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The organisers of this event thought that they would play it safe, so they gave me something simple and uncomplicated to do. Simple and uncomplicated as this designated task might be, it is one that I am able to perform with much pride and great deal of pleasure. I have been asked, on this 53rd anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and International Human Rights Day, to pay tribute to two human rights personalities who breathed life into and shaped the Human Rights Commission after its establishment just six short years ago. At its inception on the 2nd of October 1995, the Human Rights Commission was just a vague idea - an abstract concept. There was no infrastructure, there were no processes and there were no warm bodies. The first members of the Commission were, to coin a phrase, parachuted into a vacuum.

Today, however, the Commission has established itself as a significant force in the South African Human Rights movement and is one of the key institutions underpinning our precious democracy. The Commission's achievements and performance over the past six years has been nothing short of remarkable.

Being able to convert an idea into a living, breathing institution takes vision, courage and sheer hard work. To carve for an institution a concrete reputation for gravitas in such a short space of time takes commitment, integrity, wisdom, a healthy dose of idealism and considerable measures of optimism.

Dr Barney Pityana and Advocate Pansy Tlakula fitted the bill perfectly. They dedicated themselves to establishing a nationally and internationally recognised institution of which we, as South Africans, can all be proud.

The Human Rights Commission will shortly say farewell to both Dr Pityana and Adv Tlakula. Dr Pityana, the outgoing chairperson of the Commission, has been appointed principal of the University of South Africa (Unisa) and Adv. Tlakula will serve another Chapter 9 institution - the Independent Electoral Commission - as Chief Electoral Officer.

These two personalities were among the first Commissioners appointed by the former president and have worked tirelessly to put the Commission at the forefront of Human Rights Development both on the domestic front and beyond our borders. They have broadened ordinary South Africans' understanding and appreciation for the human rights ethics and traditions that were set in place after the 1994 elections.

They have also expanded the meaning of human rights to go beyond the traditional concept of claims owed by the State to the individual and the Commission has ensured that human rights are protected both vertically and horizontally. Under their leadership human rights have become everyone's business; the Commission has taught us to cherish the freedoms and rights that were so hard fought for and so hard-won.

The challenges facing our country can and will only be addressed if we adopt a holistic human rights focus and approach to making human rights part and parcel of all human interaction.

The contribution made by the Commission in bridging the racial divide cannot be underestimated. We were all witness to the National Conference on Racism held in September 2000. This Conference met with much criticism from across the political and racial spectra, but the Commission's determination to keep South Africa a nation in dialogue prevailed. This dialogue continued into this year when our country hosted the 3rd World Conference on Racism earlier this year.

Still the dialogue continues and this is as it should be; we have, after all, a long way to go. We can take heart that this dialogue will continue to be guided by firm and unwavering hand of the Commission.

As Dr Pityana and Adv. Tlakula take leave of the Commission, they leave behind them a committed team who have been nurtured and mentored into a well-balanced and cohesive unit. They leave at a time when the South African public has many questions to ask about our justice system in the face of the apparently escalating incidences of violence against women and children. As the public debate grows around the rights of criminals vis-à-vis the rights of victims and survivors of violence, the Commission will be forced to play an increasingly important role in guiding this debate.

An even greater challenge for the Commission will be how to manage the promotion of human rights via a social justice framework that seeks to prevent human rights violations by eradicating poverty, achieving and realising economic rights and bringing to South Africans an environment in which they are most able to free their inherent individual and collective potential.

I have no doubt that the new leadership of the Commission and the team that supports them will be able to take up these challenges. Our Ministry will do everything possible to support them in the work that lies ahead.

It remains for me to wish Dr Pityana and Adv Tlakula the very best in their new positions; we know that you will do us and the Commission proud.

I thank you.

Issued by Ministry of Justice and Constitutional development

10 December 2001