The protection of human rights defenders against assassination under south african law
Date
2023
Authors
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Publisher
University of the Witswatersrand, Johannesburg
Abstract
Human rights defenders (HRDs) are under siege in South Africa. They face unprecedented attacks which, in the worst of circumstances and frequently, culminate in assassination. In that light, the research report examines the extent to which the South African law protects HRDs against assassination. To set out the extent of the risks countenanced by HRDs, the report discusses a few cases of assassination in the environmental, whistle blowing, and land rights categories. Turning to the law, it discusses and analyses domestic, international, and regional legal instruments before it finds that the available legal mechanisms can insulate human rights defenders against assassination. To gain insight into the protections extended by other jurisdictions, the report also scans through legal mechanisms meant to extent specific protection to HRDs in foreign jurisdictions and observes that despite the presence of these laws, human rights defenders in these jurisdictions still face unprecedented violations including assassination. Drawing from these instruments and the prevalence of assassination, the report argues that lack of commitment to implementation and the absence of political will to address the root sources of violations perpetuates a climate of impunity resulting in the scourge of assassination that takes place unabated. Ultimately, the research report concludes that while the available legal mechanisms can extend protection to human rights defenders, the executive arms of the state are lagging in their implementation responsibilities. As a remedy, amendments to the Protected Disclosures Act (PDA) and adoption a HRD specific legislation with sufficient implementation safeguards are recommended to alleviate the situation of HRDs. The proposed safeguards include establishment of an independent panel of experts to foster implementation, and amending the PDA to extent protection to whistle-blower HRDs against assassination while imposing hefty penalties for non-action
Description
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Laws by Coursework and Research Report at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Keywords
Human rights defenders (HRDs), South Africa, Protected Disclosures Act (PDA), South African law protects, UCTD