Human Rights day in South Africa and psychosocial disability

By: Annie Robb

From the 9-10 December, in recognition of 62 anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Human Rights Institute of South Africa invited human rights defenders from all over South Africa and held a conference in Kliptown, Soweto where our historic Freedom Charter was signed in 1955 that stated the "South Africa belonged to all that lived in it". Ubuntu was invited to speak on disability and LGBTI issues.
There is an alarming increase in homophobia on the African continent with 4 countries having the death penalty and 29 countries were legislation makes it illegal and punishments vary from floggings to life imprisonment. In South Africa, violent corrective rapes of lesbians is common place and throughout the continent the LGBTI community suffer discrimination, harassment, violent assaults, murder and live with immense stigma. The situation is dire and we, as people living with psychosocial disabilities must speak out against this. Here is the text of my presentation to the Human Rights Defenders Forum: .

we celebrate the 62nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an international treaty that laid the foundation for a dream of a world founded upon human rights, mutual respect and dignity for all that lived on this planet. It came in the aftermath of a genocide that decimated millions and caused untold misery and suffering. Peoples’ inalienable rights were to be recognized. This was believed to lay the foundation of freedom, justice and peace.

Much of the African continent continues to be afflicted by persistent economic stagnation, mounting human misery and deep political instability. People who identify as LGBTI are under threat worldwide and face increasing homophobia in the form of violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatization and prejudice. Much of this can be described as the practice of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. Arbitrary arrest or detention and deprivation of economic, social and cultural rights occurs. These prejudices are directed against persons in all countries simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This undermines the integrity and dignity of persons that identify as LGBTI.

We are all familiar with the Ugandan government’s attempt to introduce the death penalty for homosexuality. Another country on the continent of Africa who wishes to condemn to death people for simply loving one another and expressing their sexuality or choosing which gender to identify with. Currently in Sudan, Mauritania, in the north of Nigeria and Somalia you risk a death sentence for the “crime” of homosexuality.

Currently in Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe homosexuality carries judicial penalties and sanctions ranging from floggings to life, imprisonment. In the remaining few African countries homosexuality is legal but same sex unions are not recognized. On the continent of Africa, only South Africa can be said to have a Constitution and some legislation that allows people that identify as gay and lesbian to attempt to actualize the full enjoyment and freedom of their rights.

But even this is not enough. We know that many lesbians in SA live under threat of corrective rape, assault or death. They are stigmatized and marginalized by their communities.

I attended 48th Session of African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights last month in Banjul as a representative of the African Disability Partners. On my return I reported on the persecution and discrimination of the LGBTI communities and individuals on the African continent. I also further reported to our members that the Coalition for African Lesbians had been consistently denied observer status at the ACHPR for the past 3 sessions.

This troubled us deeply as we know that the common threads that bind us all as human beings is that we have diverse multiple identities, beliefs and practices. Many persons that identify as living with a disability also identify as lesbian or gay, may identify as black or white, Somali or Twa, maybe male, intersex or female, Moslem, Jewish, Christian, Pagan or Atheist. They could be regarded as an albino, a person accused of witchcraft, a trafficked woman, man or child, an asylum seeker, a refugee, a displaced person or a person living with HIV/AIDS or even leprosy. All of these marginalized groups may live with a disability too.

So, for people living with a disability we do realize that our freedom and rights are not guaranteed for as long as groups and people are devalued for what they are. Marginalization increases the risk of vulnerability to acts of discrimination and gross human rights violations. And people remain silent because they regard these people are not worthy of consideration.

In our deliberations, we were reminded of the words of Pastor Niemoller uttered in 1948, the year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the aftermath of World War 11:

“First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a communist. Then, the socialists, trade unionists, Jews and other groups. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

We are especially mindful as people living with psychosocial disabilities of having entered the same gas chambers as millions of Jews, homosexuals and others that had become objects of persecution. We know that for as long as human rights violations are tolerated by the silence and inaction of others, it is a short step towards the amplification and further dehumanization of other groups and individuals that are not regarded as full citizens or despised.

