Assessing South Africa`s Commitment to Prevent and Combat Terrorism
blurb:isstoday:210708saterro
21 July 2008: Assessing South Africa’s Commitment to Prevent and Combat Terrorism
Last month, from 2 to 9 June 2008, a delegation of 15 anti-terrorism experts, representing international and regional organizations,visited South Africa. Ambassador Mike Smith, the executive director of the United Nations Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), headed the delegation. Although this visit was scheduled in advance and despite CTED’s previous visits to Indonesia, Vietnam, Armenia, Georgia, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Herzegovina, India and Nigeria, this visit was immediately linked to South Africa hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
Notwithstanding the value this assessment might have forthe preparationof the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the visit itself forms part of the committee’s commitment to visit member states in order to have a first-hand assessment of initiatives taken to prevent and combat terrorism within the United Nations Security Council’s Resolution 1373. South Africa’s ambassadorto the United Nations DumisaniKumalo, in a statement to the Security Council on 19 March 2008, congratulated CTED for moving away from a traditional one-size-fits-all approach to a more realistic approach in assessing the implementation of international and regional instruments to prevent and combat terrorism. This new approach, in contrast to earlier assessments that were conducted from New York based on written reports received from member states, incorporate the national framework of historic, political and social realities on the ground.
Although CTED will present the final report to the counter-terrorism committee later this year for approval, it is to be expected that the committee will broadly be satisfied with the fact that South Africa is party to 13 of the 16 universal counter-terrorism instruments (Conventions and Protocols). On a national level, South Africa passed the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act in 2005, after a drafting process of close to 10 years. In line with international requirements, this legislation was used for the first time in the conviction of Jacobus and Elizabeth Bogaard for harbouringtwo members of the right wingBoeremagHerman van Rooyen and Rudi Gouws who escaped from the Pretoria High Court on 3 March 2006. JacobusBogaardwas found guilty on two charges, in terms of Section 11 of the act for hiding fugitives from justice on his premises, and in terms of Section 12 for failing in his responsibility to report the whereabouts of the fugitives. On the first count he was sentenced to five years imprisonment, two years of which were suspended for five years, and one year in jail on the second count. Elizabeth Bogaard was also convicted on the same two charges and sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for five years.
In addition to an assessment of South Africa’s commitment to international and national legal instruments, the committee will also be interested in whether the South African government and its security apparatus honour human rights while preventing and combating terrorism. This is especially important considering that South Africa was the first country to agree to the inclusion of a human rights expert in the CTED delegation. While human rights are definitely honoured while dealing with South African nationals, the manner in which government officials deal with foreign nationals might raise concern.
The institutional commitment of the South African government to combat transnatonal terrorism prior to 9/11 was confirmed with the arrest of KhalfanKhamis Mohamed, a Tanzanian national who fled to Cape Town in the aftermath of the August 1998 bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1999. The case was eventually brought to the Constitutional Court that made an important ruling on the difference between extradition and deportation in terrorism related cases, as well as the obligation to ensure the protection of the suspect’s rights - in this case protection from the death penalty. The process was well documented. After the events of 9/11 questions were however raised about the case of Saud Memon, a Pakistani who, according to media reports, was allegedly ‘picked up’ by US officials in South Africa on 7 March 2003. Questions were also asked about the ‘disappearance’ of Khalid Mehmood Rashid, another Pakistani national who was arrested by police and Home Affairs officials on 31 October 2005.
Concerning the 2010 Soccer World Cup, more work is needed to assess the country’s operational and legal capacity to prevent, and if need be, respond to a major terrorist attack. As a result of a number of problems such as those dealing with border control and corruption, South Africa is currently being regarded as a possible safe haven for transnational terrorists. Nonetheless South Africa’s good track record in hosting high-level sporting and political events without incident raise optimism that South Africa will again step up to the plate. It is however essential to keep the magnitude of the event in mind in realizing that terrorists target the event and not the country. This ultimately implies that government, its security forces and the public can never be too cautious or too prepared, especially when considering the potentially devastating impact a major terrorist attack in South Africa might have.
Anneli Botha, Senior Researcher: International Crime in Africa Programme, ISS Tshwane (Pretoria)
