- The CRL Commission is set to have investigative hearings in KwaZulu-Natal following the recent unrest.
- The body said the unrest and deaths have necessitated it to facilitate mediation and conflict resolution among affected communities.
- KZN and Gauteng were affected by the unrest.
The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious, and Linguistic Communities (CRL Commission) is set to have investigative hearings in KwaZulu-Natal following the recent unrest.
The Chapter 9 body, in a statement on Tuesday, said the unprecedented conflict of the last month and the resultant deaths necessitated it to facilitate mediation and conflict resolution among affected communities.
According to it, the need for the intervention was in line with the Constitution and the CRL Rights Act 19 of 2002, which mandated it to:
- Promote respect for and further the protection of the rights of cultural, religious, and linguistic communities.
- Promote and develop peace, friendship, humanity, tolerance, and national unity among and within cultural, religious, and linguistic communities, on the basis of equality, non-discrimination, and free association.
- Foster mutual respect among cultural, religious, and linguistic communities.
- Promote the right of communities to develop their historically diminished (heritage).
- Recommend the establishment or recognition of community councils in heritage; and accordance with section 36 or 37.
"Accordingly, the commission's intervention is also in line with the president's call for the rebuilding, reconstruction, stabilising, and normalising of communities through partnership and collaborative efforts that can facilitate peace, stability, and community integration.
"Importantly, the commission has been in contact with several stakeholders and will continue to engage them in all its collective efforts to bring about peace and stability in KZN, particularly in the affected areas," it said.
The investigative hearings are scheduled to take place at the Royal Hotel in Durban on 11 and 12 August.
The country was recently rocked by a period of unrest which culminated in days of violence and looting.
The main provinces affected during the unrest were Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. In addition, the town of Phoenix in Durban made headlines for the level of violence and deaths.
News24 recently reported that in Phoenix, the level of violence was unparalleled, with the suburb accounting for nearly 10% of the 337 unrest-related deaths across South Africa.
Of the 36 people killed, three were Indian. The balance of those who lost their lives were black, while many township residents remain missing.
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