United Nations Security Council Resolution 418
| UN Security Council Resolution 418 |
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ARA Drummond (formerly SAS Good Hope), an D'Estienne d'Orves class corvette whose sale to South Africa was blocked by UNSCR 418
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| Date | 4 November 1977 |
| Meeting no. | 2,046 |
| Code | S/RES/409 (Document) |
| Subject | South Africa |
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Voting summary
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15 voted for None voted against None abstained |
| Result | Adopted |
| Security Council composition | |
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Permanent members
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Non-permanent members
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United Nations Security Council Resolution 418, adopted unanimously on 4 November 1977, imposed a mandatory arms embargo against South Africa. This resolution differed from the earlier Resolution 282, which was only voluntary. The embargo was subsequently tightened and extended by Resolution 591.
The ban had a direct impact in some of the following ways:
The embargo was lifted by Resolution 919 following democratic elections in 1994.
The apartheid government worked around the embargo in a number of ways to source military technology and components that it was unable to procure openly. This resulted in United Nations Security Council Resolution 591 being passed in 1986, which tightened up some of the loopholes and extended the embargo.
Many armaments were wholly designed and manufactured in South Africa, as reflected by the growth and export business of Armscor.
Notable operations that came to light were:
Computer and air traffic control radar systems ostensibly destined for civilian use were diverted to the military.
The South African government was able to hire the services of foreign technicians, for example Israeli specialists who had worked on the Lavi fighter aircraft were recruited by Atlas Aircraft Corporation to work on the Atlas Cheetah and Atlas CAVA.
In somes cases, foreign armaments were simply produced under license in South Africa, as in the case of the Warrior class strike craft, the R4 assault rifle and Atlantis Diesel Engines.
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