“We Know Our Lives Are in Danger” Environment of Fear in South Africa’S Mining-Affected Communities
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“We Know Our Lives Are in Danger” Environment of Fear in South Africa’s Mining-Affected Communities HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH “We Know Our Lives are in Danger” Environment of Fear in South Africa’s Mining-Affected Communities Copyright © 2019 groundWork, Centre for Environmental Rights, Human Rights Watch, Earthjustice All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 9781623137274 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez groundWork is a non-profit environmental justice service and developmental organization working primarily in Southern Africa in the areas of Climate & Energy Justice, Coal, Environmental Health, Global Green and Healthy Hospitals, and Waste. groundWork is the South African member of Health Care Without Harm and Friends of the Earth International. For more information: http://www.groundwork.org.za/ Centre for Environmental Rights is a non-profit organization and law clinic based in Cape Town, South Africa. They are activist lawyers who help communities and civil society organizations in South Africa realize their Constitutional right to a healthy environment by advocating and litigating for environmental justice. For more information: https://cer.org.za/ Founded in 1971, Earthjustice fights for the right of all people to a healthy environment. As the largest nonprofit environmental law organization in the United States, Earthjustice uses the power of the law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health, preserve magnificent places and wildlife, advance clean energy, and combat climate change. We partner with thousands of groups and individuals in the United States and internationally to take on the critical environmental issues of our time. For more information: www.earthjustice.org Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. We have staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information: http://www.hrw.org April 2019 ISBN: 9781623137274 “We Know Our Lives Are in Danger” Environment of Fear in South Africa’s Mining-Affected Communities Map .................................................................................................................................... i Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1 Killings, Attacks, Threats, and Harassment in Mining-Affected Communities ............................ 2 Extra-Legal Restrictions on Protest in Mining-Affected Communities .......................................... 3 Police Crackdown on Protest .....................................................................................................4 Use of Courts and Social Media Campaigns by Non-State Actors to Harass Activists ..............................4 Environment of Fear ..................................................................................................................4 South Africa’s Obligation to Protect the Rights of Mining-Affected Communities ................................... 5 Recommendations .............................................................................................................. 6 To all National Government Agencies, including the Office of the President .............................. 6 To the Department of Police, including the National and Provincial Commissioners ............................. 6 To the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) ......................................................... 7 To the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (“Hawks”) .................................................... 7 To the Department of Justice ..................................................................................................... 7 To the National Prosecuting Authority ...................................................................................... 8 To the Departments of Mineral Resources, Environmental Affairs, and Energy ........................... 8 To the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs ...................................... 9 To the Municipalities and the South African Local Government Association .............................. 9 To the Parliament, including the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources, the Portfolio Committee on Energy, the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs, and the Portfolio Committee on Justice ............................................................................................................... 9 To the South African Human Rights Commission ...................................................................... 9 To Mining Companies in South Africa and the Minerals Council South Africa ........................... 10 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 11 Background .......................................................................................................................14 The Environmental, Health, and Social Costs of Mining in South Africa .................................... 14 Labour Issues................................................................................................................... 15 Environmental and Health Harms from Mining .................................................................. 15 Threats to Existing Land Use ............................................................................................. 19 Role of Traditional Authorities Related to Mining............................................................... 21 Lack of Benefits to Communities ...................................................................................... 22 Inadequate Government Oversight and Lack of Industry Transparency ..................................... 23 Activism under Attack: Cases from Mining-Affected Communities ..................................... 26 Killings, Attacks, Threats, and Harassment ............................................................................ 26 Xolobeni: Attacks Against Community Rights Defenders ................................................... 27 Threats and Attacks Against Community Activists in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo ............. 30 Impacts on Women Activists ............................................................................................. 36 Creation and Exploitation of Divisions within Communities ............................................... 37 Extra-Legal Restrictions on Protest in Mining-Affected Communities ........................................ 38 Notification Process as “Permission-Seeking Exercise” ..................................................... 39 Misinterpretation of Section 4 Meeting Requirements ...................................................... 40 Extra-Legal Requirement of Notifying or Receiving Consent of the Mine or Traditional Authorities .... 43 Misinterpretation of Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs’ Guidance ... 45 Other Extra-Legal Practices ............................................................................................... 45 Criminalization of Protest ...................................................................................................... 46 Crackdown on Protest ............................................................................................................. 47 Violence by Police and Private Company Security Forces During Protest ........................... 48 Inadequate Investigations of Police Violence .................................................................... 51 Arbitrary Arrests ............................................................................................................... 52 Use of Courts to Harass Activists ............................................................................................. 54 Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation ................................................................ 54 Crippling Cost of Financial Penalties ................................................................................. 56 Impacts of Court Interdicts ............................................................................................... 57 Social Media Attacks .............................................................................................................. 58 Environment of Fear ................................................................................................................ 61 Domestic, Regional, and International Human Rights Obligations and Responsibilities .... 62 Rights to Life and Security ...................................................................................................... 63 Freedom of Expression............................................................................................................ 65 Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly ..................................................................... 66 Right of Access to Information ..............................................................................................