Prospect of merging the South African Human Rights Commission and Commission for Gender Equality into a single human rights body.
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Date
2021
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Abstract
A decade after the introduction of Chapter 9 institutions supporting democracy, the Ad Hoc
Parliamentary Committee appointed to review these institutions found that all except the South African
Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) are generally ineffective and have been unsuccessful in
fulfilling their constitutional mandates. These failures were attributable to a range of internal issues
and disputes; the most notable being the essence of their independence and how it should be weighed
against both their duty to the National Assembly and their position in keeping the executive and
legislature accountable. The Committee further revealed that the proliferation of these bodies
diminished their effectiveness and accessibility to the public as there was confusion as to which body
to approach. The SAHRC and the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) are particularly important
in this regard due to their powers to accept public complaints, make recommendations and report on
human rights and issues related to gender equality.
This thesis builds on the key recommendation of the Committee with a specific focus on the SAHRC
and CGE. It seeks to explore how the merging of these two institutions can play an integral role in the
enforcement of the Constitution by creating an environment conducive to the furtherance of
fundamental human rights. The thesis argues that the interdependence and indivisible disposition of
human rights suggests that a single body is best suited to resolve the barriers and disparities that impact
several groups and further espouse institutional mechanisms to address human rights violations.
The reality that informs the recognition of the SAHRC and CGE is that, although the former has a
broader mandate to protect human rights and the latter is designed to resolve gender equality issues;
both institutions are structured to reinforce constitutional democracy through promotion, protection
and monitoring on the observance of human rights, and gender equality violations. Hence, an integrated
human rights body, composed of the SAHRC and the CGE, with more institutional muscle and
administrative capacity would achieve a broader reach that would enable it to manage more efficiently
with the complaints of ordinary citizens while holding functionaries to account.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.