Apartheid Museum

Negotiating a Settlement

Lengthy, difficult and often behind-the-scenes negotiations eventually led to a final agreement on a national Bill of Rights and a new political order.

The first step in this direction was the National Peace Accord, signed in September 1991, which attempted to curb the widespread violence of the time by laying down codes of conduct for all parties including the security forces. A draft of the accord forms part of the exhibit. This opened the way to formal, multi-party negotiations at the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) through which a political compromise was struck. Scenes of the civil war that formed the background to these negotiations are on display in this exhibit.

Quick Facts

  • The ANC and NP led the process of trying to create a basis for a democratic order.
  • The forum for negotiating a peaceful transition to democracy was called the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA).
  • The Sunset Clause, which guaranteed white civil servants a stake in the new South Africa, helped to break the deadlock in the negotiations process.
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    Permanent Exhibition