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23 April, 2015
Dear Chair and Commissioners
of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,
We, the undersigned
civil society organisations, write to you as concerned organisations
and citizens of the African continent to raise concern about the xenophobic
attacks currently occurring, mainly against African foreign nationals,
in the Republic of South Africa. We come to you, as the body responsible
for the promotion and protection of human rights in the African continent,
requesting you to call upon the South African government to take concrete
steps to end these attacks, prosecute perpetrators and protect foreign
nationals living in their territory from violations of their human rights,
including the right to life.
As civil society organisations
based in and working on human rights issues on the African continent,
we are particularly concerned about the loss of lives, injuries to persons,
and damage to private property and the dignity of foreign nationals
living in South Africa, which are a grave violation of their rights
protected under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the
African Charter). The right to life, not to be subjected to torture,
cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and the right to strict equality
before the law are non-derogable rights – not dependent on a person’s
status in a country. The status of foreign nationals who are victims
of the attacks in South Africa is therefore irrelevant.
We note statements of
several governments, including the South African government, to provide
assistance for individuals leaving the country. While those who wish
to leave should be assisted to do so, the solution to the violence should
not be to repatriate all foreign nationals, but to ensure an environment
in the country in which their rights are protected. Furthermore, the
acts of those carrying out attacks against foreign nationals should
not be rewarded by assisting them to achieve their objective of ridding
South Africa of foreign nationals. In this regard, we remind all States
of the provisions of Article 12 of the African Charter which prohibits
the mass expulsion of foreign nationals, including mass expulsion aimed
at national groups.
We are further concerned
by comments made by persons in positions of authority and influence
which may amount to incitement to violence and the role that these play
in perpetuating xenophobia. While some statements have been made to
condemn the violence, we are concerned that not enough concrete steps
are being taken to prevent such attacks, prosecute perpetrators, protect
foreign nationals and prevent the mass coerced exodus of foreign nationals
from the country.
We, the undersigned
organisations, request the African Commission to call upon the government
of South Africa to:
- Protect foreign nationals
from further attacks, including by increasing police presence in high-risk
areas and immediately implementing conflict resolution initiatives in
these areas involving the Department of Home Affairs.
- Provide urgent humanitarian
assistance to internally displaced foreign nationals in the country,
including counselling for trauma.
- Bring perpetrators
of violence against foreign nationals to justice. To facilitate such
prosecutions the Department of Justice should set up special courts,
as was done during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, to deal with
all cases of violence against foreign nationals in a bid to ease the
burden on the courts. Information on accessing these courts should be
widely disseminated.
- Investigate and bring
to justice the instigators behind the perpetration of the violence.
- Condemn unequivocally
comments by persons in positions of authority and influence which may
amount to incitement to violence.
- Effectively engage
the broadest possible South African public, in order to curb and eradicate
xenophobia and xenophobic violence. These messages should be repeated,
constantly re-iterated and not only heard after crises moments. They
should be accessible, in local languages, should be expressed directly
to communities, and should involve local leaders.
In 2008, the xenophobic
attacks left at least 62 dead, hundreds wounded, and contributed to
the displacement of 100,000 people or more. Following those attacks
the South African Human Rights Commission prepared a report[i] with
their findings and recommendations. We call on you to remind the South
African government of this report and call upon the government to immediately
implement the recommendations found therein.
In addition, we request
you to call upon governments of other countries to ensure steps are
taken to prevent reprisals against South African nationals in their
territories. International organisations should also assist with humanitarian
assistance for internally displaced foreign nationals in South Africa
and those returning to their own countries following the attacks.
Submitted by the Southern
Africa Litigation Centre
Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh
Executive Director
Signed by the following concerned Civil Society Organisations based
in and working on human rights issues on the African continent:
- Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR – South Africa)
- SADC Lawyers Association (SADC LA)
- Legal Resources Centre (LRC), South Africa
- Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Zimbabwe
- The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
- Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), Namibia
- Women Advocates’ Research and Documentation Center (WARDC), Nigeria
- Africa Legal Aid (AFLA)
- Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC)
- International Commission of Jurists (ICJ – Kenya)
- Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), Malawi
- Centre for Development of People (CEDEP), Malawi
- The Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL), Sierra Leone
- The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)
- The Children Education Society (CHESO), Tanzania
- Coalition Ivoirienne pour la Cour Pénale Internationale (CI CPI), Cote d’Ivoire
- Réseau Equitas Côte d’Ivoire (REQCI), Cote d’Ivoire
- Groupe de Travail sur les Instruments Internationaux (GT2I)
- International Refugees Rights Initiative (IRRI)
- Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI), Uganda
- The Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
