Opinion

SA leaders need to put fundamental human rights above politics

Leaders in South Africa need to focus on delivering fundamental human rights and put this above the politicking.

While politicians fight for power, it is clear that the right to life, safety and dignity of people has taken a backseat and there is no accountability.

Earlier this year, when President Cyril Ramaphosa gave his State of the Nation Address, Amnesty International South Africa (Asia) called on him to show that he and his government take accountability seriously, but we have seen very little of this.

We cannot allow the mechanisms which ensure accountability to fall away.

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We are still sitting in a situation where women’s and girls’ rights to safety, dignity and life are not being taken seriously.

The gang rape of eight women in Krugersdorp this year is an example where justice was pushed away from the victims. The rape charges against 14 men arrested were dropped in October. At the time, it was reported that this was because there was insufficient evidence, including the fact that DNA results could not link them to the crime.

Failures in the criminal justice system means that victims will continue to be robbed of the justice they deserve.

It is not enough that every quarter when the crime statistics are released, the government comes out and says it is “shocked” and “more must be done”. This is unacceptable.

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The lack of reporting of these serious matters, coupled with the poor investigation of cases and collection of evidence, means that very few victims experience any sort of justice.

It falls on the state to ensure that these accountability mechanisms are working and that people in South Africa feel safe. The state has an obligation to protect people’s rights to life and security and we are not seeing this obligation realised.

Many human rights defenders are also left with little to no protection from the state. These people, who are risking their lives to protect people and combat corruption, advocate for human rights, or better the lives of others, are treated with such disdain by the state.

Human rights defenders and whistle-blowers are critical to any democracy because they are a warning sign that lets us know that something is going wrong. Without whistle-blowers, evidence of large-scale human rights violations would never surface.

Amnesty International’s 2022 global campaign Write for Rights is speaking up for those who have paid a heavy price for speaking out. This is why Aisa is fighting for justice for environmental activist and human rights defender, Fikile Ntshangase, who was murdered in 2020.

It was because Ntshangase was a vocal opponent of the expansion of mining operations in her community that she received threats, was intimidated, and eventually silenced. It is alleged that the three hitmen who took her life are known to the police, but there have been no arrests.

We are lucky that there are still people willing to put their lives on the line to do the right thing, but the concern is that because of the lack of protection, this could be a deterrent for some who might want to come forward and speak out or stand up for what is right. There is also a worrying trend of shrinking civic space in South Africa.

Throughout the year, we have seen politicians openly attempting to smear civil society organisations, making the important work they do difficult. The increasing resistance civil society is facing is deeply troubling. Moreover, these attacks tend to occur when the government is challenged, irrespective of how lawful the challenge is.

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Civil society plays an important role in the country’s accountability mechanism, and if President Cyril Ramaphosa and his government are serious about accountability, they will not allow these organisations to be scapegoated and made to live in fear.

Accountability starts at the top. We have seen what happens when the government is not held accountable, it is the people who suffer and it is usually the poor that bear the brunt of this.

Next year, South Africa will be sitting on the United Nations Human Rights Council and while it strives to hold others accountable to human rights abuses, it also needs to look inwards and ensure human rights are being upheld at home.