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Report on the British government’s failure to implement measures against South Africa agreed by the Commonwealth, UN Security Council and European Economic Community. The report was prepared for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting held in London, 3–5 August 1986, following the visit of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group to South Africa.

The AAM made this appeal to trade unionists in September 1986, soon after a countrywide state of emergency was introduced in South Africa. Its emphasis was on the general campaign for sanctions rather than, as in the 1970s, campaigns against individual companies or support for South African workers.

Poster reproducing a banner celebrating the role of women in the liberation struggle. The banner was made to commemorate Liz Hollis, a young AAM staff member who died tragically in 1986.

Poster demanding clemency for Unkhonto we Sizwe combatants Sipho Xulu and Clarence Payi, sentenced to death for killing an alleged police informer. Xulu and Payi were hanged on 9 September 1986.

Every time a political prisoner was executed in South Africa an all-night solidarity vigil was held outside the South African Embassy in London. This leaflet publicised a vigil held for Sipho Xulu and Clarence Payi, young ANC militants who were hanged on the morning of 9 September 1986. Their deaths meant that seven freedom fighters had been hanged by the South African government since the execution of Solomon Mahlangu in 1979.

Architects Against Apartheid was relaunched in September 1986 after the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) withdrew recognition from architecture courses at four South African universities. This followed an earlier campaign in the 1970s which resulted in a compromise decision that RIBA would withdraw recognition if the universities did not open their architecture courses to students of all races. The new group campaigned for RIBA to end all its links with South Africa.

In the late 1980s Architects Against Apartheid drew architects and planners into anti-apartheid campaigns and showed how the apartheid system was reflected in the built environment. It supported architects within South Africa in trying to change the policies of the Institute of South African Architects (ISAA).

Sponsored cycle rides were a feature of the ‘Free Nelson Mandela’ campaign – the first was held in 1982. This ride, held in September 1986, raised funds for Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS).