As part of its constitutional mandate to promote human rights, the SA Human Rights Commission will on Monday, January 26, launch its first ever Human Rights Journal.
Commission Chairperson Mr Jody Kollapan and some of the contributors to this edition are expected to speak at this launch.
Issues covered in this inaugural edition include the question of land reform in South Africa as a right-based matter; the relationship between national security and human rights and how it can enhance human rights culture; the incorporation of the Scorpions into the South African Police Service, and its impact on human rights; the relationship between this country’s constitution and international human rights norms; the relationship between human rights and democracy and human rights education and how it contributes to the reduction of prejudice and the creation of better relations and an appreciation of multiculturalism.
With this publication the Commission hopes to encourage honest, robust and critical reflection on the state of our society, the progress made, and the short-coming and under-achievements for which every member of society must take responsibility.
In addition, through this publication the Commission seeks to identify and critique policy choices that have successful and those less so; to continue setting the debate against the context of the letter and the spirit of the constitution and to ensure that in all that South Africans do- there is commitment to the constitution and its values.
Source: SAHRC
Friday, January 23, 2009
SOUTH AFRICAN JUDICIAL EDUCATION INSTITUTE ACT 14 OF 2008
The purpose of the SOUTH AFRICAN JUDICIAL EDUCATION INSTITUTE ACT 14 OF 2008, is to establish a South African Judicial Education Institute in order to promote the independence, impartiality, dignity, accessibility and effectiveness of the courts by providing judicial education for judicial officers; to provide for the administration and management of the affairs of that Institute and for the regulation of its activities; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
SINCE the need for education and training of judicial officers, whether aspirant, newly appointed or experienced, has long been recognised and that principle is practiced and entrenched in most judicial systems around the world;
AND SINCE there is a need for the education and training of judicial officers in a quest for enhanced service delivery and the rapid transformation of the judiciary;
AND SINCE the law has become much more complex and varied, develops rapidly and is increasingly influenced by the globalisation of legal systems, trade, technology, new insights and challenges;
AND SINCE education and training of judicial officers are necessary to uphold judicial independence, on the one hand, and to facilitate judicial accountability, on the other, and both are indispensable requirements of a judiciary in a functioning democracy;
AND SINCE it is desirable that the education and training of judicial officers should primarily be directed and controlled by the judiciary;
AND SINCE section 180(a) of the Constitution provides that national legislation may provide for training programmes for judicial officers,
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:-
Source: Sabinet
SINCE the need for education and training of judicial officers, whether aspirant, newly appointed or experienced, has long been recognised and that principle is practiced and entrenched in most judicial systems around the world;
AND SINCE there is a need for the education and training of judicial officers in a quest for enhanced service delivery and the rapid transformation of the judiciary;
AND SINCE the law has become much more complex and varied, develops rapidly and is increasingly influenced by the globalisation of legal systems, trade, technology, new insights and challenges;
AND SINCE education and training of judicial officers are necessary to uphold judicial independence, on the one hand, and to facilitate judicial accountability, on the other, and both are indispensable requirements of a judiciary in a functioning democracy;
AND SINCE it is desirable that the education and training of judicial officers should primarily be directed and controlled by the judiciary;
AND SINCE section 180(a) of the Constitution provides that national legislation may provide for training programmes for judicial officers,
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:-
Source: Sabinet
Ex-Gitmo Detainee Joins Al-Qaida in Yemen
A Saudi man released from Guantanamo after spending nearly six years inside the U.S. prison camp is now the No. 2 of Yemen's al-Qaeda branch, according to a purported Internet statement from the terror network. The announcement, made this week on a Web site commonly used by militants, came as President Barack Obama ordered the detention facility closed within a year. Many of the remaining detainees are from Yemen, which has long posed a vexing terrorism problem for the U.S.
The terror group's Yemen branch — known as "al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula" — said the man, identified as Said Ali al-Shihri, returned to his home in Saudi Arabia after his release from Guantanamo about a year ago and from there went to Yemen, which is Osama bin Laden's ancestral home. The Internet statement, which could not immediately be verified, said al-Shihri was the group's second-in-command in Yemen, and his prisoner number at Guantanamo was 372. "He managed to leave the land of the two shrines (Saudi Arabia) and join his brothers in al-Qaida," the statement said.
Documents released by the U.S. Defense Department show that al-Shihri was released from the facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in November 2007 and transferred to his homeland. The documents confirmed his prisoner number was 372. Saudi Arabian authorities wouldn't immediately comment on the statement. A Yemeni counterterrorism official would only say that Saudi Arabia had asked Yemen to turn over a number of wanted Saudi suspects who fled the kingdom last year for Yemen, and a man with the same name was among those wanted. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the press and would not provide more details.
Yemen is a U.S. ally in the fight against terror, but it also has been the site of numerous high-profile, al-Qaida-linked attacks including the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in the Gulf of Aden, which killed 17 American sailors. Yemen's government struggles to maintain order. Many areas of the California-size country are beyond government control and Islamic extremism is strong. Nearly 100 Yemeni detainees remain at Guantanamo, making up the biggest group of prisoners.
Al-Shihri's case highlights the complexity of Obama's decision to shut down the detention center within a year despite the absence of rehabilitation programs for ex-prisoners in some countries, including Yemen. The Pentagon also has said more former ex-detainees appear to be returning to the fight against the U.S. after their release. Rep. Jane Harman, D-California, who heads the House Homeland Security subcommittee on intelligence, said the reports about al-Shihri should not slow the Obama administration's determination to quickly close the prison. "What it tells me is that President Obama has to proceed extremely carefully. But there is really no justification and there was no justification for disappearing people in a place that was located offshore of America so it was outside the reach of U.S. law," she told CBS's "The Early Show."
But Rep. Pete Hoekstra, of Michigan, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, criticized the executive order Obama signed Thursday to close the facility as "very short on specifics." Interviewed on the same program, he said there are indications that as many as 10 percent of the men released from Guantanamo are "back on the battlefield. They are attacking American troops."
The militant Web statement said al-Shihri's identity was revealed during a recent interview with a Yemeni journalist. That journalist, Abdelela Shayie, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Friday that 35-year-old Saudi man had joined the kingdom's rehabilitation program after his release and got married before leaving for Yemen. Shayie said al-Shihri told him that several other former Guantanamo detainees had also come to Yemen to join al-Qaida.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula is an umbrella group of various cells. Its current leader is Yemen's most wanted fugitive Naser Abdel Karim al-Wahishi, who was among 23 al-Qaida figures who escaped from a Yemeni prison in 2006.
Since the prison break, al-Qaida managed to regroup. It set up training camps, has attracted hundreds of young men and launched dozens of bloody attacks against Westerners, government institutions and oil facilities. Most recently, gunmen and two vehicles packed with explosives attacked the U.S. Embassy in Yemen in September, killing 17 people, including six militants. Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attack. According to the Defense Department, al-Shihri was stopped at a Pakistani border crossing in December 2001 with injuries from an airstrike and recuperated at a hospital. Within days of his release, he became one of the first detainees sent to Guantanamo. Al-Shihri allegedly traveled to Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks, provided money to other fighters and trained in urban warfare at a camp north of Kabul, according to a summary of the evidence against him from U.S. military review panels at Guantanamo. He also was accused of meeting extremists in Iran and briefing them on how to enter Afghanistan, according to the documents.
Al-Shihri, however, said he traveled to Iran to buy carpets. He said he felt bin Laden had no business representing Islam, denied any links to terrorism and expressed interest in rejoining his family.
Source: abc
The terror group's Yemen branch — known as "al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula" — said the man, identified as Said Ali al-Shihri, returned to his home in Saudi Arabia after his release from Guantanamo about a year ago and from there went to Yemen, which is Osama bin Laden's ancestral home. The Internet statement, which could not immediately be verified, said al-Shihri was the group's second-in-command in Yemen, and his prisoner number at Guantanamo was 372. "He managed to leave the land of the two shrines (Saudi Arabia) and join his brothers in al-Qaida," the statement said.
Documents released by the U.S. Defense Department show that al-Shihri was released from the facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in November 2007 and transferred to his homeland. The documents confirmed his prisoner number was 372. Saudi Arabian authorities wouldn't immediately comment on the statement. A Yemeni counterterrorism official would only say that Saudi Arabia had asked Yemen to turn over a number of wanted Saudi suspects who fled the kingdom last year for Yemen, and a man with the same name was among those wanted. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the press and would not provide more details.
Yemen is a U.S. ally in the fight against terror, but it also has been the site of numerous high-profile, al-Qaida-linked attacks including the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in the Gulf of Aden, which killed 17 American sailors. Yemen's government struggles to maintain order. Many areas of the California-size country are beyond government control and Islamic extremism is strong. Nearly 100 Yemeni detainees remain at Guantanamo, making up the biggest group of prisoners.
Al-Shihri's case highlights the complexity of Obama's decision to shut down the detention center within a year despite the absence of rehabilitation programs for ex-prisoners in some countries, including Yemen. The Pentagon also has said more former ex-detainees appear to be returning to the fight against the U.S. after their release. Rep. Jane Harman, D-California, who heads the House Homeland Security subcommittee on intelligence, said the reports about al-Shihri should not slow the Obama administration's determination to quickly close the prison. "What it tells me is that President Obama has to proceed extremely carefully. But there is really no justification and there was no justification for disappearing people in a place that was located offshore of America so it was outside the reach of U.S. law," she told CBS's "The Early Show."
But Rep. Pete Hoekstra, of Michigan, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, criticized the executive order Obama signed Thursday to close the facility as "very short on specifics." Interviewed on the same program, he said there are indications that as many as 10 percent of the men released from Guantanamo are "back on the battlefield. They are attacking American troops."
The militant Web statement said al-Shihri's identity was revealed during a recent interview with a Yemeni journalist. That journalist, Abdelela Shayie, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Friday that 35-year-old Saudi man had joined the kingdom's rehabilitation program after his release and got married before leaving for Yemen. Shayie said al-Shihri told him that several other former Guantanamo detainees had also come to Yemen to join al-Qaida.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula is an umbrella group of various cells. Its current leader is Yemen's most wanted fugitive Naser Abdel Karim al-Wahishi, who was among 23 al-Qaida figures who escaped from a Yemeni prison in 2006.
Since the prison break, al-Qaida managed to regroup. It set up training camps, has attracted hundreds of young men and launched dozens of bloody attacks against Westerners, government institutions and oil facilities. Most recently, gunmen and two vehicles packed with explosives attacked the U.S. Embassy in Yemen in September, killing 17 people, including six militants. Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attack. According to the Defense Department, al-Shihri was stopped at a Pakistani border crossing in December 2001 with injuries from an airstrike and recuperated at a hospital. Within days of his release, he became one of the first detainees sent to Guantanamo. Al-Shihri allegedly traveled to Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks, provided money to other fighters and trained in urban warfare at a camp north of Kabul, according to a summary of the evidence against him from U.S. military review panels at Guantanamo. He also was accused of meeting extremists in Iran and briefing them on how to enter Afghanistan, according to the documents.
Al-Shihri, however, said he traveled to Iran to buy carpets. He said he felt bin Laden had no business representing Islam, denied any links to terrorism and expressed interest in rejoining his family.
Source: abc
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Pikoli: It began with Kebble
Vusi Pikoli told MPs on Tuesday that he was fired for doing his job in prosecuting police commissioner Jackie Selebi and accused the executive of interfering in the case.
"This was the reason for my suspension," the former head of the National Prosecuting Authority told parliament's ad hoc committee reviewing President Kgalema Motlanthe's decision in December to fire him. "The murder of Brett Kebble is when Selebi's name came up. If it had not been for the matter of Kebble I would not have this problem I am having today," he said, referring to the businessman's murder that prompted the Selebi investigation for corruption.
Pikoli said he came under pressure from former justice minister Brigitte Mabandla to drop the case, but refused because it would have been unconstitutional to do so. "Because I refused to obey an unlawful instruction I was suspended."
Pikoli said former president Thabo Mbeki's complaint that he had jeopardised national security by not agreeing to wait a requested two weeks to arrest Selebi was a smokescreen. "National security should not be used as an excuse to avoid a criminal investigation where there is evidence of a criminal offence. "I would see it the other way round: Public interest would demand that I investigate this person."
Pikoli was cleared late last year by the Ginwala Enquiry, which found he was fit to hold office and recommended that he was reinstated.
source: News 24.com
"This was the reason for my suspension," the former head of the National Prosecuting Authority told parliament's ad hoc committee reviewing President Kgalema Motlanthe's decision in December to fire him. "The murder of Brett Kebble is when Selebi's name came up. If it had not been for the matter of Kebble I would not have this problem I am having today," he said, referring to the businessman's murder that prompted the Selebi investigation for corruption.
Pikoli said he came under pressure from former justice minister Brigitte Mabandla to drop the case, but refused because it would have been unconstitutional to do so. "Because I refused to obey an unlawful instruction I was suspended."
Pikoli said former president Thabo Mbeki's complaint that he had jeopardised national security by not agreeing to wait a requested two weeks to arrest Selebi was a smokescreen. "National security should not be used as an excuse to avoid a criminal investigation where there is evidence of a criminal offence. "I would see it the other way round: Public interest would demand that I investigate this person."
Pikoli was cleared late last year by the Ginwala Enquiry, which found he was fit to hold office and recommended that he was reinstated.
source: News 24.com
Anxious wait
Around £1.5bn a year in research funding is at stake as officials at the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) work out what money will follow December's research assessment exercise (RAE). The national project to judge the quality of British research revealed a much wider spread of top researchers than before. With over half the research (54%) submitted in 2008 deemed to be either world-leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*) - and found in 150 of 159 universities - the funding that follows will inevitably be more thinly spread.
Vice-chancellors of big, research-intensive universities are particularly worried. The Russell group claims that without continued "selectivity" - at the moment 29 universities receive 82% of Hefce's research funding - world-class universities with the capacity to compete globally will be jeopardised.
But vice-chancellors who have met with the higher education minister, David Lammy, suggest he is less interested in hearing about research funding than what universities can do to help the country out of recession.
"Ministers understand the importance of research selectivity and concentration and having world-class universities, particularly as a mechanism to accelerate out of the bottom end of the recession and gain advantage. But whether that will translate through, we don't know," says Professor Michael Arthur, vice-chancellor of the University of Leeds. "Other VCs are saying this is classic Russell group protectionism, but take it to its extreme and you end up with lots of universities in the middle and nobody at world-class level. That would be bad for the country.
mperial College London was rated one of the top universities in the UK, with most of its research deemed to be of the highest quality. But funding predictions suggest it could be one of the biggest losers, mainly because its medical school did not do as well as last time round.
Michelle Coupland, Imperial's strategy and planning, RAE project director, says: "The college is proud to have the greatest concentration, at 73%, of research assessed as world-leading and internationally excellent and this must be rewarded in the funding that results. It is no accident that the UK is home to four universities regarded as among the global top 10. The world's most pressing problems can be solved by these top universities, since they have recognised strengths across a broad range of disciplines.
"These universities have demonstrated consistent excellence in successive exercises and investment in them will thus enable the UK to maintain a globally competitive edge."
Soure: The Guardian
Vice-chancellors of big, research-intensive universities are particularly worried. The Russell group claims that without continued "selectivity" - at the moment 29 universities receive 82% of Hefce's research funding - world-class universities with the capacity to compete globally will be jeopardised.
But vice-chancellors who have met with the higher education minister, David Lammy, suggest he is less interested in hearing about research funding than what universities can do to help the country out of recession.
"Ministers understand the importance of research selectivity and concentration and having world-class universities, particularly as a mechanism to accelerate out of the bottom end of the recession and gain advantage. But whether that will translate through, we don't know," says Professor Michael Arthur, vice-chancellor of the University of Leeds. "Other VCs are saying this is classic Russell group protectionism, but take it to its extreme and you end up with lots of universities in the middle and nobody at world-class level. That would be bad for the country.
mperial College London was rated one of the top universities in the UK, with most of its research deemed to be of the highest quality. But funding predictions suggest it could be one of the biggest losers, mainly because its medical school did not do as well as last time round.
Michelle Coupland, Imperial's strategy and planning, RAE project director, says: "The college is proud to have the greatest concentration, at 73%, of research assessed as world-leading and internationally excellent and this must be rewarded in the funding that results. It is no accident that the UK is home to four universities regarded as among the global top 10. The world's most pressing problems can be solved by these top universities, since they have recognised strengths across a broad range of disciplines.
"These universities have demonstrated consistent excellence in successive exercises and investment in them will thus enable the UK to maintain a globally competitive edge."
Soure: The Guardian
Monday, January 19, 2009
2009 World Report: Obama Should Emphasize Human Rights
The incoming Obama administration will need to put human rights at the heart of foreign, domestic, and security policy if it is to undo the enormous damage of the Bush years, Human Rights Watch said today in issuing its World Report 2009.
The report documents ongoing human rights abuses by states and non-state armed groups across the globe, including attacks on civilians in conflicts in Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Georgia, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Sudan, and political repression in countries such as Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe. It also highlights violations by governments trying to curb terrorism, including in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The report also addresses abuses against women, children, refugees, workers, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, among others.
The introductory essay by Roth outlines steps the United States and other governments that purport to support human rights should take if they want to reclaim the initiative for human rights from the "spoiler" nations that today so aggressively and effectively oppose them.
Source: Human Rights Watch
The report documents ongoing human rights abuses by states and non-state armed groups across the globe, including attacks on civilians in conflicts in Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Georgia, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Sudan, and political repression in countries such as Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe. It also highlights violations by governments trying to curb terrorism, including in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The report also addresses abuses against women, children, refugees, workers, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, among others.
The introductory essay by Roth outlines steps the United States and other governments that purport to support human rights should take if they want to reclaim the initiative for human rights from the "spoiler" nations that today so aggressively and effectively oppose them.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Hoax e-mail accused acquitted
Former spy boss Billy Masetlha and his two co-accused in the hoax email saga were acquitted of the charges against them on Thursday. Masetlha's advocate Neil Tuchten said the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court acquitted his client and his two co-accused after the state closed its case. "The state closed its case. It concluded that there was no case. We immediately applied for a discharge," said Tuchten.
Masetlha, IT expert Muziwendoda Kunene and former National Intelligence Agency manager for electronic surveillance. Funokwakhe Madlala were facing four charges relating to hoax emails implicating senior ANC members in a conspiracy against Jacob Zuma, the ANC's then deputy president. The matter was scheduled to be heard next week, however, the date was brought forward. "The court brought the matter forward for the convenience of the parties," said Tuchten adding that his client had been vindicated.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Masetlha, IT expert Muziwendoda Kunene and former National Intelligence Agency manager for electronic surveillance. Funokwakhe Madlala were facing four charges relating to hoax emails implicating senior ANC members in a conspiracy against Jacob Zuma, the ANC's then deputy president. The matter was scheduled to be heard next week, however, the date was brought forward. "The court brought the matter forward for the convenience of the parties," said Tuchten adding that his client had been vindicated.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
South Africa Wolrd Human Rights Report: Events of 2008
Poverty, unemployment, gender-based and xenophobic violence, and crime remain significant barriers to the enjoyment of human rights; the government's commitment to address them is inadequate. Vulnerable groups and NGOs are increasingly using the courts to establish the principle of progressive realization of socioeconomic rights as stipulated in the constitution.
In September 2008 leadership battles within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) resulted in the early resignation of President Thabo Mbeki after a court finding of judicial interference. ANC Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe took over until the 2009 elections. Judicial independence has been re-emphasized by the courts, the government, and civil society in the face of public attacks, disparaging judges, and scandals involving the conduct of individual judges. Incidents of police violence are reported to be increasing.
South Africa failed to utilize its non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council to support resolutions or initiatives that would help protect the rights of people in various countries, most notably Sudan and Zimbabwe.
Xenophobic Attacks on Foreign Nationals
In May 2008 xenophobic violence broke out in Alexandra, Johannesburg, and rapidly spread to seven of South Africa's nine provinces, resulting in 62 deaths, including 21 South Africans, 11 Mozambicans, five Zimbabweans and three Somalis; thousands were injured. Some 40,000 foreign nationals left the country and a further 50,000 remain internally displaced.
The attacks are indicative of growing xenophobia in South Africa, where isolated incidents of violence against foreign nationals have been documented since the mid-1990s. Intolerance of migrants partly provoked by competition for resources and by increasing numbers of migrants, particularly from Zimbabwe, has created a volatile situation in poor communities, with foreign nationals becoming easy targets. Although over 1,000 people were arrested after the violence, there were fewer convictions. The climate of impunity for those responsible allowed the situation to escalate. Humanitarian measures were also inadequate. Temporary shelters constructed in June 2008 did not meet international standards, and there was insufficient clean water, food, and sanitation, and inadequate healthcare. Lack of protection for women and children resulted in incidents of sexual violence. Despite a pending Constitutional Court judgment, the Gauteng provincial government dismantled temporary shelters, leaving hundreds of people without shelter, water, food, and sanitation.
