South African Human Rights Commission Annual Report 2000
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SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION Entrance 1 Wilds View Telephone: (011) 484 8300 Isle of Houghton Private Bag 2700 Fax: (011) 484 1360 Boundary Road Houghton Fax: advocacy unit Parktown, Johannesburg 2041 and research: (011) 484 7146 November 2001 The Honourable Dr Frene Ginwala, MP Speaker of the National Assembly Houses of Parliament P. O. Box 15 Cape Town 8000 Dear Madam Speaker: Pursuant to the provisions of Section 181(5) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act No. 108 of 1996), I am pleased to submit the 5th Annual Report of the South African Human Rights Commission for the period 1 January 2000 - 31 March 2001. Yours faithfully, N Barney Pityana Chairperson The United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education 1995 - 2005 Chairperson NB Pityana; Deputy Chairperson SE Mabusela; Commissioners CRM Dlamini, K Govender, J Kollapen, Z Majodina, T Manthata, C McClain, J Nkeli, FP Tlakula, L Wessels; Chief Executive Officer L Mokate South African Human Rights Commission 5th Annual Report January 2000 - March 2001 Contents Page Profiles of Commissioners ......... ........................................................................................................... Preface .......... ......... .......... .......................................................................................................... Executive Summary ......... .......... ........................................................................................................... 1. Introduction . ......... ......... .........................................................................................................1 The Human Rights Environment .....................................................................................1 Independence of the Commission....................................................................................3 National Conference on Racism 2000 .............................................................................4 Preparations for the UN World Conference Against Racism ..........................................5 Facing the Future ... .........................................................................................................5 2. Corporate Governance...... .........................................................................................................7 Resource Allocation.........................................................................................................7 Human Resources ................................................................................................9 Budget .........................................................................................................9 Employment Equity .......................................................................................................11 Information Technology ................................................................................................11 3. Promoting Human Rights . ......................................................................................................13 Human Rights Education and Training..........................................................................13 Advocacy .... .......... .......................................................................................................18 4. Protecting Human Rights . .......................................................................................................25 Complaints Handling ....................................................................................................25 Cases. ......... ......... .......................................................................................................30 Specific Focus Areas .....................................................................................................35 5. Monitoring and Assessing Human Rights ...............................................................................37 Economic and Social Rights .........................................................................................37 Special Focus Areas.......................................................................................................40 6. Section 5 Committees ...... .......................................................................................................43 Child Rights Committee ................................................................................................43 Disability Rights Committee..........................................................................................46 International Standards Committee ...............................................................................47 Government & Parliamentary Liaison ..........................................................................48 NGOs and CBOs.... .......................................................................................................49 7. Provinces .... ......... .......... .......................................................................................................51 Eastern Cape ......... .......................................................................................................51 Free State ... .......... .......................................................................................................54 Gauteng ...... .......... .......................................................................................................55 KwaZulu Natal ...... .......................................................................................................56 Mpumalanga ......... .......................................................................................................59 Northern Province.. .....................................................................................................60 Northern Cape ....... .......................................................................................................62 North West . ......... .......................................................................................................63 Western Cape ........ .......................................................................................................64 8. International Liaison ........ .......................................................................................................65 9. Financial Statements......... .......................................................................................................67 10. Auditor-General`s Report. .......................................................................................................75 Appendices A. Public Outreach Calendar ......................................................................................................A1 B. Structure of Commission . .................................................................................................... B30 C. SAHRC Publications ....... .................................................................................................... C31 D. Complaints Form .. .......... ....................................................................................................D32 E. A selection of visitors to SAHRC ......................................................................................... E33 F. Acknowledgements ......... .....................................................................................................F36 Profiles of Commissioners Preface The publication of the 5th Annual Report has been much delayed. The regular cyclic rhythm of the South African Human Rights Commission was put out of joint by a series of events. The Public Finance Management Act that came into effect in 2000 requires that any future annual reports should include the duly audited financial statements of the entities. The effect of this for us was that our regular pattern of publication of the annual report had to be altered. Traditionally we publish our report in March in order to coincide with Human Rights Week. During that week, we regularly appear before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development to present our report on programmes and for a review of our budget. This year, however, our participation was limited. The annual report could not be published without the audited statements and that meant that the parliamentary debate on the Budget Vote of the Justice Ministry was not fully informed about our activities in the previous year. The annual accounts were duly finalised in August. By that time, however, we were all well into preparations for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban, 30 August – 8 September. The Commission was a key component of South Africa’s preparations for the WCAR. The Commission also undertook additional responsibilities like coordinating the participation of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Therefore, with each passing day, the annual report was getting delayed. We sincerely apologise for this. The only saving grace is to say that we are on a learning curve. The introductory chapter to this report is taken from my address to the Portfolio Committee earlier this year. A few months later, our statement seems to have been fairly representative of the sentiments of my colleagues and I. It gives expression to the shifting foci of the Commission in five years of operations. It also gives