Civil society coalition applauds SA government for its First Country Report to UN CESCR
The civil society coalition on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) welcomes the submission by government of its First Country Report to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). The Coalition, which consists of a number of civil society organisations that advocate for the full realisation of socio-economic rights in South Africa also appreciates the dialogues with CSos that were held in relation to this report.
While the Department of Justice, South African Human Rights Commission and the Foundation for Human Rights should be commended for their leadership in this regard, the coalition would have welcomed more dialogues outside of Gauteng that would have given a wider range of CSOs an opportunity to express their views to government on the realisation of socio-economic rights in the country.
The coalition points out that the ICESCR adds weight and substance to many of the socio-economic rights already provided for in our Constitution. It also provides an opportunity for us to consider how to implement some rights which are not found in the Constitution, such as the right to work, as well as to reflect on our approach to other fundamental rights, such as the right to education (which is formulated differently in the ICESCR compared to the Constitution).
While ratification of the ICESCR took many years to happen since President Nelson Mandela signed the Covenant in 1994, we welcome the fact that government has now bound itself to implement this ground-breaking treaty. South Africa is still seen as a global leader in giving effect to socio-economic rights, and the government’s report will no doubt be scrutinised by nations across the world, it adds.
The Report describes the measures that have been adopted and the progress made by SA in achieving the rights recognised in the Covenant. These include the right to work, the right to housing, the right to food, the right to water and sanitation, the right to education, the right to health care, the right to social security and the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights.
The ICESCR Coalition urges all South Africans to study the report carefully. Members of the public and civil society organisations now have an opportunity to make inputs into a ‘Parallel Report’ that will also be submitted to the UN Committee. This Parallel Report should be based on as wide a range of inputs and perspectives as possible on the enjoyment of socio-economic rights in South Africa, 23 years into democracy. The UN Committee will consider the contents of both the government’s report and the Parallel Report in making their determinations on whether South Africa has fulfilled its obligations under this treaty.
The Parallel Report therefore provides an opportunity for us to highlight critical issues relating to the implementation of these rights that will be raised by the UN Committee at the highest levels of our government. Under the terms of the treaty, the government will be required to report on its implementation of any recommendations in relation to shortfalls or gaps in the realisation of socio-economic rights in SA, that are found by the Committee.
We also welcome the commitment by the Deputy-Minister of Justice, Hon. John Jeffery, made at a meeting with CSOs in 2015, to ensure that government speedily ratifies the Optional Protocol to the Covenant. This Protocol will provide an additional means of holding the state to account for its implementation of economic and social rights in South Africa and will therefore ensure that maximum protection for these rights is afforded to people. The Protocol is consistent with South African Constitutional jurisprudence and principles, which makes it an anomaly that we have thus far failed to ratify it while dozens of other countries have.
The ICESCR Coalition will be deliberating on the best way to coordinate an inclusive and high-impact Parallel Report. Any organisations or individuals who wish to be kept up-to-date with this process should email: serp@uwc.ac.za.
About the ICESCR Coalition
The Drivers of the campaign are the Dullah Omar Institute; the Black Sash; People’s Health Movement South Africa (PHMSA);, Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) and Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII).
Organisations that are currently signed up to the Campaign:
Amnesty International South Africa; Black Sash; Centre for Applied Legal Studies, University of the Witwatersrand; Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria; Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions; Citizens’ Advice Bureau, Khayelitsha; Community Development Resource Association; Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape; Foundation for Human Rights; Global Water Foundation; Johannesburg Child Welfare Society; National Council of Women of South Africa; Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund; People’s Health Movement South Africa; PASSOP (People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and Poverty); Planact; SANGOCO Western Cape; School of Public Health, University of Cape Town; South African First Indigenous and Human Rights , Organisation; South African Council of Churches; Treatment Action Campaign; Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre; Unity for Tertiary Refugee Students; National Women’s Coalition, Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa.; SECTION 27; RAPCAN (Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect).
For media inquiries, please contact the following persons
Prof. Lilian Chenwi,
Wits School of Law:
University of the Witwatersrand
Oliver Schreiner Building
West Campus
Johannesburg
Tel: 011 717 8465
Cellphone: 072 172 6346
Email: lilian.chenwi@wits.ac.za
Prof Ebenezer Durojaye
Socio-Economic Rights Project
Dullah Omar Institute
University of the Western Cape
Bellville, Cape Town
Tel: +27 21 959 3704
Cellphone: 084 5770 757
Email: edurojaye@uwc.ac.za
Daniel McLaren
Senior Researcher
Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute
Braamfontein, Johannesburg
Tel: 011 833 0161
Cellphone: 079 9101 453
Email: daniel@spii.org.za
Prof. Jackie Dugard
Wits School of Law:
University of the Witwatersrand
Oliver Schreiner Building
Johannesburg
Tel: 0117178454
Cellphone: 0842406187
Email: Jackie.dugard@wits.ac.za
Elroy Paulus
National Advocacy Manager
Black Sash Trust
Mowbray, Cape Town
Tel: 021 686 6952
Cellphone: 082 748 5621
Email: elroy@blacksash.org.za
Prof. Leslie London
Peoples Health Movement South Africa,
Observatory, Cape Town
Tel: 021 406 6524
Email: leslie.london@uct.ac.za
Dasantha Pillay
Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI)
6th Floor Aspern House
Braamfontein, Johannesburg
Tel: 011 356 5860
Email: dasantha@seri-sa.org
Visit these websites for more information on the Campaign:
www.blacksash.org.za
http://dullahomarinstitute.org.za