Durban - The former UN high commissioner for human rights, Judge Navi Pillay, of Durban, will head the provincial task team investigating the recent xenophobic attacks.
Pillay spent eight years with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, including four years as its president, and the past five years with the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu established the team in the wake of the violence that displaced thousands of foreign-born residents, and 432 incidents reported to the police.
Before the release of the team’s terms of reference on Wednesday, experts have urged that the findings be taken seriously if the country is to make a lasting stand against xenophobia.
Senior international relations lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Bheki Mngomezulu, said: “With the recent attacks having started in Durban, the province is in a vanguard position… to address the issue.”
In a statement issued at the weekend, the team said it would consult organisations and affected communities.
Secretariat support would be provided by the Durban-based African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (Accord).
Accord’s executive director, Vasu Gounden, will serve on the team.
Mngomezulu said it was promising that its members were seen to be non-partisan, influential in their own right and respected internationally, which would give their final report credibility.
“Gounden has worked with former president Nelson Mandela and has been involved with peacekeeping and conflict resolution all over Africa. As things stand, we are hopeful the report will go a long way to bringing back the image of the province,” he said.
Roshan Dadoo, of the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa, welcomed the appointment. “We can’t take lightly that the group is being led by a person with an impeccable reputation. It will give credence to the findings and hopefully they will be taken seriously.”
The task team held its first meeting on April 17, and will submit a preliminary report on migration and community integration of foreign nationals in KZN within three months, followed by a final report on October 31.
After the 2008 xenophobic violence, a similar investigation was conducted by the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) with clear recommendations. “These were not acted on so what will be different this time around? We must put pressure on authorities to take them seriously, otherwise this will be another exercise of wasteful expenditure,” Mngomezulu said.
“The report should be made available to all political parties in the KZN Legislature, who in turn should filter it to their constituencies. People need to know that they cannot exercise their constitutional rights at the expense of other people.”
Dadoo praised the political will, but said it was unfortunate that it had taken so long and that more people had died.
She believed the group’s report should be used to update the SAHRC’s 2008 report and that the recommendations be implemented.
Themba Masuku, of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, said Pillay’s appointment sent a positive message to African countries that the government was committed to dealing with xenophobia.
“Durban is an important city to the KZN economy and any violence is likely to impact on its economy,” he said.
Daily News