In November 1989, twenty-three years after the United Nations terminated South Africa's mandate to administer Namibia, the Territory took its first step towards independence. Under the supervision of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) --a team of more than 6,000 military and civilian personnel-- a Constituent Assembly was elected. Despite various setbacks, more than 90 percent of the 701,483 registered voters participated in electing the 72 delegates to draw up the nation's new constitution. The election was formally certified as free and fair by the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Namibia, Martti Ahtisaari.
The following photographs are highlights of the UNTAG mission:
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A Dutch UNTAG police monitor talks with a resident of Katutura, a black township in Windhoek. A total of 980 UNTAG police monitors from 23 countries were charged with overseeing the Southwest African Police, who are responsible for maintaining law and order in the Territory during the transition period. (UN Photo# 156711C) |
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As part of the United Nations plan to monitor the elections in Namibia, several countries contributed peacekeeping forces as well as vital services. Here, the Finnish peacekeeping forces arrive aboard a C-5A Galaxy transport aircraft supplied by the United States of America. (UN Photo# 157214C) |
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Martti Ahtisaari, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Namibia, inspects a contingent of UNTAG police monitors from India at their base east of Rundu in the Caprivi Strip, in April 1989. (UN Photo# 156734C) |
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Children of Khomasdahl, a Windhoek township, hold up UNTAG bumper stickers which read "Free and Fair Elections" in Afrikaans. The voter registration drive began in March 1989 for November's scheduled elections to a Namibian constitutent assembly. (UN Photo# 156723C) |
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A child at Dobra Reception Centre in Namibia in July 1989. The Centre, run by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), is helping to smooth the resettlement of Namibians returning to their country after years of exile. This was the first stage of a voluntary repratriation of 40,000 exiles. (UN Photo# 156747C) |
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Namibians line up outside the voter registration centre in Katutura, a black township of Windhoek, in July 1989. UNTAG staff supervised the voter registration. (UN Photo# 156765C) |
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A woman shows her voter registration card outside the voter registration centre in Katatura. (UN Photo# 156773C) |
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A voter casts her ballot in the polling station at Ariamsvlei in November 1989. (UN Photo# 157094C) |
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Boxes of tendered ballots from all over the country await checking in a hall at the Windhoek showgrounds (November 1989). (UN Photo# 157097C) |
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An UNTAG worker at Windhoek showgrounds checks the validity of a tendered ballot (November 1989). (UN Photo# 157134C) |
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Martti Ahtisaari (centre, at microphone), the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Namibia, announces that he is satisfied that the voting process has been free and fair, thus declaring the elections valid (November 1989). (UN Photo# 157131C) |
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On March 20, 1990, Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar (left) is briefed on the diversity of the UNTAG operations in Namibia by Martti Ahtisaari, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Namibia. (UN Photo# 157283C) |
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