invisible’ Pityana
Evidence wa ka Ngobeni
Rhoda Kadalie, the former Human Rights Commissioner, this week took another swing at the Human Rights Commission (HRC) chair, Barney Pityana, for remaining aloof in Switzerland while the furore raged over the subpoenas to the country’s editors.
Kadalie, who last week called on editors to defy the subpoenas served on them, slammed all the HRC commissioners for remaining “curiously silent and invisible” about their “incomprehensible actions”.
“Instead they send a junior spokesperson, clearly out of his depth, into the lion’s den to defend the indefensible,” said Kadalie.
In the meantime, Kadalie says, “chairperson [Barney] Pityana is absent yet again, ironically attending a workshop on racism in Geneva while his colleagues have to carry the burden of salvaging what little respectability is left of the commission.
“Surely, Pityana should be called to account and explain to the public and the world at large why they have resorted to such drastic measures.”
Kadalie has called on Parliament, which has oversight of the statutory bodies, to censure the HRC “for bringing the country into disrepute at a time when [President Thabo] Mbeki’s government image is extremely positive nationally and internationally”.
This debacle, Kadalie says, “is but one of the many gaffes made by the HRC since its inception in late 1995, and explanation is long overdue as to why it is prone to courting negative publicity when it should be at the forefront in monitoring human rights violations and promoting a culture of human rights in the country”.
Also, Kadalie says, “this saga should be a lesson to researchers and consultants who enter into partnerships with the commission, that the HRC will use their work to further their own ends”.
Kadalie was referring to the Media Monitoring Project (MMP), which compiled one of the HRC’s reports and has distanced itself from the subpoenas. The MMP criticised the HRC for “misinterpreting its findings and using them to violate freedom of expression”.
Kadalie says the “HRC’s reputation for such partnerships with a range of players has been less than positive.
“Throughout the HRC’s existence it has had to rely on outside sources to conduct research for them, as they either lack the capacity to conduct cutting-edge research, or because they fly around the world far too much to knuckle down to some serious work.
“Perhaps the commission should start earning their keep by doing what they have been appointed to do, that is, to protect and promote human rights in South Africa, and that includes the human rights of the media, too!”