An Analysis of South Africa's Compliance with its Reporting Obligations Under Selected Core Human Rights Treaties

Abstract

South Africa’s peaceful transition to democracy in 1994 and its related efforts to be a champion for human rights promotion and protection are well documented. Since the advent of democracy, it has signed and ratified seven of the nine core international human rights treaties. Having overcome a history of racism and human rights violations in a peaceful manner, it assumed the status of a leading state actor in the fields of human rights and democracy. This study reveals that state compliance is complicated and that many states including South Africa grapple with reporting obligations. This thesis contributes to the understanding that non-compliance with reporting obligations is not intentional, nor necessarily is it a result of state unwillingness to comply. It reveals that compliance gaps may arise from various factors, including state capacity and institutional effectiveness. This thesis reflects on South Africa’s compliance and reporting performance under three selected United Nations (UN) human rights treaties, namely, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The three treaties were chosen owing to the critical role they can play in deepening the understanding of human rights in the country from economic, social, civil and political, and elimination of racism perspectives. They largely mirror the Constitution of South Africa and the country’s challenges, as it continues to grapple with the legacy of racism, poverty, inequality and underdevelopment. Their combined meaning and significance in South Africa needs to be better understood and explored. Compliance with UN human rights treaties is considered a global standard of good global citizenship. State reporting is, therefore, an important avenue to demonstrate South Africa’s compliance with its reporting obligations and commitment to human rights promotion and protection.