Issued by: The Human Rights Commission
PRESS RELEASE
The inaugural meeting of The Human Rights Commission was held in Pretoria on Monday 2 October 1995. The Minister of Justice, Mr Dullah Omar, MP presided.
The members of the Commission present elected The Revd N. Barney Pityana, Senior Research Officer at The Research Institute for Christianity in South Africa, University of Cape Town as Chairperson. Mrs Shirley Mabusela, Executive Director of The National Children's Rights Committee was elected Deputy Chairperson. The plenary meeting of The Commission will be held in Pretoria on Thursday 12 October 1995.
October 2nd, therefore, marks the formal beginning of The Human Rights Commission. By Notice in The Government Gazette dated 15 September 1995, Acting President Mr Thabo Mbeki, MP announced that the Human Rights Act was to come into force on that day except those sections thereof which relate to the exercise of the powers and functions of the Commission (sections 5, 7-10, 14-15). These will come into operations soon as The Human Rights Commission has the capacity to undertake them.
The immediate task of the Commission, said Minister Dullah Omar, was "learn as much as possible" about similar Commissions in other countries and to establish contacts with similar statutory bodies in our country., The Commission resolved to publicise the fact that it was now established and to keep the public informed about its task and its operations.
At the Press Conference which followed the inaugural meeting, the newly-elected Chairperson and his Deputy pledged to maintain the "Independence and impartiality" of the Commission in the execution of its mandate. They also emphasised the value of the media and the non-governmental organisations as it seeks to "promote the observance of, respect for and the protection of fundamental rights; to develop the awareness of fundamental rights among all the people of the Republic..." (Preamble to Act 54/1994).
The Office of The Human Rights Commission has now been established and the Chairperson can be contacted at: Tel: (012) 323 9302 (Ext. 2162/3) Fax: (012) 323 5434
A list with the names and contact numbers of the members of the Human Rights Commission is available from the Commission.
Issued by: N. Barney Pityana Pretoria, 5 October 1995