- Human Rights First Rwanda Association (HRFRA), Rwanda
- The Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town, South Africa
- Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD), Zambia
- Initiative for Civil Liberties (ICL), Zambia
- The Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA), South Africa
- Engender Rights Centre for Justice (ERCJ), Zambia
- Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN), Kenya
- Namibia Women’s Health Network (NWHN), Namibia
- Centre for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance (CHREAA), Malawi
- The AIDS and Rights Alliance of Southern Africa (ARASA)
- Transbantu Association Zambia (TBZ), Zambia
- Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offender (ZACRO)
- Women and Law in Southern Africa, Mozambique (WLSA – Mozambique)
- Women and Law in Southern Africa, Zimbabwe (WLSA – Zimbabwe)
- Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre (TLAC), South Africa
- Centre for Girls and Interaction (CEGI), Malawi
- Associação Justiça Paz e Democracia (AJPD), Angola
- Pan African Positive Women’s Coalition – Zimbabwe
- Pan African Positive Women’s Coalition – Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Islands
- Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), South Africa
- Lawyers Forum for Human Rights (LFHR), Malawi
- Coalition for the Prevention of Unsafe Abortion (COPUA), Malawi
- Ladder for Rural Development (LAFORD), Malawi
- Association of Human Rights Organisations (AHURIO), Uganda
- Sexual Rights Centre (SRC), Zimbabwe
- Associação de Reintegração dos Jovens/Crianças na Vida Social (SCARJoV), Angola
- Associação, Mulher, Lei e Desenvolvimento (MULEIDE), Mozambique
- Matrix Support Group, Lesotho
- African Development and Peace Initiative (ADPI)
- Paralegal Advisory Service Institute (PASI), Malawi
- The AIDS Foundation of South Africa (AFSA), South Africa
- Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA), Botswana
- Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC), Zambia
- Southern Africa HIV & AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS)
- Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (CHR), South Africa
- Temba Community Development Services, South Africa
- Omunga, Angola
- AIDS Legal Network (ALN), South Africa
- Communities’ Initiatives for Holistic Social Advancement (CHISA), Malawi
- Protection Enfants Sida (PES), Democratic Republic of Congo
- Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU), South Africa
- Malawi Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (MANERELA+), Malawi
- Legal Resources Foundation, Zambia
- ENDA Santé
- Panos Institute Southern Africa
- Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Nigeria
- Darfur Women’s Action Group (DWAG), Sudan
- Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC), Nigeria
- Affirmative Action Initiative for Women (NCAA), Nigeria
- Coalition of Eastern NGOs (CENGOS), Nigeria
- Nigerian Coalition for the ICC (NCICC), Nigeria
- Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP), Nigeria
- Youth for a Child in Christ (YOCIC), Zimbabwe
- Susceptible Iyanai Chinoda OVC Care and Trust (SICO), Zimbabwe
- Center for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), South Africa
- Rede Moçambicana de Lideres Religiosos Vivendo com HIV e SIDA (MONERELA+), Mozambique
- Association Africaine de Défense des Droits de l’Homme (ASADHO)
- Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), Uganda
- International Alliance on Natural Resources in Africa (IANRA)
- Africa International Development and Environment in the XXI century (AIDE21)
- FEMNET – African Women’s Development and Communications Network
- Women Environmental Programme Nigeria (WEP-Nigeria)
- Niger Delta Women’s Movement for Peace and Development (NDWPD), Nigeria
- Positive-Generation, Cameroon
- Civil Society Organizations Network (CSO Network – Kenya)
- NamRights Inc, Namibia
- Collectif Sénégalais des Africaines pour la Promotion de l’Education Relative à l’Environnement (COSAPERE), Sénégal
- Center for Health, Human rights and Development (CEHURD), Uganda
- Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), Malawi
- Centre for Youth Empowerment and Civic Education (CYECE), Malawi
- Youth and Society (YAS), Malawi
- Poverty Reduction Network (PORENET), Mozambique
- Khulumani Support Group, South Africa
- African Men for Sexual Health and Rights [AMSHeR]
- Society for International Development (SID)
- Prévention Information et Lutte contre le SIDA (PILS), Mauritius
- Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice (KPTJ), Kenya
- Amnesty International Senegal (AI Senegal)
- Section 27, South Africa
- Masimanyane Women’s Support Centre, South Africa
- Gay & Lesbian Network, South Africa
- Amnesty International Mali (AI Mali)
- Equality Now, Kenya
- Corruption Watch, South Africa
- Child Rights Advocacy and Paralegal Aid Centre (CRAPAC), Malawi
- African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS)
- Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Zimbabwe
- Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Nigeria
- National Right to Food, Malawi
- Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN), Malawi
- Malawi Health Equity (MHEN), Malawi
- Malawi Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS (MANET+), Malawi
- Church and Society Programmes – CCAP Synod of Livingstonia, Nkhoma, Blantyre, Zambia, and Harare
- Civil and Political Space Platform (CSP Platform), Malawi
- Centre for Governance and Public Participation (CeGPP), Malawi
- The Institute for Political Interaction (IPI), Malawi
- Ukhondo Services Foundation, Malawi
- Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Nigeria
- Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC), Malawi
- Centre for Youth and Children Affairs (CEYCA), Malawi
- Development Dynamics Nigeria
- International Commission of Jurists (ICJ-Africa Programme)
- Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU)
- Human Rights Network Uganda (HURINET-U), Uganda
- Swaziland Lawyers for Human Rights (SLHR), Swaziland
- Open Society Foundation for Southern Africa (OSISA)
- Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA), South Africa
- Youth Engage from Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
[i] Report on the SAHRC
Investigation into Issues of Rule of Law, Justice and Impunity arising
out of the 2008 Public Violence against Non-Nationals, http://www.sahrc.org.za/home/
http://www.
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