Issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs
21 March 2001
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen
I would like to welcome you all this afternoon to commemorate with us the Human Rights Day.
The date 21st March will always stand out in the annals of the South African history, for it was on that date in 1960 that the Apartheid State unleashed its brutal terror on innocent people protesting against the hated pass laws. Lives were lost; bodies maimed and wounded. Overnight, Sharpeville became a household name the world-over, and came to symbolise the scourge of racism and racial discrimination.
Consequently, while the 21st March is observed as a Human Rights Day in South Africa, the horrific events of that day in a hitherto unknown dusty township, so moved the world that it saw fit to declare the 21st March the International Day for the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination.
In joining forces with the people of South Africa to end apartheid tyranny, the international community, including the UN, mobilised against South Africa. The UN elaborated two important international treaties that directly affected our country viz the Convention against Apartheid and the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The 21st March is meant to remind us and the future generations of what happens when a state shows no regard for human dignity, free expression and tolerance for differences of opinion.
With the advent of constitutional democracy in 1994, we the people of South Africa have, in the words of the Preamble of the Constitution declared that "South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity".
We are firmly committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. We believe as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan stated that: "Human rights are foreign to no culture and native to all nations; they are universal. One cannot pick and choose among human rights; whether civil, cultural, economic, political or social, human rights are indivisible and inter-dependent."
The Government of South Africa fully endorses the universality of all human rights. Necessarily, respect for and observance of international human rights is the way to go. It is the right thing to do given our country's chequered past when not too long ago the denial of these self-same rights to the vast majority of South African citizens was the order of the day.
Today human rights have come to occupy centre stage in the lives of the people of South Africa and in the conduct of our external relations with other states. Human Rights occupy a significant place in our foreign policy indicating the kind of influence South Africa wished to exert on the global arena. Our foreign policy is based not only on the imperatives of domestic policy but also our desire to realise improved conditions on the continent and a better world for all.
1994 saw the ushering in of a new order anchored in constitutional democracy. State institutions which support constitutional democracy bear testimony to South Africa's bid to engender a culture of human rights within the policy.
In order to address socio-economic inequities due to past injustices, the government has promulgated policies which are geared towards the economic and social upliftment of the general populace and the improvement of living standards.
These policies are there not merely for redressing the legacy of the past, but also form part of the State's responsibility for fulfilling international obligations regarding social, economic and developmental rights.
South Africa is currently party to a number of international human rights-related treaties and protocols. These treaties are meant to strengthen respect for human rights in the country and deepen our democracy. In line with our human rights policy, South Africa strongly believes that countries should willingly cooperate with UN human rights mechanisms. Thus since 1996 we have received visits from six United Nations Special Rapporteurs. The government welcomes the findings of these Rapporteurs and the constructive criticism that they make, since this enables South African policy makers to provide even greater protection to human rights in our country.
We have submitted four country reports to treaty-monitoring bodies. These reports explain the practical steps that have been taken to give effects to the conventions.
The National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, which emanates from the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action commits Government to promote human rights in accordance with the Constitution and international instruments to which South Africa is a party.
To give effect to regional cooperation, South Africa has provided humanitarian assistance where it is needed most through various international humanitarian organisations especially for their operations in Africa. As part of a continent which has been on the periphery for a long time, all of South Africa's efforts are geared towards developing peace, democracy, good governance and sustainable development in Southern Africa and the continent as a whole.
Our Struggle for freedom - from oppression, exploitation, racism and inhuman laws was a struggle for liberation and indeed for human rights. Therefore our liberation was a triumph for Human Rights. Our vision that informed our struggle for freedom has found expression in the values that we have enshrined in our Constitution. We are acutely aware, that as a country and a people, we must never again allow ourselves to be oppressed, nor should we oppress others in turn.
Later this year, in August, we will be hosting one of the most important conferences of the Millennium - the Third World Conference against Racism. The decision to host the conference was taken after a growing concern over the rise of the four scourges -of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. We as a people are acutely aware of what the impact of this has been on both our wonderful country and ourselves. When South Africa was requested to host the conference by the UNHCHR, we agreed because we understood and accepted the responsibility that such a conference would place upon us.
Human Rights does not only signify Statutes in the law that guarantee freedom - it is an indication of peace, stability and development. This is the significance of the Third World Conference and it is important to all the peoples of the world. In his speech to parliament on 4th February 2001, President Mbeki stated "we feel greatly honoured that the international community, in recognition of our commitment to the struggle for a non-racial world, should have chosen our country to host such an important international gathering".
For more information, Please contact Robert Macbride
0ffice No. (012) 351 0051
Cell. No. 082 459 3787