The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (hereafter the CRL Rights Commission) is hosting stakeholder roundtable discussions on burial rights and rights of access to the ancestral graves of rural communities in Mpumalanga province. The CRL Rights Commission is an institution established by the Constitution of the Republic to strengthen Constitutional democracy in the Republic of South Africa and is given effect by Act 19 of 2002. Through this Act the CRL Rights Commission is mandated to, inter alia:
The CRL Rights Commission will be hosting a round table discussion on the burials, access to the graves and destruction of the graves comes in the wake of incidents including the following:
- alleged refusals of burials,
- access to the graves and,
- destruction of graves belonging to farm dwellers and workers in various parts of South Africa.
Accordingly these incidents have impact not only on national legislation but also on the Constitutional rights to cultural, religious and spiritual beliefs and practice.
It is the mandate of the CRL Rights Commission to protect and promote the rights of cultural, religious communities from violation. The challenges facing farm dwellers in regard to rights to burials and access to graves, amongst others, are complex and overlap with the Commissions mandate. Therefore the CRL Rights Commission is of the opinion that any intervention to address these various challenges requires multi-sectoral and interdepartmental cooperation.
The roundtables seek to achieve the following objectives:
- Assess the extent of the problems relating to the rights of burials, access to the graves, unlawful desecration of graves and related issues,
- Identify and define the nature and causes of the challenges and experiences of farm communities around issues of burials and graves.
- Make recommendations towards lasting solutions.
Venue: Nkangala District Municipality Chambers (Middelburg)
Date: 19 August 2011
Time: 10h00
For more information contact:
Marketing and Communications Officer Ms Botle Letsebe
Tel: 011 537 7625
Cell: 079 238 1485
