Human rights ‘are to protect people’s dignity’

A COUNTRY that protects the fundamental rights of its citizens by laws and a constitution is one of the most important cornerstones in protecting the dignity and security of individuals, one of South Africa’s most prominent liberation heroes, Justice Albie Sachs of that country’s Constitutional Court, said on Friday.

Launching ‘Human Rights in Africa – legal Perspectives on their Protection and Promotion’, Sachs (74) said fundamental rights had to be entrenched in a state, especially in countries which had undergone political transformation as had happened in Africa.’People have fought bravely for transformation and independence, but if they get to power they do not always live up to the promises they made,’ Sachs said. Sachs, who became an advocate at the young age of 21, was admitted to the Cape Bar in South Africa in the early sixties. He was opposed to apartheid rule, had to go into exile and survived an assassination attempt by the Pretoria Regime in Maputo in 1988, losing one arm and sight in one eye when a bomb exploded under his car. Citing the example of the late President Samora Machel of Mozambique, Justice Sachs told the large gathering of mainly the legal fraternity and Namibian freedom fighters that he loved Machel and got to know him well during his stint in that country. ‘However they made serious mistakes in Mozambique [after independence] and I was part of some of them, but that happens in the transformation process.’ The former South African regime had left no space for the opposition and so an organisation like the African National Congress (ANC) had to go into exile and the internal transformation process became an international movement so brother fought against brother, abuses happened.’I cannot say we [of the ANC] avoided all abuses, but it was part of the ANC philosophy to put in checks and balances [once in power] and we came up with the Bill of Rights and in 1994 established the Constitutional Court.’Sachs said South Africa had also drawn lessons from Namibia, where an elected constituent assembly drafted a constitution with the fundamental rights enshrined in Chapter Three.’Ten years ago a book on human rights in Africa would hardly have been possible, maybe a book towards human rights’ Sachs said. ‘Five years ago a book with a question mark behind the title was more probable but today this book we are launching is indeed possible, a good progress.’The protection of the dignity and security of individuals should always be the measure, especially of those who did not live in prosperity,’ he cautioned.The book was a project of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), co-edited by its local representative Dr Anton Bösl and Professor Joseph Diescho and published by Macmillan Namibia. Bösl said democracy and the rule of law are interdependent. ‘Only a state with a functioning rule of law can guarantee the dignity and the rights of its citizens and only a democratically constituted society can safeguard the rule of law in the long run.’The book has 12 authors, among them legal stalwarts from Namibia such as Bience Gawanas, Professor Nico Horn and Oliver Ruppel. The 12 contributions summarise the achievements and challenges faced regarding human rights in Africa, including all aspects of the effectiveness of their protection system and their implementation. The Namibian was granted an exclusive interview with Justice Albie Sachs, which will be published later this week.