Mthente helps to track the implementation of recommendations made to police of xenophobic violence and hate crimes
In 2022, the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF), with support from the European Union (EU), published research on the role of external police oversight mechanisms in monitoring the response by the South African Police Service (SAPS) to xenophobic violence and related hate crimes. This research found that despite significant investment by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in understanding and making recommendations to address policing deficits in this area, implementation of those recommendations by SAPS and others has been weak[1]. Based on this finding, APCOF commissioned Mthente to develop a monitoring framework to systematically track the implementation of SAHRC recommendations by SAPS.
The SAHRC is mandated to promote, protect, monitor and observe the respect for the human rights of all people in South Africa, including migrants. Furthermore, the SAHRC has extensive powers to compel the SAPS to adhere to human rights-focused policing[2]. To fulfil its mandate, the SAHRC needs to systematically track the implementation of recommendations relating to the SAPS’ obligations to combat xenophobic violence as well as safeguard the fundamental human rights of all people in South Africa regardless of their citizenship or ethnic origin.
Numerous recommendations have been made to address the policing of xenophobic attacks (i.e., the SAHRC recommendations, the Morane inquiry, Judge Pillay’s recommendations etc.). Various processes have resulted in evidence-based recommendations made to the SAPS and its stakeholders to address the identified deficits in the prevention of, and response to, xenophobic violence. However, the implementation by the SAPS of these previous and subsequent recommendations has remained weak.
The current attempts in response to previous recommendations include a review of border security policies by Parliament which led to the establishment within the Department of Home Affairs of the BMA. Also, following the release of the Panel of Experts Report on Policing and Crowd Management, a process of the reform of the SAPS Public Order Policing units is underway. However, the lacklustre response of such units during the July 2021 riots in KwaZulu-Natal demonstrates that further reform efforts are required. To emphasise the implementation of suggested recommendations, key Portfolio Committees on Police ought to request the implementing institutions to provide reports on the state of implementation.
In 2022 Cabinet approved the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy (ICVPS). The development of this strategy was driven by the CSPS with the ICVPS being presented as the implementation blueprint for the White Paper on Safety and Security. The ICVPS emphasises that the SAPS (and by implication the CSPS) should play an active role in implementing the National Action Plan on Racism, Racial Discrimination and Xenophobia. In this regard, the SAPS are required to monitor and prioritise investigations into incidents of xenophobic violence. However, no specific CSPS roles are identified in this regard. To date, there are no documents that indicate the status of the implementation of this Strategy, which is still in the initial stages of implementation.
The National Action Plan (NAP) outlines key indicators and associated activities to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance for the period 2019/2020 – 2023/2024, but there is currently no means to evaluate the implementation of the various activities associated with the NAP. The baseline study is supposed to take account of current laws, policies, programmes, activities, needs and human and institutional resources for the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
A key responsibility of the CSPS is the mobilisation of relevant role players and stakeholders at the community level, especially community police forums (CPFs). This can include the provision of capacity building for CPFs where the need arises. In fact, the provision of training and technical support to CPFs is listed as a performance indicator in the CSPS Annual Performance Plan. Some of the published research findings have demonstrated that CPFs can play a significant role in preventing xenophobic violence, and in some communities, CPFs have previously protected foreign nationals from impending attacks[4][5]. CPFs have also acted as forums in which disputes between South Africans and foreign nationals living in the same community can be resolved in non-violent ways. However, the research has also demonstrated that some CPFs can encourage violence against migrants. Hence, the CSPS can play a key role in encouraging the violence prevention and conflict management potential of CPFs through standard setting and capacity building.
As previously indicated, the CSPS spearheaded the development of the ICVPS which highlights the role of the police service in implementing the National Action Plan on Racism, Racial Discrimination and Xenophobia. The CSPS could also use its research mandate to undertake and commission targeted research on how community stakeholders can be activated to prevent xenophobic violence. Such a research function could also be used to effectively monitor the progress and impact of these interventions. Already, interventions by Freedom House and ALPS Resilience (which included a research component) have shown promise.
It is evident that unless there is a strong monitoring mechanism in place, similar recommendations to those already evident in this report will be made again, without tracking of implementation, whenever there is an inquiry into xenophobia and related hate crimes. Mthente’s monitoring framework aims to enable the tracking of the implementation of recommendations by SAHRC, which will ensure that SAPS is able to strengthen its ability to detect, prevent and respond to xenophobic violence and hate crimes.
