The Speaker of the National Assembly has referred a letter – from the South African Constitution Protection Coalition that was brought to his attention – to the Joint Constitutional Review Committee (JCRC).
The authors of this letter claim, among other things, that the JCRC has accepted a proposal to remove sexual orientation as a ground for discrimination in terms of the Bill of Rights contained in the Constitution.
The JCRC places on record that it has at no stage agreed to a proposal to weaken or amend rights relating to sexual orientation contained in the Constitution. Statements made outside the Committee cannot and should not be attributed to the JCRC.
The Committee regards all the discriminatory grounds listed in our Bill of Rights to be of critical importance for the country’s democracy, which is based on a human rights culture. The Committee will not entertain efforts to remove or weaken any of these critical human rights and ask of all South Africans to work together in building a non-racial, non-sexist society where discrimination on the prohibited grounds, including sexual orientation, has no place.
For interviews or media enquiries, please contact:
Rajaa Azzakani (Ms), Parliamentary Communication Services
Tel: 021 403 8437
Cell: 082 560 9610
E-mail: razzakani@parliament.gov.za
