York missions went to South Africa during the period April 27-29 for discussions of most of the issues associated with the Namibian question and of the elements embodied in Resolution 385.

At the conclusion of those discussions, in an important development, South Africa indicated the intention to forego the implementation of the Turnhalle constitution through the proposed legislation; to instead establish a central administrative authority in Namibia; and to hold territory-wide elections, with direct U.N. involvement for a constituent assembly whose task it would be to decide upon a constitution for Namibia.

Further talks took place in southern Africa and in New York between the contact group of the five and the principal interested parties as follows: with South Africa in Capetown June 8-10, 1977; with SWAPO in New York August 8-11, 1977; with South Africa in Pretoria September 22-26, 1977; and with SWAPO in New York October 14-19, 1977. . .

During the period November 21-December 12, ... [the Contact Group] met in the relevant capitals with President Nyerere of Tanzania, Foreign Minister Chissano of Mozambique, President Khama and Vice-President Masire of Botswana, President Kaunda of Zambia, Prime Minister Do Nascimento and Foreign Minister Jorge of Angola, and with Head of State Obasanjo of Nigeria. They met once more with South Africa and twice during that period with SWAPO.

Following these consultations and discussions, the five governments determined that the areas of concern of the different parties had become so apparent that [and] the differences between them sufficiently narrowed as to make it advisable for the five to take a position on what they considered to be a pragmatic, reasonable, and fair means of implementing Resolution 385. Therefore, during the month of December, the five governments invited South Africa and SWAPO to participate in discussions with them in New York....

The importance which the five governments attached to these "proximity" talks which eventually took place on February 11 and 12 was reflected in the participation in them by my colleagues, the Foreign Ministers of France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and myself. At the ministeriallevel meetings, the Government of South Africa was represented by its Foreign Minister, Mr. Botha, and SWAPO by its president, Mr. Nujoma. I might add that the SWAPO delegation to those talks, for the first time, included representatives of the internal Namibian branch of SWAPO.

Apart from the talks with the principal parties, ministerial-level consultations also took place with the Secretary-General and his officials. We also held discussions with the Foreign Ministers of the frontline states present in New York-Mr. Mwale of Zambia, Mr. Mkapa of Tanzania, Mr. Mogwe of Botswana-and with senior representatives or Ambassadors of Angola, Mozambique, Nigeria, Mauritius, and Gabon. Also during this period delegations from other Namibian parties traveled to New York and were received by officials of the five governments.

. . . Our proposals were finalized at the end of March and were presented to the interested parties on March 29 and 30. They were circulated as document S/12636 of the Security Council on April 10 [ante].

In terms of substance, initially each of the parties was preoccupied by the conflicting legal and political positions on this issue. At the outset of the initiative the five were only too well aware that, as it was these contradictory legal positions which had for more than 30 years impeded any progress toward the resolution of the Namibian situation, it was essential to neither endorse nor challenge the position of any party but rather to seek, without prejudice to that position, a practical means of implementing the provisions of Resolution 385. Our proposal, therefore, at no point takes any stand which prejudices a long-held legal or political position; rather it moves between ques