Johannesburg - The SA Human Rights Commission said on Wednesday there is a strong need for its planned public hearings to address safety and security on farms.
Spokesman Isaac Mangena said the SAHRC decided to hold the hearings following findings from a 2008 inquiry into conditions prevalent on farms and its communities.
AfriForum had requested a hearing into farm attacks, which it believed were not receiving enough attention.
“All complaints we have received point to the fact that safety and security and human rights protection, including conditions of employment in farming communities, still remain a significant challenge,” Mangena said.
The commission also identified a strong basis for a probe into progress made by government and the private sector on the implementation of recommendations made in 2008.
AfriForum CEO Ernst Roets said government did not publish statistics on these crimes.
“Years back, government recognised that farmers were targeted in exceptionally brutal attacks, but now, a total denial of the true extent of the crisis prevails.”
AfriForum had asked the commission to look into the matter and would make all its relevant resources available to the commission.
Mangena said a date for the hearings would soon be announced.
Sapa