El 12 de marzo de 1984, la República de Sudáfrica, Estado Parte en los Convenios de Ginebra, depositó ante el Gobierno suizo la siguiente comunicación, fechada el 24 de febrero de 1984:

Accession to the aforementioned Geneva Conventions and Protocols is governed by an identically worded article which stipulates that « From the date of its coming into force, it shall be open to any Power in whose name the present Convention has not been signed, to accede to this Convention ».

Since South West Africa/Namibia cannot, in terms of international law, be regarded as such a Power and since neither it nor the UN Council for Namibia is able to assume the obligations imposed upon such Power by the four Geneva Conventions, the South African Government rejects the so-called instruments of accession of the UN Council for Namibia to the four Geneva Conventions and its two Additional Protocols as having no legal effect.