Civil rights organization AfriForum today attends the eleventh session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues in Geneva, Switzerland, to garner support against government\u2019s intended programme of expropriation without compensation. \u00a0This step is part of the organization\u2019s stepped-up international campaign to mobilize pressure against expropriation without compensation.<\/p>\n
According to Alana Bailey, who attends this UN body\u2019s session in her capacity as AfriForum\u2019s Deputy CEO responsible for international liaison, this organization\u2019s legal team is busy with litigation to halt the South African government\u2019s process of amending the Constitution, but international pressure is essential to prevent the process from being carried through in one way or another eventually.<\/p>\n
The theme of this year\u2019s session of the Forum on Minority Issues is statelessness. \u00a0The UN states that it is a human rights issue that affects minorities around the world disproportionally.<\/p>\n
Bailey emphasized that AfriForum does not oppose a responsibly executed land reform programme. \u00a0\u201cHowever, if the principle of willing seller, willing buyer, is being waived, as is proposed, it can only be detrimental to all residents of the country,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cMinorities in South Africa are currently being subjected to scapegoating to conceal the government\u2019s inability to properly implement land reform. \u00a0An official land reform report, issued under the leadership of former State President Kgalema Motlanthe, acknowledges that neither white landowners, nor the Constitution can be blamed for the state\u2019s failed land reform programme \u2013 it has inter alia been caused by corruption and the incompetence of the state. \u00a0Yet several statements by senior government representatives indicate that the proposed expropriation process will target white landowners. \u00a0They therefore run the risk of becoming a stateless minority,\u201d Bailey said.\u00a0 \u201cThey already face mounting pressure against their constitutionally recognised cultural rights, such as language and education rights.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
According to her, the risk is not limited to this community only. \u00a0Elsewhere, similar ideology-driven expropriation projects have led to a dramatic growth of the world\u2019s stateless population, including the creation of large numbers of political and economic refugees. \u00a0They have not been limited to one group only \u2013 all citizens of the countries concerned have been affected detrimentally.\u00a0 AfriForum is convinced that all South Africans will face a dark future if this process of expropriation without compensation will be carried out.<\/p>\n
\u201cDamage has already been done. \u00a0International investors are deterred by policy uncertainty re property rights in the country. \u00a0Property prices are falling and farmers are reluctant to develop farm infrastructure, which has a negative impact on food security. \u00a0Credit rating agencies such as Moody\u2019s, financial institutions (including the International Monetary Fund), opinion makers and financial experts have all announced concerns, supported by reliable research results. \u00a0However, it still does not deter the ANC government from its self-destructive intentions. \u00a0It is the responsibility of civil society to do everything possible to prevent South African minorities from becoming part of the world\u2019s large stateless population,\u201d Bailey said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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