The government has yet to address longer-term issues of reintegration, resettlement, or xenophobic intolerance in local communities. While many victims of the May attacks have returned to communities from which they fled, some have experienced new attacks, with over 30 deaths being reported between June and November 2008. As a result, many are seeking greater assurances for their own safety before leaving government shelters.
Refugees and Migrants
The government opened a reception centre in Musina, near the Zimbabwean border, in response to increased migration from Zimbabwe and growing criticism from civil society organizations. However, deportation and status determination processes conducted by immigration officials and police who are insufficiently trained in basic refugee law and related procedures continue to thwart refugees' efforts to seek asylum. Tens of thousands of Zimbabwean nationals with valid refugee claims on the basis of fleeing Operation Murambatsvina or other well-founded fears of political persecution were refouled.
South Africa's reform of the Department of Home Affairs has yet to have impact on the procedural obstacles and administrative delays that plague refugee status determination. Asylum seekers remain subject to long queues in filthy conditions, face status determination officers ill-equipped to make fair decisions, and struggle to access assistance for appeals because of limited resources within the Legal Aid Board.
Excessive Use of Force by the Police
In 2008 South Africa saw a 13 percent increase in the number of deaths as a result of police action and an eight percent increase in complaints against police. A January police raid on the Johannesburg Central Methodist Church saw the use of pepper spray and batons against 1,200 sleeping foreign nationals, including women and children seeking shelter. Some were refugees and asylum seekers. The police said they were looking for drugs, firearms, and "illegal immigrants."
The indiscriminate use of rubber bullets and other non-lethal weapons during public protests-from student protests to service delivery protests-and the number of resulting injuries call into question policing methods used during public demonstrations. During an authorized service delivery protest in Sydenham, Durban, in September 2007, police used water cannon, stun grenades and fired rubber bullets without adequate warning; six protesters required hospitalization. Rubber bullets and assaults using batons during protests injured eight people in Orange Farm in May 2008, 16 refugees in the Western Cape in July and another 18 people in Orange Farm in September. South African law clearly limits the use of weapons likely to cause bodily injury or death to situations where other methods have failed, and requires the use of proportionate force. In many reported incidents, the police failed to give adequate warning and did not try other methods to disperse demonstrations.
Socioeconomic Rights
Delivery on health rights remains inadequate, with progress being won through civil society litigation. In May 2008 the High Court ruled that the health classification policy of the South African Defence Forces was unconstitutional, ordering it to halt discrimination on the grounds of HIV status and to change policy that precluded members from external deployment because of HIV status. The increasing incidence of drug-resistant and multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis has raised concerns about the delivery of effective TB therapy and infection-control practices in South African hospitals, the confinement of patients, the conditions of confinement, and patient access to treatment.
Despite the South African government's "Breaking New Ground" housing policy, which includes development of socially inclusive housing projects, an informal settlement upgrading program, and provision of infrastructure and services for low-income communities, more than 14 percent of South Africans continue to live in inadequate housing; while over 20 percent do not have access to basic services. During his visit to South Africa in February 2008, the UN special rapporteur on adequate housing commented that living conditions in South Africa's informal settlements fall short of safe and sustainable conditions.
In April the Phiri community affirmed the right to adequate water for poor communities when it won its High Court case against the City of Johannesburg. The landmark ruling ordered the City to provide residents of Phiri with 50 liters of free water per person per day, noting that the current daily allocation of 25 liters of free water per person was insufficient, particularly for people suffering from HIV/AIDS. The City of Johannesburg halted installations of pre-paid water meters while it appealed the High Court decision.
Women's Rights
Violence against women, including rape and domestic violence, remained unacceptably high. The so-called Sexual Offences Act-officially titled the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, No. 32 of 2007-finally came into effect on December 16, 2007. It amends the common law definition of rape to include men and boys and no longer focuses only on penetrative offenses. It provides additional protective measures for child victims of sexual offenses and adults with mental disabilities.
Children's Rights
The Children's Act became law in April 2008 and offers increased protection for children and the promotion of children's rights. The Child Justice Act passed in June established a separate criminal justice procedural system for child offenders. It also increased the minimum age of criminal capacity from seven to 10 years, but allows for mandatory minimum sentences-including life sentences for offenses such as murder and the rape of a minor-to be applicable to children ages 16 and 17 years. This is despite constitutional provisions that children should be detained only as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, and despite the call by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for life imprisonment of child offenders to be abolished.
Around 122,000 children live in child-headed households, making them particularly vulnerable to discrimination, ostracism, social exclusion, and sexual exploitation. Unaccompanied refugee and asylum-seeking children face obstacles and delays in accessing the courts to formalize their status, resulting in informal foster placements and delays in accessing social welfare.
