STATEMENT TO THE 33RD SESSION OF THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS,
15 – 29 MAY 2003
NIAMEY, NIGER

Agenda Item 8 (a)

Chairperson, Honourable Commissioners,

The major challenges facing civil society in South Africa today is the maintenance of our new found democracy and a strong acceleration in the delivery of socio-economic rights. Human rights in South Africa today cannot be said to be relevant if it does not include socio-economic rights.

While South Africa has now introduced a democratic state and civil and political rights have improved to a large extent, prevailing socio-economic conditions continue to present a strong challenge to human rights. The recent socio-economic rights report of the South African Human Rights Commission found that:

· More than 1.6 million households and more than 23.8 million persons have no income, while more than 4.3 million persons have an income below the poverty line.
· Almost 500 000 of the 1.2 million people eligible for disability grant get it.
· Of the total number of more than 3.3 million children eligible for the child support grant, only 1.5 million were receiving the grant, with more than 1.7 million children denied access to the grant.
· Of the 2,1 million people who qualify for old age pension, only 1,9 million receive the money.
· In KwaZulu Natal out of 250,000 Reception Year learners only 80,539 of them receive early childhood development services.
· While approximately 26 million of a population of about 46 million have access to free basic water of 6000 litres per household, in Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal only between 30 and 40 per cent are benefiting from this programme.
· The lack of access to land affects between 13 and 14 million people who are predominantly inhabitants of rural areas.
· HIV prevalence in South Africa has risen from 0.7% in 1990 to 24.5% in 2000 and life expectancy for the same period has fallen from 67 years to 53 years.

During provincial workshops conducted in conjunction with the South African Human Rights Commission HURISA established that there were many other challenges to the implementation of socio-economic rights and the translation of the laudable pronouncements of the Constitution into reality for millions of South Africans. These challenges included corruption on the part of civil servants that undermined the delivery of socio-economic rights. Another major challenge identified by community-based organisations was the issue of privatisation. The privatisation of essential services such as water and health care was inhibiting the poor from accessing these services. Many CBOs felt that the government was abdicating its responsibility through privatisation. HURISA would urge the Commission to consider the impact that privatisation was having on the implementation of socio-economic rights enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights not only in South Africa but in countries throughout the continent.

Chairperson,
While there has been progress in South Africa in regard to implementation of socio-economic rights, much has still to be done by the authorities. While the lack of resources is often used as an excuse for failing to fulfil socio-economic rights, recent reports by the Auditor-General have pointed out huge underspending in budgets allocated for education, health care and other socio-economic rights. We would urge the Commission to call upon the South African government to comply with its obligations under the African Charter to file state reports that are outstanding and to include in the next report a detailed analysis of its compliance with the provisions of the African Charter related to socio-economic rights, including the obstacles to fulfilment of these rights.

Thank you, Chairperson