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Human Rights Commission to police: Stop using excessive force
29 June 2017
The South African Human Rights Commission is calling on the Police Minister to ensure that officers don't use excessive force during student protests.
The South African Human Rights Commission is calling on the Police Minister to ensure that officers don't use excessive force during student protests.
The Commission released its Civil and Political Rights Report for 2016/2017 in Johannesburg yesterday.
It condemned reported instances of alleged police heavy-handedness in dealing with protesters.
Several institutions in KwaZulu-Natal were forced to close their doors last year due to violent student protests.
The commission's Fola Adeleke says the Police Ministry should look at non-violent measures, officers must adhere to, when monitoring crowds.
"The disproportionate use of force by law enforcement in the context of protests in South Africa needs to be halted and that public order policing needs to be improved," he said.
In the past two years, the Fees Must Fall campaign, focused much attention on the conduct of police when dealing with large crowds.
Various university campuses saw large groups of students protest, demanding the scrapping of fees.
During those protests, many complained about the police’s conduct and their use of force.
Source: East Coast Radio
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The Human Rights Commission is the national institution established to support constitutional democracy. It is committed to promote respect for, observance of and protection of human rights for everyone without fear or favour.
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