Spalte #col2

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Resources

Digging up the Dirt view details>>

Underreporting of cases from Africa view details>>

The establishment of the Southern African Disappearances Task Team, the Roots for a Regional Network view details>>

NGO's Working on Disappearances in Africa: the Missing Links view details>>

From Cotonou to Arusha via Pretoria, RADIF is born view details>>

Linking Solidarity Newsletter: Africa Special view details>>

Enforced disappearances South Africa

Numbers and Context
UNWGEID Cases
In all 11 cases of enforced disappearances have been submitted to the UNWGEID in its history. 5 cases have been clarified (1 person was at liberty, 1 person in detention and 3 were dead). The cases were from the period of Apartheid. In the 80s the working group reported extensively on the legislation permitting lawful disappearances in South Africa under the Apartheid regime (see for example Commission on Human Rights, E/CN.4/1435, 26 January 1981 par. 175-178). The last case reported was in 1993. In addition, during the 80s, the working group frequently connected South African security forces to enforced disappearances in other states, such as Angola and Namibia.
NGOs Numbers
The question of enforced disappearances was dealt with by the truth and reconciliation commission that was set up to deal with human rights violations under the Apartheid regime. In its final report the commission dedicated a chapter to the question of 'Abductions, disappearances and missing persons' under the apartheid regime. In that report the Commission states that it received over 1500 victim statements concerning people who were missing or disappeared and 477 people named in the statements remained missing. Of these 64 were victim of an enforced disappearance. These were the cases the commission could not elucidate. The number of cases of missing and disappeared was between 1000 and 2000 (inside and outside South Africa). Following the report a Missing Persons Task Team was set up to follow-up on the cases of those still missing and disappeared. Khulumani Support Group continues to collect information on the number of disappeared persons during the apartheid regime. It claims that the figure of those whose fate is not elucidated is closer to 2000 than the 477 of the TRC. The majority of people who disappeared within South Africa between 1985 and 1994, disappeared in Natal and Transvaal.
Context
Enforced disappearances occurred during the Apartheid regime. It involved different actors in different countries: Targeted abduction operations; Abductions of people formally arrested and detained, from police stations; Where the security branch did not wish to release people against whom they had insufficient evidence these persons would be killed. Release papers would then be fabricated. This was also the case for prisoners who died of torture. People went missing or disappeared during periods of unrest in the townships In other cases abductions would take place through the use of vigilante groups and criminal gangs. This method was favored by the security branch as it limited their responsibility. Under the Apartheid regime a series of laws to root out 'terrorism' was established that made enforced disappearances possible. The UNWGEID commented extensively on this in their annual reports in the 80s. A number of disappearances also took place in the conflict between the United Democratic Front (UDF)/ANC against the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) mostly in KwaZulu/Natal (this conflict was fueled by the apartheid government) during the second half of the 80s and the early 90s. Many also went missing in exile. People would flee and or join the ANC or PAC. It is very difficult to ascertain how many of these people were forcibly disappeared. Some would be killed by South African Defense Forces outside of South Africa, others would die of natural causes, others changed their whole identity in order not to be traced again. Some of these were also disappeared by the ANC and PAC. In the case of the ANC some efforts were made to elucidate the fate and whereabouts of persons who disappeared (including those who disappeared in ANC holding camps in Agnola). In the case of the PAC-'disappeared' there is not much information. More recently NGOs in South Africa have accused the Government of being complicit in at least one case of extra-ordinary rendition in the context of the 'war against terror'. This was the well publicised case of Khalid Rashid, a Pakistani national who was deported from South Africa to an unknown destination, in 2005.

Federations and Organisations
Organisation	Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation
Website	http://www.csvr.org.za/
Contact	e-mail: info@csvr.org.za CSVR has offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town. For specific contact details please check the website.
Focus	CSVR works on building reconciliation, democracy, a human rights culture and in prevention of violence in South Africa and in other countries in Africa. In this context CSVR has worked on enforced disappearances in South Africa for many years.

Organisation	Institute for healing of memories
Website	http://www.healingofmemories.co.za/index.htm
Contact	Address: 345 Lansdowne Road Lansdowne 7780 Cape Town Tel: +27 21 696 4230/1 Fax: +27 21 696 8561 General enquiries: info@healingofmemories.co.za Healing of memories workshop enquiries for the Western Cape: mongezi@healingofmemories.co.za Youth workshop enquiries: themba@healingofmemories.co.za Donations: avra@healingofmemories.co.za
Focus	Facilitation of the healing process of individuals and communities; Rememberance of the apartheid years and healing the wounds

Organisation	Khulumani Support Group
Website	www.khulumani.net
Contact	E-mail: info@khulumani.net Telephone: +27 11 403 4098 Fax: +27 11 403 0878 6th Floor Heerengracht Building 87 De Korte Street corner Melle Street Braamfontein Johannesburg 2017 South Africa
Focus	Truth about disappearances, assassinations, torture and other human rights abuses condoned under the apartheid regime and identify the perpetrators.

Organisation	Lawyers for Human Rights
Website	http://www.lhr.org.za/
Contact	LHR has offices in Durban, Johannesburg, Musina, Pietermaritzburg, Pretoria, Stellenbosch and Upington. Please consult the website for specific contact details.
Focus	Non-governmental organisation that strives to promote, uphold and strengthen human rights. LHR organised a conference on enforced disappearances in Pretoria on 27-28 February 2008.

Organisation	Legal Resources Center
Website	http://www.lrc.org.za/home/
Contact	National Office: 7th floor Bram Fischer House, 25 Rissik Street, JOHANNESBURG, 2001 PO Box 9495, Johannesburg, 2000 Tel: (011) 836-9831, 838-6601, 403-0902 Fax: (011) 834-4273 LRC has offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Grahamstown.
Focus	The Legal Resources Centre is an independent, client-based, non-profit public interest law clinic which uses law as an instrument of justice. LRC do advocacy, documentation, legal services and training.

Organisation	Missing Persons Task Team (Governmental)
Website
Contact
Focus	The Missing Persons Task Team is a unit within the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa. It was set up following a recommendation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Organisation	South African History Archives
Website	http://www.saha.org.za/
Contact	General: P.O.Box 31719 Braamfontein South Africa, 2017 t +27 (11) 717 1941 f +27 (11) 717 1964 SAHA Director Piers Pigou t +27 11 717 1941 f +27 11 717 1964 e director@saha.org.za
Focus	The South African History Archive (SAHA) is an independent human rights archive dedicated to documenting and providing access to archival holdings that relate to past and contemporary struggles for justice in South Africa (incl. enforced disappearances).