By FOR SA
*The cases and issues in which FOR SA is / has been involved, are marked with astar (*).
POLICIES & BILLS
BasicEducation Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill*
TheDepartment of Basic Education (DBE) has advised that there were meetings withthe Minister to discuss the latest amendments to the Bill. Further meetingswith stakeholders are in the pipeline. A decision on whether the Bill will bepublished for comment, will be taken at a later stage. (From a religiousfreedom point of view, FOR SA raised concerns regarding the proposal that alllease agreements between schools and third parties for the hiring of theschool’s property / facilities – e.g. by a church, for use of the school hallon a Sunday morning – in future be approved by the provincial government ratherthan by the SGB).
Children’sAmendment Bill*
The Secretary of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Social Development has advised that the Bill has not yet been referred to the Committee. The initial Bill drafted by the Department of Social Development (DSD) aimed to make any form of physical discipline by a parent – no matter how light or well-intentioned – illegal and potentially subject to criminal prosecution for assaulting a child, to which there will be no defence in law. Following submissions by FOR SA and others, the Department removed the clauses proposing the criminalisation of physical correction in the home. It is this Bill that will be presented before Parliament. However, following the Constitutional Court’s ruling on 18 September 2019 that outlawed any form of physical discipline by parents, it is expected that the Bill will undergo substantive changes during the Parliamentary process.
CivilUnion Amendment Bill*
ThisBill was adopted by the National Assembly last year, but has now been sent tothe National Council of Provinces (NCOP) (the second house of Parliament) topass the Bill before the President signs it into law. In terms of the Bill,State-employed marriage officers will no longer have the right, for reasons ofconscience or belief, to “opt out” of solemnising same-sex marriages. The NCOP openedthe Bill for public comment for 18 days until 29 November 2019, but after FOR SA requested an extension to allowwider public participation, extension was granted to Friday, 6 December 2019.
ComprehensiveSexuality Education (CSE)*
FOR SA has been actively engaged in discussions both with Parliament and theDepartment of Education (DBE) regarding the proposed implementation of CSE inour schools. After much public pressure, including from FOR SA, the DBEreleased the CSE content on their website. Most recently, FOR SA wrote an openletter to the DBE to demand that parents have the right to “opt out” of aparticular lesson plan, should they not want their children to be exposedthereto; and that the possibility of schools and provinces as a whole choosing analternative curriculum be considered. We are yet to receive a formal reply fromthe Department regarding any of our communication.
CRLRights Commission’s proposed regulation of religion*
Duringa recent media interview, the new CRL Chair made it clear that the CRL remainsintent on pushing for compulsory licencing of all religious practitioners. Inthe meanwhile, the Steering Committee of the Religious Leaders Summit is makingarrangements for a follow-up Summit to take place within the second quarter of2020. The CEO of the CRL, Mr Edward Mafadza, stated that there has been NOinput from the religious community of South Africa to propose alternativesolutions to those presented by the CRL in its report on the Commercialisationof Religion and Abuse of People’s Belief Systems (the Report). As such, the only solutions currently beforeparliament are those proposed by the CRL, which effectively amount to Stateregulation of religion.
FORSA has developed alternative proposals whichaddress the problems identified by the CRL in their Report, which require nofurther legislation and which allow the religious community to remain trulyself-regulatory. FOR SA is urging thereligious community to give proper attention to this matter and to FORMALLYsubmit alternative solutions to those proposed by the CRL.
CybercrimesBill*
ThisBill was adopted by the National Assembly last year and sent to the NationalCouncil of Provinces (NCOP) (the second house of Parliament) to pass the Billbefore the President signs it into law. FOR SA made oral presentations to theNCOP on 13 November 2019. (From a religious freedom point of view, FOR SA madecomments on the Bill which contains broad provisions on “maliciouscommunications” that could potentially be used to curb freedom of (religious)expression.)
LearnerPregnancy Policy*
TheDepartment of Basic Education (DBE) has advised that due to some internalprocesses the revised draft Policy on Learner Pregnancy (which includesComprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) as a key component) was still to befinalised and thereafter submitted to Cabinet for final ratification. (From areligious freedom point of view, FOR SA made submissions on the inclusion ofCSE which has proven itself worldwide to be a highly explicit programmes aimedat sexualising children rather than teaching them about sex.)
NationalHealth Amendment Bill (“End of Life Bill”)*
Wehave been advised by COPE that this Bill (originally introduced as a PrivateMember’s Bill by Deidre Carter MP), which provides for “living wills” refusingany future potentially life-sustaining medical treatment or procedure, has notbeen tabled again for discussion in Parliament or the relevant committee. Itis still where it was at end of last year, namely at the end of the submissionperiod – no further progress has been made. (From a religious freedom point ofview, FOR SA proposed that the Bill be amended to protect doctors who have aconscientious objection to giving effect to a “living will”).
Preventionand Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill*
TheBill lapsed with the election of the new Parliament. On 29 October 2019, thenew National Assembly adopted a resolution “reviving” the Bill, allowing thenew Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Developmentto continue work on the Bill. The Secretary of the Committee has advised thatthe Committee is yet to discuss the Bill and has not yet resumed its work onthe Bill.
