ABSTRACT
Beginning in 1947, however, black Namibians began to petition the United Nations against South African rule. In a series of International Court of Justice decisions, the international community sided with the Namibians, declaring the League of Nations mandate null and void in 1966 and establishing a de jure UN trusteeship. South Africa ignored all such rulings. At the same time, the United Nations supported the cause of Namibian independence through publicity campaigns, negotiations, and even training of officials in preparation for independence. In Namibia itself, the cause of national independence-though not necessarily armed struggle-was centered in the local churches, while more militant efforts were concentrated in the growing trade union movement, even though trade unions were banned in Namibia under South African law until the mid-1980s.
