Mandela and De Klerk sign the Record of Understanding
At a summit at the World Trade Centre near Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela and F. W. de Klerk signed an agreement that put stalled constitutional talks back on track after the Boipatong and Bisho killings.
On 26 September 1992 Nelson Mandela, president of the ANC, and State President F. W. de Klerk met at the World Trade Centre in Kempton Park, near Johannesburg's airport, and signed the Record of Understanding. It followed a series of meetings between the two sides that began on 21 August.
The ANC had pulled out of negotiations after the Boipatong massacre in June, and the killing of marchers by Ciskei soldiers at Bisho on 7 September added to the pressure. The agreement dealt with the ANC's main demands. Prisoners jailed for politically motivated offences would be released in stages by 15 November 1992. Named hostels linked to violence would be fenced and policed, and the carrying of dangerous weapons at public gatherings would be banned. Both sides accepted that an elected assembly would write the new constitution and serve as an interim parliament.
Why it matters
The Record of Understanding ended the three-month breakdown in talks and settled how the new constitution would be made. It opened the way for multiparty negotiations to resume in 1993, again at the World Trade Centre, leading to the 1994 election.
- Source: Nelson Mandela Foundation, O'Malley Archives, "Record of Understanding 26 September 1992" (full text) · SAHO, "Record of Understanding is agreed to by the SA government and the ANC" · ConstitutionNet, "Meeting between the State President ... and the President of the ANC held at the World Trade Centre", 26 September 1992 (document) · SAHO, "Boipatong massacre, 17 June 1992" · SAHO, "The AWB invade the World Trade Centre during constitutional negotiations, Kempton Park"
Where it happened
Former World Trade Centre, Kempton Park (now part of Emperors Palace)
The summit met at the World Trade Centre, which also hosted CODESA and the 1993 multiparty talks. The building is now the South Wing of the Emperors Palace convention centre; the circle covers the complex rather than a surveyed building outline. The signed text itself says only 'agreed to at Johannesburg'.
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Where it happened Approximate
Former World Trade Centre, Kempton Park (now part of Emperors Palace)
The summit met at the World Trade Centre, which also hosted CODESA and the 1993 multiparty talks. The building is now the South Wing of the Emperors Palace convention centre; the circle covers the complex rather than a surveyed building outline. The signed text itself says only 'agreed to at Johannesburg'.
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Museum Approximate
CODESA Walkway, Emperors Palace
A permanent exhibition on the negotiations inside the former World Trade Centre building, now Emperors Palace's South Wing convention centre.