International Role
South Africa ended its two-year period as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in December 2008. South Africa opposed or declined to support resolutions for victims of human rights violations in Sudan, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Burma, Iran, Zimbabwe, and North Korea. Together with Libya, South Africa played a leading role in seeking to make renewal of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur, conditional on a Security Council intervention to rein in the International Criminal Court, by ordering it not to proceed with the requested arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir. The South African move, which would have been damaging to the court, was ultimately defeated. South Africa was a strong supporter of the court when it was founded. South Africa was reviewed under the Universal Periodic Review mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council in April, but did not make clear its commitments during the process.
South Africa's former president Mbeki continued as the Southern African Development Community mediator in Zimbabwe throughout the year but failed to confront the major election-related human rights violations committed by the Zimbabwean government.
Source: Human Rights Watch
In September 2008 leadership battles within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) resulted in the early resignation of President Thabo Mbeki after a court finding of judicial interference. ANC Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe took over until the 2009 elections. Judicial independence has been re-emphasized by the courts, the government, and civil society in the face of public attacks, disparaging judges, and scandals involving the conduct of individual judges. Incidents of police violence are reported to be increasing.
South Africa failed to utilize its non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council to support resolutions or initiatives that would help protect the rights of people in various countries, most notably Sudan and Zimbabwe.
Xenophobic Attacks on Foreign Nationals
In May 2008 xenophobic violence broke out in Alexandra, Johannesburg, and rapidly spread to seven of South Africa's nine provinces, resulting in 62 deaths, including 21 South Africans, 11 Mozambicans, five Zimbabweans and three Somalis; thousands were injured. Some 40,000 foreign nationals left the country and a further 50,000 remain internally displaced.
The attacks are indicative of growing xenophobia in South Africa, where isolated incidents of violence against foreign nationals have been documented since the mid-1990s. Intolerance of migrants partly provoked by competition for resources and by increasing numbers of migrants, particularly from Zimbabwe, has created a volatile situation in poor communities, with foreign nationals becoming easy targets. Although over 1,000 people were arrested after the violence, there were fewer convictions. The climate of impunity for those responsible allowed the situation to escalate. Humanitarian measures were also inadequate. Temporary shelters constructed in June 2008 did not meet international standards, and there was insufficient clean water, food, and sanitation, and inadequate healthcare. Lack of protection for women and children resulted in incidents of sexual violence. Despite a pending Constitutional Court judgment, the Gauteng provincial government dismantled temporary shelters, leaving hundreds of people without shelter, water, food, and sanitation.
The government has yet to address longer-term issues of reintegration, resettlement, or xenophobic intolerance in local communities. While many victims of the May attacks have returned to communities from which they fled, some have experienced new attacks, with over 30 deaths being reported between June and November 2008. As a result, many are seeking greater assurances for their own safety before leaving government shelters.
Refugees and Migrants
The government opened a reception centre in Musina, near the Zimbabwean border, in response to increased migration from Zimbabwe and growing criticism from civil society organizations. However, deportation and status determination processes conducted by immigration officials and police who are insufficiently trained in basic refugee law and related procedures continue to thwart refugees' efforts to seek asylum. Tens of thousands of Zimbabwean nationals with valid refugee claims on the basis of fleeing Operation Murambatsvina or other well-founded fears of political persecution were refouled.
South Africa's reform of the Department of Home Affairs has yet to have impact on the procedural obstacles and administrative delays that plague refugee status determination. Asylum seekers remain subject to long queues in filthy conditions, face status determination officers ill-equipped to make fair decisions, and struggle to access assistance for appeals because of limited resources within the Legal Aid Board.
Excessive Use of Force by the Police
In 2008 South Africa saw a 13 percent increase in the number of deaths as a result of police action and an eight percent increase in complaints against police. A January police raid on the Johannesburg Central Methodist Church saw the use of pepper spray and batons against 1,200 sleeping foreign nationals, including women and children seeking shelter. Some were refugees and asylum seekers. The police said they were looking for drugs, firearms, and "illegal immigrants."
The indiscriminate use of rubber bullets and other non-lethal weapons during public protests-from student protests to service delivery protests-and the number of resulting injuries call into question policing methods used during public demonstrations. During an authorized service delivery protest in Sydenham, Durban, in September 2007, police used water cannon, stun grenades and fired rubber bullets without adequate warning; six protesters required hospitalization. Rubber bullets and assaults using batons during protests injured eight people in Orange Farm in May 2008, 16 refugees in the Western Cape in July and another 18 people in Orange Farm in September. South African law clearly limits the use of weapons likely to cause bodily injury or death to situations where other methods have failed, and requires the use of proportionate force. In many reported incidents, the police failed to give adequate warning and did not try other methods to disperse demonstrations.
Socioeconomic Rights
Delivery on health rights remains inadequate, with progress being won through civil society litigation. In May 2008 the High Court ruled that the health classification policy of the South African Defence Forces was unconstitutional, ordering it to halt discrimination on the grounds of HIV status and to change policy that precluded members from external deployment because of HIV status. The increasing incidence of drug-resistant and multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis has raised concerns about the delivery of effective TB therapy and infection-control practices in South African hospitals, the confinement of patients, the conditions of confinement, and patient access to treatment.
Despite the South African government's "Breaking New Ground" housing policy, which includes development of socially inclusive housing projects, an informal settlement upgrading program, and provision of infrastructure and services for low-income communities, more than 14 percent of South Africans continue to live in inadequate housing; while over 20 percent do not have access to basic services. During his visit to South Africa in February 2008, the UN special rapporteur on adequate housing commented that living conditions in South Africa's informal settlements fall short of safe and sustainable conditions.
