Protecting South Africa’s freedom and democracy
South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) Chair Andrew Christoffel Nissen has reminded South Africans that the country’s freedom and democracy did not fall from the sky, and that it is everyone’s responsibility to protect this hard-earned liberation.
“Men and women paid with their lives for us to enjoy our freedom and democracy today.
I am lucky to be among those who survived when many South Africans were killed during apartheid while fighting for our country’s freedom.
“The rights and freedom that we enjoy today are precious because they were bought with blood and sweat. Let us show appreciation and make it our responsibility to protect our freedom and democracy,” he said.
Nissen’s tenure as Chair of the SAHRC does not come as a surprise as he has spent most of his life fighting for human rights. He has worked for various civil society organisations and faith-based organisation as a human rights activist during apartheid and beyond.
Nissen holds various qualifications in Theology and Religious Studies. As part of his activism, in the 1980s and 1990s, he did extensive work as a community organiser in communities such as Graaf Reinett, Eerste River Advice
Office, Macassar, the then Die Bos (now named after him as Chris Nissen Park) and Sir Lowry’s Pass Village.
He supported communities in addressing various challenges they were facing, including housing and access to land. Due to his work, Nissen has been honoured by having streets and a school in Knysna named after him.
After years of ecumenical, community and political organisation-based work, Nissen was appointed as a member of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature, served as Deputy Speaker in the province, served as Western Cape MEC for Economic Affairs and was National Coordinator of the Masakhane Campaign for the Department of Constitutional Development in the same province.
“I have worked all over the country, and I am blessed to be one of the living South Africans who have two streets, a community and a branch of the African National Congress named after them,” he said.
Commitment to human rights
Nissen joined the SAHRC in
2017 as a part-time Commissioner until December 2023. He realised then that his job was far from part-time as it required him to carry expectations and the hopes of many citizens, especially the most vulnerable people in the country. As such, he resigned from all his other duties, including serving on several boards as a member.
“It is humbling to know that you are entrusted with fighting for the rights of the most vulnerable people, and I am really honoured to have started working for the commission on that basis,” he explained.
In his current position, Nissen acknowledges that he is not a boss but a fellow activist for human rights.
“My responsibility is to defend the organisation and ensure that there is proper and good governance. I work closely with the commissioners to provide leadership to the entire staff at the SAHRC to promote, monitor and protect the human rights.”
He also plays a huge role in ensuring that funds used by the commission to carry out its mandate are accounted for and that its work has impact on citizens’ lives.
“I was among activists who were tortured and imprisoned during the liberation struggle, and it means a lot to me that I now get to serve the country through the SAHRC. I am very grateful because I am the voice of the people and the conscience of government,” he added.
As an activist who contributed to the liberation of the country and lives to see the transformation and progress made over the past 30 years, he reflects on some of his experiences pre- and post-apartheid.
“Although South Africa still has a lot of challenges, I believe that the country has progressed well over the years. I implore everyone to play their part towards the advancement of our country.
“If we are not optimistic about our country, we will never be optimistic about wherever we go. We need to be positive and energetic so that we can address the challenges that we are facing as a country,” he said.
Fighting social ills
The Chair said the commission has increased efforts to collaborate with civil society and government to change human behaviour because social ills, including domestic violence, gender-based violence and femicide and other crimes happen in communities, adding that government cannot combat these alone.
To overcome these challenges, he encouraged everyone to build on good citizenship, respect the Constitution and each other regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, culture or religion.
“We are all South Africans and we all have rights, but they come with responsibilities. We all need to behave responsibly. Use your vote, but use your voice as well. Our elective representatives also have to communicate with and be accountable to the people,” he said.
He urged public servants to be dedicated to their duties and ensure that relevant services are rendered to South Africans.
“You cannot have people waiting in queues for hours to get the services that they need, and you should not treat people as though you are doing them a favour. It is your job. Do what is right,” he added.
