The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development expressed concerns that in the absence of a clear legal and financial response, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) risks becoming a “toothless” advisory body rather than an effective constitutional institution.

This comes after the Constitutional Court ruled in April that directives issued by the commission following investigations are not legally binding but constitute recommendations that may require enforcement through appropriate court processes in the event of noncompliance.

Following briefings from the SAHRC and the Information Regulation on their annual performance plans and budgets for the 2026/27 financial year, the portfolio committee called for legislative amendments aimed at strengthening the powers of the SAHRC to be expedited, to ensure that the SAHRC’s constitutional mandate is not weakened.

Committee chairperson Xola Nqola stated that the recent Constitutional Court judgment should not weaken the SAHRC’s mandate, but should guide Parliament and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, in ensuring that the commission’s findings had meaningful consequences and that human rights violations were addressed.

Nqola said the court judgment provided much-needed clarity on the commission’s powers, but that the next step should be to expedite legislative amendments.

The committee warned that, if organs of State increasingly ignore the commission’s directives, the SAHRC may be forced to rely more on litigation to enforce its findings.

Committee members noted that the ruling raised serious questions about the SAHRC’s litigation strategy, funding, case selection criteria and ability to act decisively within its current financial constraints.

Members also raised concerns about human resources, including vacancies, acting appointments and frozen posts.

Noting the challenges, Nqola acknowledged that there had been some progress, particularly in filling vacancies, as he welcomed the finalisation of the appointment of the CEO and the head of legal services.

He said these were critical appointments, given the instability the SAHRC had previously experienced, including challenges relating to the recruitment process, organisational culture and uncertainty within the commission secretariat, which had affected staff morale and performance.

The committee raised concerns about some targets in the SAHRC’s Annual Performance Plan, including those relating to public awareness programmes and complaints resolution, which had remained unchanged over the past few years.

Members said this creates the impression that the SAHRC is planning from a position of weakness rather than responding to growing human rights challenges in communities.

Noting that the SAHRC met only 82% of its targets, the chairperson said the committee expects higher levels of performance.

Nqola also noted the budget constraints under which the SAHRC and the Information Regulator operated, expressing commitment to supporting these entities to address budget pressures.

He said the committee was collating the budgetary challenges across all entities in its portfolio and intended to engage with the Standing Committee on Appropriations.

The purpose of the engagement, he said, would be to explore ways to mitigate funding pressures and support entities in performing at their best, even if not all budgetary constraints could be resolved.