As the world pays its respects to Former US President Jimmy Carter, his influential role in Southern Africa doesn’t get much attention.
Those interested in US politics will know the basic facts about Carter: He was the 39th US resident, served from 1977 to 1981 and is the first US president to have lived to 100 years old.
Many hail Carter for his peaceful and compassionate leadership. He was awarded the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for what the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park Georgia describes as his “decades of work seeking peaceful solutions to international conflicts, advancing democracy and human rights, and promoting economic and social development.”
Carter has also had a profound influence on southern Africa as a mediator, peacemaker and a statesman who was involved in negotiations that ended several long-standing conflicts, which led to the democratic movements in the region.
Resolution 435: The birth of independent Namibia
Carter’s connection to Africa was a long-lasting one that took shape during his term in office and in the many decades afterwards. Namibia’s Former Prime Minister Nahas Angula told DW that Carter’s administration initiated the Five Western Contact Group. His administration’s UN ambassador Donald McHenry played a pivotal role in negotiations that eventually led to UN Security Council resolution 435.
The resolution put forward proposals for a ceasefire and for the elections in what was then South West Africa to be supervised by the United Nations. Apartheid South Africa controlled the region. Resolution 435 was adopted on September 29, 1978, and led to Namibia’s independence. It also established the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) that played a crucial role in overseeing the election and South Africa’s withdrawal.
Carter fondly remembered in South Africa and Mozambique
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said he remembered Jimmy Carter as “an outstanding, compassionate leader and champion of human rights and peace globally.”
Carter is known to have been an outspoken critic of the apartheid state at a time when the apartheid government in South Africa worked hard to gain support from influential economies around the world, and in the process justify its inhumane policies.
The former US president was a dear friend of Nelson Mandela and was chosen by him to be a part of The Elders. The collection of global leaders was brought together at the former South African president’s 89th birthday in 2007 to be independent moral voices for peace and leadership.
“President Carter’s record includes his engagement in diverse peace negotiations around the world and his unequivocal categorisation of the denial of fundamental human rights and statehood to the people of Palestine as a manifestation of apartheid,” wrote Ramaphosa in a statement.
Other African nations also hold Carter in high regard.
“When Carter came to Mozambique in 2003, he inspired all of us to engage in election monitoring and observation,” Guilherme Mbilana, an independent legal expert and specialist in Mozambican electoral processes and legislation, told DW. “With Jimmy Carter, we learned that elections are not just about observing but also about putting in effort and instilling aspects of democracy and citizenship. That is something he left in us. I view his legacy through the lens of genuineness, as something honest and open—not only to convey but also to assist conflicting parties in negotiating.”
Why is Carter’s legacy in Africa not widely known?
Namibia’s Former Prime Minister Angula says policies introduced during the administration of Carter’s successor Ronald Reagan complicated negotiations for Namibia’s independence.
“Racist South Africa found support from Reagan’s administration and became emboldened to defy the international community,” Angula said. “People forgot the initiative President Carter’s adminstration took [before that] in favor of finding a peaceful solution to problems in southern Africa.”
Nadia Issufo contributed reporting.
Edited by: Carla Bleiker
