AFRICA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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The Government cooperates with the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations
in assisting refugees. The Government provides first asylum, granting applicants
the right to work and study. The Department of Home Affairs reported that
as of November, 61,120 persons had applied for asylum since 1994. Of this number,
14,735 were granted asylum and refugee status, 24,177 were refused, and 16,053
were awaiting a decision. The majority of recognized refugees came from Somalia,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Angola; there also were refugees from
Rwanda, Burundi, and the Republic of the Congo.
The majority of illegal immigrants come from Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Illegal
immigrants are processed for deportation at a central facility, and sent back to Mozambique
and Zimbabwe by weekly trains. Inadequate security on the trains allows
many deportees to jump from the train en route, perpetuating the illegal immigration
problem. Despite numerous procedural safeguards, efforts to combat a growing
illegal immigration problem occasionally resulted in the wrongful deportation of
aliens legally in the country. However, there were no reports of the forced return
of persons to countries where they feared persecution. There were credible reports
of overcrowded, unhygienic detention facilities; beatings by security personnel in detention
centers; and the theft of money and personal possessions from refugees by
security personnel.
In December after a 2-year investigation, the HRC released a report assessing the
conditions at the Lindela Repatriation Centre, the largest detention facility for undocumented
immigrants in the country. The report described abuses against detainees,
which included long detentions, poor conditions, xenophobia, abuse and corruption
by officials, and sexual abuse of women. In December the HRC reported that
the Department of Home Affairs had not responded to its recommendations, and although
the contractor operating the facility had improved conditions, Home Affairs
officials continued to assault detainees and subject them to degrading treatment.
Xenophobia led to a number of violent attacks on foreigners (see Section 1.c.).
On November 7, a video taped in 1998 was broadcast on national television showing
six white police officers beating and torturing three black illegal immigrants
with dogs (see Section 1.c.).
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
The Constitution provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercise this right in practice through periodic free and fair
elections held on the basis of universal suffrage. In June 1999 national elections
were held that observers deemed to be free and fair. There was an improved level
of overall tolerance during the campaigning and voting period compared with the
1994 elections, attributable to IFP-ANC talks, as well as an increased police presence.
Complaints primarily concerned posters being removed or defaced, individuals
being threatened because of political affiliation, and other incidents of intimidation.
The new Constitution went into effect in February 1997. Under its terms, the
country retains a bicameral parliament, an executive state presidency, and an independent
judiciary, including a constitutional court.
The 400-member National Assembly was retained under the Constitution. A National
Council of Provinces (NCOP), consisting of six permanent and four rotating
delegates from each of the nine provinces, functions as the second chamber of Parliament.
The NCOP, created to give a greater voice to provincial interests, must approve
legislation that involves shared national and provincial competencies according
to a schedule in the Constitution. An 18-member Council of Traditional Leaders,
which the Constitution accords an advisory role in matters of traditional law and
authority, was inaugurated in 1997.
Two parties, the ANC and the IFP, continued to share executive power, although
the ANC dominated the Government and gained in parliamentary strength in the
1999 elections. The ANC fills 24 of the 27 ministerial positions. In 1999 the ANC
leader, Thabo Mbeki, succeeded Nelson Mandela as President and Head of State.
As a result of the 1999 national elections, the Democratic Party (DP) replaced the
New National Party (NNP) as the official opposition in the National Assembly. In
June the DP and NNP, along with the Federal Alliance (FA), formed the Democratic
Alliance, which is expected to consolidate into a single party as soon as electoral
laws permit them to do so. The National Assembly also includes the UDM, the African
Christian Democratic Party, the Pan Africanist Congress, the United Christian
Democratic Party, the Freedom Front, the Afrikaner Unity Movement, the Azanian
People’s Organization, and the Minority Front.
Traditional leaders expressed concern over the redrawing of municipal boundaries
in anticipation of nationwide municipal elections that were held on December 5.
These leaders traditionally have held all of their subjects’’ agricultural land in trust
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