Speech by the Chairperson of the CRL Commission-30 November

Speech by the Chairperson of the Commission for Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights, Dr Mongezi Guma at the First National Consultative Conference in Durban, ICC 30 November 2004 Protocol observed On behalf of the Commisssion for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Commission), I would like to welcome everybody present here today. As the CRL Commission we would like to express our sincere appreciation for the fact that in spite of your busy schedule you were able to set aside your time to join us in this important conference. The purpose of this National Consultative Conference (NCC) as provided for by the enabling legislation, the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities Act 19 of 2002, is to provide a forum wherein the following will be realised: · A consideration of the report by the Commission on its activities, accomplishments, challenges and recommendations thereto · The evaluation of progress in South Africa in regard to- (a) the promotion of respect for and the furthering of the protection of the rights of cultural, religious and linguistic communities (b) the furthering of peace, friendship, humanity, tolerance and national unity among and within cultural, religious and linguistic communities · The formulation of requests and recommendations to the Commission concerning (a) and or (b) · The discussion of resolutions before the conference concerning requests to, and priorities for, the Commission · Promoting appreciation for cultural, religious and linguistic diversity First and foremost, I would like to introduce the Commissioners of the Commission of the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Commission) so that we all know who is hosting us. [introduction of Commissioners and the CEO] Therefore, the task of bringing in to national recognition all the diverse cultures from the cold and nudging the nation from the inherited identities to a new and united South Africa is in good hands of true South Africans, in their individual capacities and as a group – the Commission. The 18 commissioners are active members of the diverse cultural, religious and linguistic communities of South Africa and the freedom of culture, religion, and language must begin at the Commission and the Commission must lead the way to freedom, peace, friendship, tolerance, humanity and national unity among the diverse cultural, religious and linguistic communities. These men and women will, for the next five years, be responsible for setting up systems and processes that will ensure the promotion and protection of the rights of cultural, religious and linguistic communities. As South Africa celebrates ten years of democracy, government continues to strengthen constitutional democracy and to implement true principles of democracy, i.e. government of the people, by the people and for the people. The majority of the people of South Africa lost their right to identity and that even though they have been free for the last ten years, the struggle for their true cultural, religious and linguistic identity - a struggle for a true African identity, still continues. As we are gathered here today for the first National Consultative Conference of the CRL Commission many issues have been raised as to how far we have gone in with regards to protecting and promoting human rights in South Africa. Over the years various international agencies, institutions and organizations have awarded themselves the lucrative tender to define, monitor and evaluate the scope and the limits of human rights in South Africa and indeed our continent. In most cases the conclusions they make are premised on Western epistemology and practice of these rights. Whenever questions of rights issues are discussed with regards to Africa, there is a scandalous tendency to reduce them to issues of removing so-called dictators. Broader cultural, religious and linguistic rights are deemed to be the luxury African countries cannot afford. The fact of the matter is that culture, religion and language are serious terrains of contestation that have seen bloodshed in some countries because they constitute both dignity and identity of an individual or a nation. During 2003, President Thabo Mbeki brought into operation, the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Commission), the last to emerge in the family of Chapter 9 Institutions Supporting Constitutional Democracy, in order to heal the divisions of the past and promote and protect the cultural, religious and linguistic identity of the people of South Africa in the context of nation building. The task of bringing in to national recognition all the diverse cultures from the cold and nudging the nation from the inherited identities to a new and united South Africa is in good hands of true South Africans, in their individual capacities and as a group – the Commission. The 18 commissioners are active members of the diverse cultural, religious and linguistic communities of South Africa and the freedom of culture, religion, and language must begin at the Commission and the Commission must lead the way to freedom, peace, friendship, tolerance, humanity and national unity among the diverse cultural, religious and linguistic communities. The 1970s was a pivotal era in terms of social change and transformation. The struggle for that change has culminated in the South Africa of today. South Africa must not be blind to the social imperatives of cultural, religious and linguistic tolerance that form part of a more subtle struggle amongst us as a nation in pursuit of unity. Today, South Africa cannot justify the placing of certain languages on a pedestal, simply because they are international languages, therefore are necessary for our global competitiveness. What is a protection for one group should be applicable to others, as the United Nations document says “Cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature”. This means that South Africa cannot promote the equal rights of others in order to perpetuate the unequal treatment of some. South Africa has to move away from the trenches of division, which sought to highlight differences more than similarities. There is a need to recognize that the political history of linguistic hegemony has contaminated linguistic heritage and integrity. The Constitution has, as its cornerstone, the transformation imperative. Organs such as the CRL are tasked to uphold democracy and to repudiate apartheid-imposed pluralism. Fundamental to this pluralism were the politics of otherness, which encouraged the looking down on others. Thus our primary task is nation building. History has shown that if the cocktail of culture, religion and language are not properly addressed, it tends to unleash on societies a horrifying explosion of violence. For democracy to succeed, there has to be mutual recognition and respect of each other’s identities. As South Africans we are engaged in a national project of identity search where we are moving towards celebrating our diversity where before we were deliberately programmed to shun and destroy other’s identities and heritage. This was to the extent that we even celebrated different national holidays and completely ignored others. We have much to learn about each other, and as a commission one of our goals is to educate South Africans about one another. The National Anthem, for instance, is a brilliant way that not only protects certain rights but makes South Africans recognize, embrace and embody alternative ways of being South African. Our National Anthem is a combination of the for Nguni (Ndebele, Zulu, Xhosa), Germanic (English, Afrikaans) and Sesotho (Tswana, Sepedi) groupings. The Constitution has, as its cornerstone, a transformation imperative. Organs such as the CRL Commission are tasked to support constitutional democracy and to repudiate Apartheid-imposed pluralism. Fundamental to this pluralism was the politics of otherness which encouraged a false sense of superiority on some and a false sense of inferiority on others. Our constitution mandates the notion of multiculturalism. We have to recognize and accept the fact that South Africa is a multi-cultural landscape with overlapping contour lines of culture, religion and language. The straight lines of geometry do not apply in defining the boundaries, the scope and limits of our cultural, religious and linguistic identities. Within this multiculturalism, we therefore need to nurture a culture of tolerance that would give rise to patience towards each other and begin to accept each other or, in the words of Dr Martin Luther King, “perish together as fools”. It is my fervent hope therefore that during our deliberations we will all shed our narrow sectorial interests and unleash our efforts towards chiseling a common identity that will unify us as South Africans. NKOSI SIKELEL’IFRIKA GOD BLESS AFRICA Thank you.