In April the Phiri community affirmed the right to adequate water for poor communities when it won its High Court case against the City of Johannesburg. The landmark ruling ordered the City to provide residents of Phiri with 50 liters of free water per person per day, noting that the current daily allocation of 25 liters of free water per person was insufficient, particularly for people suffering from HIV/AIDS. The City of Johannesburg halted installations of pre-paid water meters while it appealed the High Court decision.
Women's Rights
Violence against women, including rape and domestic violence, remained unacceptably high. The so-called Sexual Offences Act-officially titled the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, No. 32 of 2007-finally came into effect on December 16, 2007. It amends the common law definition of rape to include men and boys and no longer focuses only on penetrative offenses. It provides additional protective measures for child victims of sexual offenses and adults with mental disabilities.
Children's Rights
The Children's Act became law in April 2008 and offers increased protection for children and the promotion of children's rights. The Child Justice Act passed in June established a separate criminal justice procedural system for child offenders. It also increased the minimum age of criminal capacity from seven to 10 years, but allows for mandatory minimum sentences-including life sentences for offenses such as murder and the rape of a minor-to be applicable to children ages 16 and 17 years. This is despite constitutional provisions that children should be detained only as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, and despite the call by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for life imprisonment of child offenders to be abolished.
Around 122,000 children live in child-headed households, making them particularly vulnerable to discrimination, ostracism, social exclusion, and sexual exploitation. Unaccompanied refugee and asylum-seeking children face obstacles and delays in accessing the courts to formalize their status, resulting in informal foster placements and delays in accessing social welfare.
International Role
South Africa ended its two-year period as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in December 2008. South Africa opposed or declined to support resolutions for victims of human rights violations in Sudan, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Burma, Iran, Zimbabwe, and North Korea. Together with Libya, South Africa played a leading role in seeking to make renewal of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur, conditional on a Security Council intervention to rein in the International Criminal Court, by ordering it not to proceed with the requested arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir. The South African move, which would have been damaging to the court, was ultimately defeated. South Africa was a strong supporter of the court when it was founded. South Africa was reviewed under the Universal Periodic Review mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council in April, but did not make clear its commitments during the process.
South Africa's former president Mbeki continued as the Southern African Development Community mediator in Zimbabwe throughout the year but failed to confront the major election-related human rights violations committed by the Zimbabwean government.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Pregs Govender as a commissioner for SA Human Rights
The SA Human Rights Commission is pleased to announce that President Kgalema Motlanthe has appointed Ms Pregs Govender as a full-time Commissioner for a period of seven years.
The Commission welcomes her appointment and believes that with her extensive experience and principled work in the advancement of the rights of the downtrodden and marginalized. Ms Govender will make a valuable contribution to the achievement of the mandate of the SA Human Rights Commission.
Ms Govender will be based at the Cape Town Office of the Commission.
Source: SAHRC
The Commission welcomes her appointment and believes that with her extensive experience and principled work in the advancement of the rights of the downtrodden and marginalized. Ms Govender will make a valuable contribution to the achievement of the mandate of the SA Human Rights Commission.
Ms Govender will be based at the Cape Town Office of the Commission.
Source: SAHRC
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Notes on the political and economic crisis of the world capitalist system
The conditions that prevail as humanity enters 2009 cruelly refute the illusions of a new epoch of peace and prosperity that thrived at the dawn of the new millennium. The entire world is engulfed in an economic crisis that is rapidly assuming the dimensions of a historic catastrophe.
Amidst the mounting economic disarray, the conduct of the imperialist powers assumes an openly criminal character. Israeli bombs and artillery rain down on the defenseless people of Gaza, recalling the fascist atrocities of Guernica and the Warsaw Ghetto. American imperialism, itself implicated in the slaughter of countless thousands of Iraqis and Afghans, gives its wholehearted approval to the crimes of the Israeli regime.
The poet Auden’s characterization of the 1930s as a “low and dishonest” decade applies no less aptly to the first decade of the 21st century. And yet, the loss of political illusions is an essential prerequisite for the acquisition of knowledge. The experience of the initial years of the new century refutes the fatuous claims that history (i.e., class struggle against capitalism and imperialism) has ended. Rather, it is becoming increasingly clear that the working class, in the United States and internationally, is entering a new epoch of revolutionary struggles.
Source: International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI)
Amidst the mounting economic disarray, the conduct of the imperialist powers assumes an openly criminal character. Israeli bombs and artillery rain down on the defenseless people of Gaza, recalling the fascist atrocities of Guernica and the Warsaw Ghetto. American imperialism, itself implicated in the slaughter of countless thousands of Iraqis and Afghans, gives its wholehearted approval to the crimes of the Israeli regime.
The poet Auden’s characterization of the 1930s as a “low and dishonest” decade applies no less aptly to the first decade of the 21st century. And yet, the loss of political illusions is an essential prerequisite for the acquisition of knowledge. The experience of the initial years of the new century refutes the fatuous claims that history (i.e., class struggle against capitalism and imperialism) has ended. Rather, it is becoming increasingly clear that the working class, in the United States and internationally, is entering a new epoch of revolutionary struggles.
Source: International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Together building safer communities
Before 1994, the function of the criminal justice system was to defend apartheid. Since the dawn of democracy, its role has been transformed to protect and serve all South Africans.
