AfriForum welcomes the report of the SAHRC concerning farm murders
20 August 2015
The civil rights organisation AfriForum welcomed the report of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) concerning attacks and murders in rural areas that was made public today (see here – PDF).
Ernst Roets, Deputy CEO of AfriForum, said that even though the organisation had certain reservations regarding the detail of the report, the recommendations made therein by the SAHRC are constructive. “In the first place we should never have ended up in this situation. Farm murders have been a crisis since the early 1990s and the continued existence of this crisis can be attributed to the laggard attitude of Government towards it.
However, we are of the opinion that if the recommendations made in the report can be executed with the necessary earnestness by the respective state departments, it can make an essential difference in combatting this crisis.”
The report contains 14 recommendations in total. A few of these are subsequently highlighted in a simplified rendition:
- The SAHRC will retain rural safety on its national human rights agenda and will encourage conversation between the various role-players.
- The South African Police Service (SAPS) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) must do much more in the battle against crime in rural areas.
- Race relations in rural areas and negative stereotyping must be addressed while social cohesion must be encouraged in general.
- A number of recommendations are made with regards to continued research concerning farm attacks and murders.
- The Rural Safety Strategy of the SAPS must be revised and the SAPS must implement a number of practical steps, amongst others the organisation of a national summit conference regarding farm safety. (The SAHRC initially made this recommendation in 2008, but the SAPS failed to carry it out.)
- Community Policing Forums (CPFs) must become involved with crime prevention strategies and a more formalised attitude must be established between CPFs and Rural Safety Prioritisation Committees.
- A special subcommittee must be created within the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster Priority Committee with the aim of developing an action plan to address crime in rural areas and the execution of activities with regards to rural safety by monitoring the respective state departments.
Roets added that there are certain elements of the report about which AfriForum would like to express its reservation. It includes, amongst others, the following:
- The SAHRC already made definite recommendations in this regard in 2003 and 2008, which were not executed by Government. The so-called counterweights to address Government failure are not strong enough and the success of this attempt depends greatly on the successful execution by Government.
- The issue of race tension and racism during farm murders is presented in an oversimplified manner.
- In the report, a recommendation is made amongst others that farmers must offer entry to their land to Government on a more regular basis. AfriForum is of the opinion that this recommendation was not weighed up sufficiently against the constitutional rights on privacy and the ownership of private property and that such a recommendation can be misused by state officials.
- The rights, handling and support of victims must be discussed in a much more elaborate manner. The Depart of Justice and Constitutional Development’s so-called Victims Charter that is currently in place, covers only three types of crime. It must be adapted and expanded to include all types of crime.
Roets added that AfriForum will continue with its campaign for the prioritisation of farm murders.
Statement issued by Ernst Roets, Deputy CEO, AfriForum, August 20 2015
