ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses of Organization of African Unity (OAU) support of decolonization in Africa with great emphasis on the strategies pursued and the implementation of those strategies in Rhodesia, the Portuguese territories, the “trust territory” of Namibia, and South Africa. The environment in which the OAU decolonisation policy was made influenced very greatly the strategies pursued by the Organisation. International organisations have always considered and sometimes used sanctions in their efforts to attain desirable collective objectives. The Rhodesian problem was slightly different from that of the Portuguese territories. While the Portuguese territories were treated as cases of political decolonisation, the Rhodesian situation was seen as both a decolonisation issue as well as the abolition of institutionalised racism. South Africa’s wealth, its level of industrialisation, and its strategic location make it the highest prize that could be plucked by Africans in their continuing quest for total decolonisation, elimination of racism, and rapid economic development of the continent.
