Magnitude of SA crime "Human Rights violation" - US Govt JOHANNESBURG The magnitude of crime in South Africa should be considered a human rights violation, according to the latest United States Department of State Human Rights Report.
Among the crimes it notes as human rights violations are a staggering 23 453 children raped, 1 075 murdered and 20 879 assaulted last year alone. Government generally respects the human rights of South African citizens, the report says, but it argues that the blame for a number of violations can be laid at governments door because it fails to provide a safe and secure climate. The report also notes the country has 240 prisons with a capacity of 114 000 and that for the 2006 year under review the prison population was 158 501. According to the SA Department of Justice the backlog of court cases increased by 11% in district courts and 2% in regional courts. With 125 521 police officers the SA Police Service remains ill- equipped, overworked and poorly trained. The Independent Complaints Directorate received 1 643 allegations of criminal offences committed by police, and 2 855 complaints of misconduct. This is a 5% decline in offences and a 16% decrease in misconduct compared to the previous year. There is an increase of two to 88 in farm killings and a decrease of 16 in farm attacks to 636. The report notes government continued its efforts to curb corruption, although public perception of widespread official corruption, particularly in the police and the Department of Home Affairs, continued. Other areas covered in the report include freedom of speech and Press; freedom of peaceful assembly and association; protection of refugees; women and children including child prostitution and child labour and workers rights. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> See what's inside the new Yahoo! Groups email. http://us.click.yahoo.com/0It09A/bOaOAA/yQLSAA/KlSolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ForumWebSiteAt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
