This report by the Commission examines key developments around civil and political rights (CPR) in South Africa during 2016/2017 arising from its monitoring and complaints about violations to civil and political rights. The Commission’s findings on the implementation of the rights in South Africa relate closely to legislation and policy.

The Commission’s report canvasses issues which came to the fore in South Africa between 2015 and 2016 relating to, use of excessive force during protests; hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people and foreign nationals; hate speech; political violence related to the local government elections; and the heavy-handed policing of Fees Must Fall student protests.

The report assesses each of these matters and makes findings and recommendations for the strengthening of protections of basic rights and reforms required for their strengthening.

The tragic deaths of 94 mentally ill patients who were moved from the Life Healthcare Esidimeni facility to hospitals and NGOs is also given some attention. While the Commission is proceeding with a national hearing to consider the rights of mental health care users later this year, it made specific recommendations to the South African government in the report on civil and political rights. In particular, the Commission called on the South African government to ensure that all parties involved in implementing the recommendations in the Health Ombud’s report on the Life Esidimeni deaths are adequately resourced and capacitated to do so, including the SAHRC.

Another issue of continuing public interest, is the Prevention and Combatting of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill. The Commission found that the bill should deal only with the issue of hate crimes and that the inclusion and expanded definition of hate speech in the Bill should be reconsidered. The Commission is of the view, in line with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the criminalisation of hate speech should be reserved only for serious cases, to be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

During 2016, perhaps the most visible of public protests were the Fees Must Fall student protests on university campuses across the country. The South African Police Service (SAPS) engagements in dealing with the protests were reportedly heavy-handed. In its report, the Commission condemned instances of police heavy-handedness in dealing with protests as well as destructive protest-related action undertaken by students in some instances. More detailed findings and recommendations impacting on transformation at public universities were released by the Commission in its report of 2016, after its hearing on Transformation at Public Universities in South Africa. The Commission’s recommendations have been communicated to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), universities and other stakeholders, aimed at addressing historical inequalities and accelerating substantive transformation in the higher education sector.

The report covers these and a number of other civil political rights and aims to provide an overview of South Africa’s observance of human rights in line with international instruments, our Bill of Rights and domestic legislation while seeking to stimulate public discourse on these matters, provide a frame of reference to stakeholders, and highlight the need for rights based reforms for the protection of civil and political rights in the country.

Ends

Issued by the South African Human Rights Commission

Gail Smith – Spokesperson Tel: 0609883792 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Gushwell Brooks – Communications Co-ordinator Tel: 082 645 8573 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.