The South African Human Rights Commission is the national institution established to support constitutional democracy, empowered by the South African Human Rights Commission Act 40 of 2013. The Commission is empowered to:
- Investigate the observance of human rights,
- report on the observance of human rights,
- take steps to secure appropriate redress where human rights have been violated, and
- carry out research and educate the public on human rights.
The Commission runs various operational programmes, but the Legal Services Programme is the most relevant for candidate and practising legal practitioners fulfilling their community service obligations. The Legal Services Programme is purposed to investigate complaints relating to human rights violations, whether lodged by the public or initiated by the Commission itself. The investigations of complaints could comprise the Commission conducting public inquiries, issuing subpoenas and, where necessary, litigation.
The Commission operates within a limited annual budget and human resources, which often hinders its efficiency in conducting many of the programmes it may have and, where applicable, instituting investigations and/or litigation to provide redress for human rights violations across the country. The Commission receive, annually, a large volume of complaints; the budgetary constraints and lack of human resources tend to cause either a backlog of cases or delays in these complaints being finalised.
The Commission, due to these constraints, experience challenges in reaching the many marginalised communities in South Africa, due to the financial constraints, geographic isolation of the offices of the Commission, and limited ability to provide grassroots legal awareness. The lawmakers within this background have recognised the importance of providing sufficient financial and human resources to the Commission for it to carry out its functions effectively. The Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014, through section 29, seeks to aid the Commission in providing human resources as ‘community service’ as a mechanism to enable the Commission to conduct thorough investigations, engage litigation, provide support to victims and engage in advocacy and awareness-raising activities.
The candidate and practising legal practitioners can assist in promoting education and awareness through hosting webinars, training or workshops at all levels of society, including schools, communities, and workplaces, on human rights and human rights observance on behalf of and in collaboration with the Commission.
In supplementing the resources of the Commission through candidate or practising legal practitioners offering their services, the access to justice vision is pursued. Improving access to justice for marginalised and vulnerable groups is a critical opportunity for the Commission, and this can be done by candidate or practising legal practitioners who can conduct investigations, hold public hearings and offer litigation on a pro bono basis, thus ensuring that legal services are available and accessible to those who need them, particularly in remote and rural areas.
In conclusion, the Commission serves as a key institution in combating human rights violations in South Africa. Through the obligations placed upon candidate and parctising legal practitioners in the offering of community service in terms of section 29 of the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014, the Act seeks to assist the Commission in carrying out its goals through investigative, advocacy, and monitoring activities. Section 29 is a mechanism advocating for adequate resourcing, strengthening of the Commission and fostering collaboration with the private sector to further access to justice.
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