Thus it was with great distress that we heard on the 16 November of the exclusion of “sexual orientation” in a Resolution of the United Nations.[1] Even shocking was that SA during the debate called for a definition of “sexual orientation” – a clear ploy to gerrymander the proceedings and give reason to exclude because the definition was unclear. This we find both embarrassing and disconcerting of our representatives considering that they represent a country where it is firmly entrenched as a concept. We were further appalled by the news that South Africa had voted to remove this clause.

Issues around sexual orientation and psychosocial disability can find commonalities and intersections. Both groups have had aspects of their being subject to a medical interpretation Psychiatry routinely pathologizes our sexuality with the level of our sex drive being a symptom of our illness, with value judgments of whether we are doing it too much or too little, with too many of maybe even inappropriate partners. Not adhering to heterosexist norms of gender identity, and wishing to choose one’s gender is still referred to as Gender Identity disorder and persons seeking gender realignment surgery know the power of psychiatrists in determining this choice. Your body and mind is medicalized and pathologized in this process. Homosexuality until 1973 was classified as mental illness, a disease, in the DSM 4, the bible of psychiatry. Many homosexuals were locked in psychiatric institutions to cure them of this “affliction”. Torture and cruel and inhumane treatments such as painful shock therapy are used in the name of aversion therapy in attempt to eliminate all feelings and attraction to the same sex. This is cruel and inhumane treatment .

What I would like to underline is that we believe that vulnerable marginalized groups must seek their commonalities and moments of intersections. We must strive for a marginalized consensus in civil society and examine ways in which we can identify and act in solidarity with one another.

We should also keep in mind that Disability rights are perceived as inoffensive and non-political. How better to promote human rights in situations where human rights of marginalized groups are an anathema. Promoting the UN CRPD could be a powerful mechanism that will spread the principles of universal rights.

We, as in this UN Convention, are committed to the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is with this background we decided we would not remain silent about LGBTI matters. We would take action and not be silent. We forwarded the following submission to the SAHRC.

The submission to the SAHRC read as follows:

“It is with great concern we note that South Africa on the 16th November 2010 at the 3rd Committee of the United Nations General Assembly voted to remove sexual orientation from the resolution on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions.

Mentioning sexual orientation as a basis on which people are targeted for killing highlights the extreme vulnerability of persons identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered or intersexed (LGBTI). This is an issue extremely relevant to much of the African continent where persons identifying as LGBTI are often subject to discrimination, crimes such as corrective rapes, violence, torture and even death.

We would like to remind the SAHRC that the South African Constitution 1996 (9.3) guarantees against discrimination based on sexual orientation and that you are mandated and obligated to ensure that the rights of all those that live in South Africa are protected. As persons living with psychosocial disabilities who include members that identify as LGBTI, we would like to highlight that South Africa has signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007 that clearly reaffirms South Africa’s commitment to the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. Furthermore, it recalls the Charter of the United Nations that recognizes the inherent dignity and worth and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.

Thus, we urge the SAHRC to uphold the Paris Principles and speak out strongly against this decision of the South African government, to issue a statement condemning this decision and to clearly reaffirm the principles of our Constitution that guarantee freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

We urge you to recognize the inherent risk of the psychosocial trauma resulting from discriminatory practices. The message conveyed by the South African government by voting for the elimination of sexual orientation in this resolution in our opinion increases vulnerability, social isolation and exclusion of the LGBTI persons in Africa and thus exposes them to further emotional and physical violence. We interpret this as the blatant disregard and the violation of the inherent dignity of all those that identify with the LGBTI community in South Africa.”

End………….

We approached the South African Human Rights Commission with our concerns as we regard them as the custodians of our Constitution, a constitution that should never have allowed our Government representatives to have committed this act. With the ongoing killing and persecution of gay and lesbian persons on the Continent of African and many other parts of the world, it is necessary that “sexual orientation” is particularized in a United Nations Resolution that deals with this very subject.

It must have been common knowledge of our government representatives of the recent intensification of homophobia both here in South Africa. , as witnessed by the ongoing corrective rapes of lesbian women in SA, and continentally. A well publicized local campaign both by civil society and in the media was launched to oppose the Ugandan government from introducing the death penalty for those accused of homosexuality. Also, the recent Malawian sentencing of a married couple simply because of their love for one another. And especially Zimbabwe’s continued violent harassment of the gay community that has resulted in many gay Zimbabweans seeking refuge in South Africa. This has all been widely reported in the South African media.