Proposedamalgamation of Chapter 9 institutions
FORSA has been advised that the final report containing the recommendations inthis regard, is as yet not in the public domain. The Speaker will decide on howbest to take the matters forward. For now, it seems that amalgamation will notbe considered.
Proposedpolicy on marriage in SA
TheDepartment of Home Affairs (DHA) is in the initial stages of developing a newpolicy on marriage in South Africa. This policy will set the platform for thepossible adoption of a single “Marriage Act”, governing all marriages enteredinto in South Africa. FOR SA has participated in various public dialogues thatthe DHA has had with the religious and academic communities. (From a religiousfreedom point of view, FOR SA has raised with the Department the increasingpressure experienced by religious marriage officers – many of whom believethat, according to Scripture, marriage is the permanent union of one man andone woman – to solemnise same-sex marriages. Many of them have alreadyexpressed the sentiment that, should they be forced by law to do so, they wouldrather hand in their marriage licence than to act against their religiousconvictions and beliefs.)
SouthAfrican Law Reform Commission (SALRC): Issue Paper 32: The Right to KnowOne’s Biological Origins
This Paper asks the question whether SA law should be amended so as to provide for compulsory disclosure of information to a child regarding his/her conception. The SALRC has advised that they hope to resume research and consultations in this year still, with a view to drafting a discussion paper that can be considered and approved for publication by the Commission which may only be sometime in 2020 at the earliest. (From a religious freedom point of view, FOR SA raised concerns regarding the mandatory disclosure of information which could violate the best interest of the child principle).
SouthAfrican Law Reform Commission (SALRC): Issue Paper 35: Single Marriage Statute
In South Africa currently, there is no single law governing the solemnisation and registration of marriages. Instead, there are various pieces of legislation governing different civil marriages, civil unions, customary marriages, etc. The SALRC is thus recommending a single marriage law governing all types of marriages. The issue paper is available at https://www.justice.gov.za/salrc/ipapers.htm (From a religious freedom point of view, FOR SA raised concerns regarding the increasing pressure experienced by religious marriage officers – many of whom believe that, according to Scripture, marriage is the permanent union of one man and one woman – to solemnise same-sex marriages. Many of them have already expressed the sentiment that, should they be forced by law to do so, they would rather hand in their marriage licence than to act against their religious convictions and beliefs.)
LEGAL CASES
FORSA vs Minister of Justice & Others (Constitutional Court)*
On18 September 2019, the Constitutional Court declared that the common law defence of reasonable andmoderate parental chastisement is inconsistent with the provisions of sections10 and 12(1)(c) of the Constitution,thereby making all forms of physical discipline of children by parents –regardless of how light or well-intentioned – illegal.
SAHRCvs Jon Qwelane (SCA)
On Friday, 29 November 2019, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein handed down judgment in Jon Qwelane’s favour in his appeal against the Johannesburg High Court (sitting as an Equality Court) judgment which had effectively found him guilty of “hate speech” against homosexuals. The SCA’s judgment is an important decision for the right to freedom of expression, because it decided that hurtful speech is not hate speech.
Inre Dr Jacques de Vos (HPCSA)
DrJacques de Vos, a former military hospital doctor, is being charged withunprofessional conduct after advising that abortion is the killing of an unbornhuman being. The hearing is taking place in front of the Health ProfessionsCouncil of South Africa (HPCSA) and is set to continue on 9 December 2019.
Queerswithout Borders and others vs Chris van Wyk (SAHRC)*
Acomplaint of unfair discrimination and hate speech has been laid against Chrisvan Wyk (a pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church) following his statement that “if all sexual orientations are a gift ofGod, as argued by Rev Nelis Janse van Rensburg, to be consistent in hisargument he would have to include all sexual orientations and that wouldinclude something like paedophilia.” Following submission of his reply tothe SAHRC, pastor van Wyk has not het heard from the SAHRC. The SAHRC hashowever stated in the media that it will be opening up a case against pastorvan Wyk in the Equality Court.
Olivierv Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk (Pretoria High Court)
Aformer pastor of the APK has instituted proceedings against the church in thePretoria High Court (Equality Court), after he was found guilty by the churchon charges of misconduct and dismissed. The pastor alleges, amongst otherthings, that he was unfairly discriminated against by the church on grounds ofsexual orientation when they terminated his services, and also that the churchmade itself guilty of an unfair labour practice by “continuously discriminating against gay ministers, which is systemic innature”.
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Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA) is dedicated to protecting and preserving the freedoms and rights that the South African Constitution has granted to the faith community. You can help FOR SA protect our freedom by:
Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA) is dedicated to protecting and preserving the freedoms and rights that the South African Constitution has granted to the faith community. If you have found this helpful, please consider supporting the work of FOR SA to protect our constitutional right to enjoy the freedom of religion by:
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NOTE & DISCLAIMER
FOR SA currently has a support base of religious leaders and individuals representing +/- 6 million people across a broad spectrum of churches, organisations, denominations and faith groups in South Africa.
FOR SA is not registered as a law firm and therefore cannot (and does not) give legal advice for which we can attract any legal liability; neither can we charge legal fees for our services.
