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WOMEN IN CUSTOMARY MARRIAGES
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Date added: 07/28/2008 |
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Cultures, social systems and religions have, in the past, promoted patriarchy and the oppression of women, and in some instances this remains the case. Discrimination against women has taken a variety of forms, from disenfranchisement to various forms of abuse. South African society has not escaped this. For this reason, the government has taken a number of steps to entrench women's rights and to attempt to create legal remedies where their rights have been transgressed. There has been a plethora of legislation around the rights of women. This briefing paper will briefly outline some of the legislation that exists focus particularly on women in customary marriages. |
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THE SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN
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Date added: 07/27/2008 |
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The horrific rape of 'Baby Tshepang' in Louisvale, near Upington, last year highlighted what is undoubtedly a scourge in our society. This was by no means an isolated incident; police and medical personnel have for some time been calling attention to the problem. Recognising that a response at the highest level was needed, Parliament set up a task group to hold public hearings on the matter and to make recommendations to the government. Members of the committee were drawn from a variety of portfolio committees, reflecting the fact that the interests of children should be the concern of a number of government departments: welfare, justice, education, finance, safety and security, etc. Over 40 organisations made submissions, ranging from government agencies to community groups and individuals carrying on heroic, and unrecognised, work in this field. (One MP remarked that Fr Peter-John Pearson was the only 'man of the cloth' to have made a submission. If true, this is a matter for concern, since the witness of the churches and of the broad faith community is of the greatest importance in attempts to combat the problem; and since there is a widespread perception, whether justified or not, that church personnel are prominent among offenders.) This briefing is a synopsis of the submission made by our office. We first offered an analysis of some of the primary causes of the phenomenon, before going on to suggest practical steps. Anticipating, however, that committee members would raise the issue of sexual abuse by church personnel, we started our submission with a reference to this point. |
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THE REVIEW OF THE CHILD CARE ACT
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Date added: 07/28/2008 |
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In 1997 the South African Law Commission was requested to investigate and review the Child Care Act, 1993 and to make recommendations to the Minister for Social Development for its reform. A project committee was appointed and an issue paper was published for general information and comment. In May 2002, the Commission presented to the Portfolio Committee on Social Development the preliminary findings of its work, along with some recommendations. This briefing paper presents some of the major findings and recommendations of the Commission. These recommendations cover statutory, common, customary and religious law affecting children. They are based not only on the protection accorded to children’s rights in the South African Constitution, the effect and interpretation given thereto by the courts, and the impact of HIV/AIDS on children, but also flow from South Africa’s international obligations in terms of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. |
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THE NATIONAL CONVENTIONAL ARMS CONTROL BILL (REVISITED)
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Date added: 07/28/2008 |
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In September 2000 we distributed a briefing on this Bill. We noted that, just as the briefing was completed, the Bill was withdrawn from Parliament, and that we would circulate a further paper if and when the Bill was reintroduced. It soon emerged that the Bill had been withdrawn because the Portfolio Committee on Defence made it clear that it was unhappy with various aspects. In particular, it wished to see Parliament having greater oversight powers, and it wanted the Bill to require ethical considerations to be applied to all arms transactions. (These were two of the main points of criticism raised in our briefing.) About a year later the Bill was re-introduced, and public hearings were held in October 2001. This was a much-improved version (about which we also distributed a briefing). The guidelines which had been so conspicuously absent from the first draft were now included, and Parliament was provided with oversight of all approved transactions, raising the possibility that it could intervene if a shady transaction had been approved but not yet carried out. There were still some problems, though: the definition of 'conventional arms' excluded handguns and their ammunition, with the result that exports of these items could happen without the approval of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC); the extremely restrictive clauses dealing with disclosure of information were retained, still taken word-for-word from the old Armscor Act. Nevertheless, it was significantly better than the first draft, and the civil society representatives at the hearings felt that a serious attempt had been made to accommodate their concerns and those of the Committee. Unfortunately, these feelings proved to be premature: soon after the hearings, the Bill was withdrawn once again. |
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THE FALL OF THE RAND
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Date added: 07/27/2008 |
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After a depreciation of some 12% in the average value of the Rand against the US dollar during 2000, the Rand shed a further 19% of its value during 2001. There have since been calls to the authorities to try to stop, and even perhaps reverse, the depreciation. This briefing will attempt to highlight some of the causes and consequences of the fall and focus on the part played by speculators, who must carry a substantial part of the blame for the Rand's collapse. |
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South Africa as a Development State (1808)