Christian teaching stresses the heavy responsibility that rests upon the rich and powerful. Bible stories make clear the divine judgment upon those who fail to discharge their personal and social responsibilities. These should be read together with the injunctions concerning righteousness and peace to grasp the full imperative that rests upon the leaders of the nations of our world today. For centuries the rich and powerful of this world have dominated, exploited, and segregated the peoples of Africa through colonialism, slavery, and apartheid. We celebrate the end of war in Zimbabwe and the peaceful transition into a new independent nation under the rule of all the people. The government of South Africa continues to resist substantive change in its ruthless rule by apartheid. White South Africans have the highest standard of living in the world. Black South Africans live in poverty. Per capita income is more than ten times higher for whites than for blacks. South Africa is completely segregated by law, under the apartheid system. Thirteen percent of the country is reserved for blacks, while 87 percent-including all the cities, industries, fertile farmland, and major mines-is legally the territory of the whites, who comprise only 16 percent of the country's population. Blacks cannot vote or join political parties. By law the best jobs are reserved for whites. Black unemployment is well over 25 percent, while white unemployment remains at 1 percent. Education is compulsory and free for white children, while blacks must pay. In recent years, the South African government has tried to crush all opposition to apartheid. In 1976, demonstrations spread throughout the country in which more than a thousand persons were killed by the police and the military. Thousands more were arrested. In October, 1977, all remaining organizations critical of the government were outlawed, including the Christian Institute. Steve Biko and many other leaders have been killed in prison. The government continues to ban persons, such as Bishop Tutu. In 1950, US direct investment in South Africa totaled $140 million. Since then the figure has grown to $2 billion, while indirect investment is mostly in the form of loans from large and small commercial banks throughout the United States. Many of these loans have gone directly to the South African government and its agencies. Another source of major support of the South African government is the "Krugerrand," a one-ounce gold piece minted and sold by the government to raise money. In 1979, Krugerrands accounted for 30 percent of South Africa's gold production and as of that year more than half of the world sales of the Krugerrand were in the United States. Purchasers of such coins invest in poverty and oppression for the majority population of South Africa. 1. We call upon all nations, acting through the United Nations, to continue to press South Africa to eliminate the system of apartheid. Such pressure might include the adoption of economic sanctions by the United Nations Security Council. 2. We call upon all nations to work for the release of political prisoners in South Africa, to grant political asylum to South Africans who request it, and to extend such asylum to those refusing to serve in armed forces. 3. We call upon the developed nations, including the United States, to end various forms of financial support to the government of South Africa. 4. We particularly call upon the United States banks and corporations to make no new loans or investments and not to renew any previous loans to the South African government-owned or -related corpora tions. 5. We call upon all banks to stop promo tion and sale of the "Krugerrand" coin. 6. We call upon legislatures, state and city governments to pass legislation mandating the withdrawal of public funds from banks that continue making loans to the South African or government-owned or -related corporations. 7. We call upon our church at all levelsgeneral boards and agencies, annual conferences, local churches, and individual members to join in this effort to stop bank loans to South Africa and to refrain from the purchase of the "Krugerrand" coin. 8. We call upon the financial officers of our church at all levels to examine their banking and investment practices and to withdraw accounts from banks and financial institutions that continue to make loans to the South African government or government-owned-or-related corporations. (Refer to Investment Policy, General Council on Finance and Administration, 1978.) We do not engage in such efforts lightly, but with prayer and with the deep conviction that substantive change in South Africa will only come by a concerted effort of nations and peoples dedicated to justice. for all, including the oppressed majority in South Africa. The General Conference of the United Methodist Church supports the ratification by the United States Senate of the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948, and transmitted to the Senate of the eighty-first Congress by President Harry S. Truman. We deplore the protracted delay which continues in spite of the support of Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Carter and urge its prompt ratification by this Senate as an affirmation of the elemental right of all human groups to exist and as a witness to United States' moral concern for all humanity. In addition to this long-standing concern, we support ratification by the United States Senate of the International Convenant on |