Apartheid was a crime against humanity whose devastating effects continue to afflict ordinary South Africans. The OAU stood firm against the Apartheid regime and supported the struggle for democracy and freedom in South Africa. The principled stand against colonial and racist rule was the core of the original human rights agenda of the OAU. The ending of Apartheid marked a major shift, contributing to the formation of the AU and a broadening of its commitment to human rights. This important inheritance of resistance against injustice must be preserved.