The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has officially denounced the “South Africa 2024 Human Rights Report” issued by the US. The report, which claims that "the human rights situation in South Africa significantly worsened during the year," has been met with a strong rebuttal from DIRCO, which labels the 21-page document as inaccurate and a fundamental misrepresentation of the country’s constitutional democracy.
The core of the disagreement lies in the report's reliance on what DIRCO calls "contextual information and discredited accounts." The South African department pointed to a specific incident cited in the report—the deaths of farm workers—which the US report misleadingly presents as an extrajudicial killing. DIRCO, however, countered that the matter is actively being adjudicated by South Africa's independent judiciary, and therefore, the US report's conclusion is not only premature but a fundamental distortion of the facts. Similarly, the report's claims of extrajudicial killings, citing media reports of criminal suspects killed in shoot-outs with police, particularly in the KwaZulu-Natal Province, were also refuted. DIRCO stated that there are "robust processes in place" to investigate such incidents and determine whether due process was followed and if the use of force was warranted.
A major point of contention is the report's position on the Expropriation Act, which allows for the expropriation of land belonging to Afrikaners. The US report cites this as an abuse against racial minorities, a claim that is at odds with the view of the United Nations. DIRCO was quick to point out this discrepancy, noting that the UN Human Rights Office has described the act as "a critical step in addressing the country's racially imbalanced land ownership." This difference in opinion highlights the broader international debate on land reform and the complexities of addressing historical injustices.