Working together, we have made progress in a number of areas. We have reduced political violence and achieved a stable society. We have made important strides against organised crime, dismantling 730 drug laboratories and neutralising over 700 criminal syndicates. We have seen a steady reduction in levels of most serious crimes.
But there is still a lot that needs to be done. Many South Africans still live in fear of crime. Levels of violence and property crimes remain unacceptably high. Women and children are still vulnerable to abuse. Corruption is still prevalent across the public and private sectors.
While there has been gradual progress, we now need decisive action against crime and corruption. We need to build on what has already been done, but to intensify our efforts on all fronts.
The ANC has a clear plan to tackle crime and corruption, which will:
* establish a new modernised, efficient and transformed criminal justice system to enhance crime fighting capacity and improve coordination among the police, judiciary and correctional services;
* increase the capacity of the SAPS through recruitment, rigorous training, better remuneration, equipping and increasing the capacity of especially the detective services and forensics;
* establish and strengthen the new unit to fight organised crime, which was formed following the incorporation of the Scorpions into the SAPS;
* strengthen the fight against gender-related violence by increasing the capacity of the criminal justice system to deal with such violence;
* mobilise communities to participate in combating crime through establishing street committees and community courts;
* step up measures in the fight against corruption within the state and private sector, including measures to review the tendering system to ensure politicians do not take part in the adjudication of tenders.
The challenge of crime and corruption will not be overcome unless all South Africans work in partnership to tackle both crime and the causes of crime.
Working together we can do more.
Source: ANC
Working together, we have made progress in a number of areas. We have reduced political violence and achieved a stable society. We have made important strides against organised crime, dismantling 730 drug laboratories and neutralising over 700 criminal syndicates. We have seen a steady reduction in levels of most serious crimes.
But there is still a lot that needs to be done. Many South Africans still live in fear of crime. Levels of violence and property crimes remain unacceptably high. Women and children are still vulnerable to abuse. Corruption is still prevalent across the public and private sectors.
While there has been gradual progress, we now need decisive action against crime and corruption. We need to build on what has already been done, but to intensify our efforts on all fronts.
The ANC has a clear plan to tackle crime and corruption, which will:
* establish a new modernised, efficient and transformed criminal justice system to enhance crime fighting capacity and improve coordination among the police, judiciary and correctional services;
* increase the capacity of the SAPS through recruitment, rigorous training, better remuneration, equipping and increasing the capacity of especially the detective services and forensics;
* establish and strengthen the new unit to fight organised crime, which was formed following the incorporation of the Scorpions into the SAPS;
* strengthen the fight against gender-related violence by increasing the capacity of the criminal justice system to deal with such violence;
* mobilise communities to participate in combating crime through establishing street committees and community courts;
* step up measures in the fight against corruption within the state and private sector, including measures to review the tendering system to ensure politicians do not take part in the adjudication of tenders.
The challenge of crime and corruption will not be overcome unless all South Africans work in partnership to tackle both crime and the causes of crime.
Working together we can do more.
Source: ANC
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Six VIP Unit members under investigation for murder
South Africa's security ministry said on Thursday it was investigating six members of an elite protection unit for murder or attempted murder, a new embarrassment for police accused of graft and incompetence.
Safety and Security Ministry spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi said the investigations of members of the VIP protection force were being treated very seriously, but none of the accused were in custody and no charges had been brought.
Three are accused of murder and three of attempted murder.
Mulaudzi said 40 other officers were under investigation for offences ranging from assault to reckless driving. The force protects South Africa's president and other VIPs. Its two branches have a total strength of just over 3,300.
"We are very much concerned that members of an elite unit are involved in serious crimes," Mulaudzi said, pointing out that the accusations were from a period of four years.
"Equally so, we are happy that the same members were (caught) by their own colleagues, which is indicative of the zero tolerance that the SAPS (South African Police Service) boasts to rid itself of its bad elements," he said.
Source: Politicsweb
Safety and Security Ministry spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi said the investigations of members of the VIP protection force were being treated very seriously, but none of the accused were in custody and no charges had been brought.
Three are accused of murder and three of attempted murder.
Mulaudzi said 40 other officers were under investigation for offences ranging from assault to reckless driving. The force protects South Africa's president and other VIPs. Its two branches have a total strength of just over 3,300.
"We are very much concerned that members of an elite unit are involved in serious crimes," Mulaudzi said, pointing out that the accusations were from a period of four years.
"Equally so, we are happy that the same members were (caught) by their own colleagues, which is indicative of the zero tolerance that the SAPS (South African Police Service) boasts to rid itself of its bad elements," he said.
Source: Politicsweb
Friday, January 2, 2009
Global Warming Causes Severe Storms
Research Meteorologists found that the temperature changes brought on by global warming are significant enough to cause an increase in the occurrence of severe storms. Severe storms are those that cause flooding, have damaging winds, hail and could cause tornados. Their study revealed that by the end of this century, the number of days that favor severe storms could more than double certain locations, such as Atlanta and New York.
Researchers also found that this increase would occur during typical stormy seasons and not during dry seasons when it may be beneficial.
Source: Science Daily
Researchers also found that this increase would occur during typical stormy seasons and not during dry seasons when it may be beneficial.
Source: Science Daily
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