CRL Rights Commission 'ready to address issues related to the Section 22 Committee in court'

The African Transformation Movement (ATM) has called for the disbandment of the recently established Section 22 Committee of the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission).

The Committee wants to create a legal framework to hold religious leaders accountable for unethical conduct through self-regulation.

Launched with the intention of developing a self-regulatory framework tailored for the Christian sector in South Africa, the Section 22 Committee seeks to address growing concerns regarding exploitation and abuse within religious communities.

CRL Rights Commission spokesperson, Mpiyakhe Mkholo, said that despite legal and other challenges against the establishment of the Section 22 Committee, the commission will continue to act according to its mandate.

"It is important to note that there is a legal opinion by Parliament backing up the establishment of the Committee. The CRL Rights Commission has and continues to execute its work, in line with its mandate, as the Committee has been established in line with the CRL Rights Act 19 of 2002, to consult Christian leaders and organisations in an effort to develop self-regulation mechanisms and a code of conduct," he stated.

On the legitimacy of the Section 22 Committee, Mkhondo said: "The Commission is ready to address issues related to the Section 22 Committee in court. Notably, the legal opinion from the same Parliament echoes the mandate of this Committee."

On Monday, in a statement addressed to the National Assembly, the ATM called for the commission to disband its Section 22 Committee.

The party said it agreed with some religious organisations that freedom of religion should never be policed by self-regulation but by the existing criminal and legal framework, as it is a fundamental right, guaranteed by Section 15 of the Constitution.

"ATM affirms the need for accountability and the protection of congregants from abuse. However, accountability and the protection of congregants must be enforced through existing laws, not through religious regulation that undermines constitutional freedoms,'' the ATM said.

The party said it is concerned that the current framework proposed by the Section 22 Committee, described as voluntary, would be used coercively to ensure compliance in the religious sector.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za