The SAHRC is one of the Chapter Nine Institutions established in terms of Chapter 9 of the Constitutions to guard and strengthen the country’s democracy. Its mandate includes raising awareness on human rights issues, monitoring and assessing the observance of human rights, educating and training citizens on human rights, address human rights violations and seeking effective redress. ❖
Thirty years ago, in the space of just a hundred days, one of the worst mass murders in recent times happened on African soil.
Approximately 1 million men, women and children were slaughtered within a period of 100 days in Rwanda in an orchestrated campaign of violence that involved organs of state, civilians, militias, the local media and even churches.
The Rwandan genocide was one of the darkest chapters in human history. It was an atrocity that unfolded as the world looked on and failed to act. There was little intervention from the international community.
Despite a warning from the head of the United Nations (UN) deployment stationed in Rwanda at the time that a mass extermination of Rwandan Tutsi people was imminent, the UN peacekeepers failed to prevent the killings, arguing that their mandate was limited and that they lacked authority to intervene.
Instead, the peacekeepers were ordered to focus on evacuating expatriates desperate to flee the country.
The first big massacre of the genocide was at a school in the capital, Kigali, which was being guarded by UN peacekeepers. Just hours after the UN troops withdrew, the feared Interahamwe militias stormed the school and killed 2 000 people who had sought shelter there hoping the UN would protect them.
Several western countries, some of which had a presence in Rwanda at the time,
would later say they were not aware of the extent of the killings. Thirty years later, no country or international body can any longer say ‘we didn’t know’ and use that claim as justification for a failure to act.
The advent of 24 hour news, the proliferation of social and community media and the speed with which information is disseminated in the digital age makes it nearly impossible for mass atrocities to occur under conditions of secrecy.
At the numerous Rwandan genocide 30th commemoration memorials, one finds the words ‘Never Again.’
This phrase, ‘Never Again,’ also appears on memorials to the
Nazi holocaust, and is evoked as a reminder to the world of the horrors perpetrated by humankind and of the collective responsibility we share to ensure that this dark history does not repeat itself.
The holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has called the phrase “a prayer, a promise, a vow, never again the glorification of base, ugly, dark violence”.
It is because of our stated commitment to never again allow atrocities of this kind, that the world cannot stand idly by as another genocide is carried out, this time against the people of Palestine in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Nobody can claim ignorance about what is happening in
Gaza, because, unlike in Rwanda in 1994, these atrocities are being televised, written about, tweeted and live streamed.
It is now close to six months since Israel unleashed a campaign of violence on the people of Gaza in response to the atrocities committed by Hamas.
More than 32 000 Gazans have been killed. According to the UN Children’s Fund, approximately 13 000 of these casualties are children. Civilians, non-combatants, women, persons with disabilities, journalists and even aid workers have not been spared.
Late last year, South Africa instituted proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague for violating its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, with respect to its actions in Gaza.
The ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the UN, pronounced on a set of provisional measures that Israel should take to prevent the commission of all acts falling within the scope of the Genocide Convention. The court directed Israel, among other things, to ensure that its military does not commit such acts, to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide, and to enable the provision of urgently needed basic service and humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.
In clear defiance of this legallybinding order, Israel has intensified its violence against the residents of Gaza. These people are now also facing starvation and famine as the delivery of aid continues to be disrupted, including the killing of humanitarian and aid-workers.
Recently, the ICJ issued additional measures, ordering
Israel to take the necessary and effective measures to ensure ‘unhindered provision at scale’ of basic services and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. The court accepted South Africa’s argument that, contrary to what Israel claimed, the UN agencies are not being assisted to get aid flowing into Gaza.
The court also ordered Israel to ‘ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group’ under the Genocide Convention.
When the Rwandan genocide unfolded in 1994, the Genocide Convention had been in existence for nearly half a century, having been adopted in 1948 in the aftermath of the Second World War.
In spite of this, the atrocities in Rwanda did not just happen, but were allowed to happen in the face of callous indifference by the international community.
It was only several decades later that a number of these ‘bystanders to the genocide’ apologised for failing to act as the killings happened. As they were for the families of those who perished in the Rwandan genocide, for today’s genocide victims, apologies are too little, too late.