So, we as Ubuntu expect that the SA government takes the concerns of civil society seriously. Some Civil Society organizations, under the leadership of Zackie Achmat has drafted a letter[2] to the South African Government that demands an apology and the recall of the SA representatives to apologize to South Africa for their actions. Beyond these expectations, Ubuntu believes that the SAHRC has the power to support civil society and the LGBTI community in the restoration of their dignity by issuing a statement that clearly articulates the affirmation of the right not to be discriminated against based on sexual orientation and a comment on the actions of the South African Government.

The SA representatives at the UN must have baffled the world by and given the international community reasons for alternating between hope and discouragement of the status of human rights in Africa. They acted unconstitutionally in the eyes of the SA public and all those in the world that defend and uphold human rights. South Africa is obliged to “respect, protect, promote and fulfill” the rights in the Bill of Rights which clearly outlaws discrimination based on sexual orientation. Accordingly, the vote was unconstitutional and invalid in our law under section 2 of the Constitution. The courts in this country have the power to declare that this is so and to order the government to bring its policy informing the vote into line with section 7(2) and 9(3) of the Bill of Rights.

The options exist to litigate. Government of the Republic of South Africa would be the only Respondent in the application – they can decide among themselves who should take the blame for the decision to vote so offensively and unconstitutionally at the UN. We could consider replicating the complaint to the Office of the Public Protector. A parliamentarian our circle could also motivate a question in parliament aimed at exposing the unconstitutionality of the vote in the UN.

But we should not have to litigate around this. Civil society in concert with SAHRC should call the government to account for their action. But maybe we need to question and lobby around policies that inform how our foreign representatives behave in other countries. We should not forget the shenanigans around the issuing of a visa to the Dalai Lama and the behavior of our consular staff in India. But more importantly, LGBTI and Disability organizations should be joined by all sectors that represent diverse groupings and human rights issues and form a consensus and act in concert in issues of concern. For example, persons living with Albinism on the continent are also subject to persecution and death and intense stigma and discrimination. We regard their congenital condition that places barriers to their full enjoyment of life as a disability. They could greatly benefit from the protection of the CRPD afforded persons with disabilities. We should no longer operate in Silo’s and we need to find common ground. This will strengthen civil society and may snowball into meaningful change towards instilling a culture of human rights.

And
Just like, we persons with psychosocial disabilities will not be guaranteed all our rights until all discrimination is challenged, so too must SA actively engage in the promotion and protection of human rights on the continent. The aims and objectives of implementing universal human rights on the continent is SA’s responsibility as well. Our human rights here in SA cannot thrive and prosper while many countries in Africa face continued economic stagnation, mounting human misery and deep political instability. Development is dependent on a human rights framework.

The SAHRC could be one of the significant vehicles towards this social transformation to justice and the instilling of a culture of human rights on the African Continent. This is especially relevant as human rights defenders in many parts of Africa are coming under increased persecution, silencing, imprisonment and death. Country leaders in Africa are even known to expel UN representatives[3] when they speak out as when on 15 February 2010, UNICEF representative was declared persona non grata in Gambia and given 24 hours to leave the country because she dared to stand by a UNICEF report documenting child trafficking in Gambia and many other gross violations of human rights in Gambia. We need a strong and robust network of African Human Rights Institutions to challenge these violations and we look to you, the SAHRC with your international standing and credibility to lead when you soon assume the chair.

To sum up, we believe that:
In Africa, in the coming decades, our humanity will be judged by the measures taken to promote and protect the rights of those who are most socially isolated, suffering and are persecuted,

And

that for human rights to flourish and be actualized, we must urgently address the current violations and discrimination suffered by those marginalized groups evidenced by the current rising tide of homophobia in Africa and ongoing killings of Albino persons,


[1] http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2010/gashc3997.doc.htm
[2] http://writingrights.org/2010/11/24/sign-open-protest-letter-government-violates-constitution-at-un/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook
[3] http://www.thegambiaecho.com/Homepage/tabid/36/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1826/Default.aspx



Annie Robb
+27 (0) 72 044 1024
theubuntucentre@gmail.com
http://ubuntucentre.wordpress.com/