In 1948 , the South African government , at the time representing only a small proportion of the population , erected a system of strict racial segregation and called it apartheid ( separateness ) which is a codified system of racial stratification which first began to take form in South Africa under the Dutch Empire in the late eighteenth century . Initially , the Dutch government was neutral to the apartheid government in South Africa . South Africa was one of only a handful of United Nations member states to support the Dutch view that the issues the Netherlands faced concerning the decolonization of Indonesia and the Netherlands New Guinea were of a ' domestic ' nature and that the UN had no right to interfere . In 1949 , during the visit of South African Prime Minister Daniel François Malan to the Netherlands , Dutch Queen Juliana told her guest that she would " never set foot in his country as long as apartheid reigned " . In 1959 the Dutch representative to the UN abstained from voting for an anti-apartheid resolution , apartheid being regarded " an internal affair " of South Africa . In March 1960 , relations between the Netherlands and South Africa became tense after the Sharpeville massacre when South African police shot and killed 69 people . In 1961 , the Netherlands was the only Western country to vote in favor of an anti-apartheid resolution in the UN . Soon , Dutch anti-apartheid movements called the " Anti-Apartheid Beweging Nederland " ( AABN ) , and " Kommittee Zuidelijk Afrika " ( KZA ) ( both later merged and converted themselves into the " Nederlands Instituut voor Zuidelijk Afrika " ( NIZA ) ) began staging demonstrations and obtaining signatures to protest against the South African government in the Netherlands . Further events in South Africa led the Dutch government to take more drastic measures such as requesting that all Dutch companies stop dealing with South Africa ( however , Shell continued to operate in South Africa ) . In 1983 , the Dutch government imposed visa requirements to South African nationals visiting the Netherlands . In February 1990 , Nelson Mandela was released from prison after serving 27 years . In June 1990 , Nelson Mandela paid his first visit to the Netherlands . In October 1990 , South African President F. W. de Klerk paid a visit to the Netherlands . Apartheid legislation was abolished in mid-1991 and on 27 April 1994 , South Africa held its first fully democratic election and Nelson Mandela was elected as President
Sharpeville massacre
Sharpeville massacre
Netherlands–South Africa relations