It should never be, and must never be, that atrocities, gross human rights violations and genocide should somehow carry less weight because of the race, ethnicity or religious affiliation of the victims.
We owe it to the victims of all the world’s genocides to not betray their memories by looking away, by failing to act, or worst of all, by claiming we didn’t know.
The terrible events in Rwanda in 1994 took place in the year we as South Africans attained our freedom.
We are ever mindful that with that freedom comes a responsibility to work for peace, justice and human rights everywhere. It is a duty and a standard we will continuously strive to uphold, not just for ourselves but for all peoples, everywhere. ❖
*This President’s message was first published on 8 February 2024.
Infrastructure, like the circulatory system of a living organism, is the vital network that sustains the life and vibrancy of any thriving society. It manifests in a multitude of forms, including roads that connect distant corners, bridges that span natural obstacles, water supply systems that quench the thirst of communities, sanitation facilities that safeguard public health and energy grids that power progress.
Access to basic amenities such as water, sanitation, electricity and transportation is a fundamental right that enhances the quality of life and fosters human dignity. It is important to note that efforts, particularly by municipalities, to establish and maintain robust infrastructure is not merely a lofty goal but is an imperative – a fundamental necessity in fostering inclusive development and meeting the diverse needs of South Africans.
In a significant move towards fostering inclusive development, the implementation of Municipal Infrastructure Grants (MIG) Schedule 6B is proving to be a game-changer for municipalities in South Africa. Aimed at addressing historical challenges in infrastructure development, this innovative approach is set to revolutionise how MIG funds are utilised, ensuring they reach communities in need and uplift the lives of citizens.
Infrastructure development, encompassing roads, bridges, water supply, sanitation, energy, and more, is recognised as the lifeblood of progress, prosperity, and sustainability. For South African municipalities, the pursuit of robust infrastructure is not just a goal; it is crucial for fostering inclusive development and addressing the diverse needs of the people.
The challenges faced in municipal infrastructure development, such as under-expenditure, inappropriate expenditure, and insufficient funding for maintenance, have been persistent. These challenges have resulted in unreliable infrastructure and hampered service delivery, impacting the lives of communities.
The MIG 6B implementation addresses these challenges. It ensures that communities facing perennial under-spending receive the services meant to be delivered through MIG funding. Previously, unspent funds from under-performing municipalities would have been reallocated to others, but now, with MIG 6B, support is directed to municipalities as envisaged in Section 154 of the Constitution.
The Department of Cooperative Governance, committed to upholding constitutional tenets in pursuit of a developmental state, plays a crucial role in this support mechanism. The MIG implementation actively tackles the legacy of apartheid by eradicating basic service backlogs, as evidenced by the positive progress reported in the Census 2022.
Despite the achievements, challenges persist, including under-expenditure, inappropriate expenditure, and poor maintenance of existing infrastructure. The implementation of MIG 6B is a strategic step towards overcoming these challenges and ensuring effective utilisation of funds for the benefit of communities.
To further ensure success, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Thembi Nkadimeng and Deputy ministers Parks Tau and Zolile Burns-Ncamashe have engaged in ministerial roadshows, fostering collaboration and understanding at the provincial and municipal levels. National Treasury's approval of project conversions in Uthukela District Municipality and Emfuleni Local Municipality demonstrates a commitment to preventing under-expenditure and improving service delivery.
Looking ahead, the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA), will play a pivotal role in supporting municipalities in infrastructure provisioning, refurbishment and maintenance. MIG Schedule 6B represents not just a financial conversion but a commitment to actively supporting projects that bring innovative solutions to infrastructure challenges.
In the spirit of constitutional principles and the District Development Model, MIG Schedule 6B stands as a beacon of hope, ushering in a new era of progress and sustainable development for municipalities and the communities they serve. As the journey towards a brighter future continues, collective efforts can build resilient, efficient and thriving municipalities that benefit all citizens. ❖