Paying lip service to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
10 December2018
Today marks the 70th anniversary of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “The Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (General Assembly resolution 217 A) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected.” (www.un.org)
One of the cornerstones of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights deals with property rights as contained in Article 17:
“(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily be deprived of his property.”
Chapter two of the SA Constitution, also known as the Bill of Rights as we know it today, is deeply informed by two vital documents in the history for the fight for human justice: “the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the South African Freedom Charter” (www.sahistory.org.za).
Even the South African Parliament celebrating 20 years of democracy, stated publicly in a document to promote Human Rights, that “the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a predecessor to our Bill of Rights”. They then stated that: “The Bill of Rights is a cornerstone of democracy in South Africa and protects our rights pertaining to it”, and mentioned 27 rights of which the right to property was listed as number seventeen. Is it coincidental that property is also listed under Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
Now Parliament, at the insistence of both the ANC and the EFF, are pushing for a change of the 1996 Constitution and in particular, Section 25 of the Bill of Rights, to make expropriation of land possible without compensation. In doing so the ANC is dispensing with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is starting to move onto a slippery slope of adherence to other fundamental rights.
A few days ago, during a keynote address on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at Constitution Hill, President Ramaphosa reiterated:
“It was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that contributed most to entrenching human rights principles into our law, perhaps more than any other international legal instrument.” He then pledged that “the Constitution is a means by which we maintain our commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.
However, it was Mr Ramaphosa himself who announced late at night on 31 July 2018 that the Constitution should be amended “to be more explicit about expropriation of land without compensation, as demonstrated by the public hearings”.
What has actually become clear about the parliamentary process, is that the ANC has very little appetite for any adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is instead promoting its own interpretation of the Freedom Charter and secondly, the beginning of an irreversible process of political realignment to the EFF and the new-racism of Julius Malema.
With the 2019 general election in mind, political expedience seems to be more important than constitutional rights and values and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is but a mere irritation. This kind of political realignment will surely now divide those adhering to the Freedom Charter (the Charterists) on the one hand versus those who promote constitutional values and subscribe to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is as clear as daylight that the ANC is nowadays merely paying lip-service to protecting those fundamental human rights as envisaged seventy years ago.
Issued by Jan Bosman, Chief Secretary of the Afrikanerbond, 10 December 2018
