CAT/C/ZAF/CO/2
33.
The State party should:
(a)
Ensure that all law enforcement officials cooperate with and notify the
Independent Police Investigative Directorate regarding all allegations of torture by
law enforcement officials, recommend disciplinary actions to the police service, and
ensure that the Directorate refers all criminal cases to the National Prosecuting
Authority;
(b)
Ensure that all allegations of torture, excessive use of force and illtreatment by law enforcement officials are investigated promptly, effectively and
impartially by mechanisms that are structurally and operationally independent and
with no institutional or hierarchical connection between the investigators and the
alleged perpetrators;
(c)
Ensure that all persons under investigation for having committed acts of
torture or ill-treatment are suspended immediately from their duties and remain so
throughout the investigation, while ensuring that the principle of presumption of
innocence is observed;
(d)
Increase its efforts to systematically provide training to all law
enforcement officials on the use of force, especially in the context of crowd control,
taking due account of the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law
Enforcement Officials.
Acts of gender-based and domestic violence attributable to the State
34.
The Committee is concerned about the continuing prevalence of all forms of
violence, including gender-based and domestic violence, primarily against women and girls,
which encompasses murder, attempted murder and sexual offences that may be committed
at the instigation, or with the support, of State actors. It is also concerned that a large
number of cases continue to be unreported, with few cases opened by the police and a
failure to investigate the crimes and gather forensic evidence, which has resulted in less
than 20 per cent of cases going to trial and only 8.6 per cent of cases resulting in a guilty
verdict. The Committee is concerned that victims of violence, in particular in rural areas,
may not have access to White Door Safe Space facilities, Khuseleka One-Stop Centres,
Thuthuzela Care Centres and shelters. It is also concerned at reports that the manner in
which victims of violence are questioned by the police leads to their retraumatization (arts.
2, 11–14 and 16).
35.
The State party should:
(a)
Enhance further its already significant efforts to combat all forms of
gender-based and domestic violence engendered by acts or omissions by State agents
and others that engage the State’s responsibility in accordance with the Convention;
(b)
Ensure that all complaints of gender-based and domestic violence,
especially that involving actions or omissions by State authorities or other entities that
engage the international responsibility of the State party under the Convention, are
thoroughly investigated, and that the alleged perpetrators are prosecuted and, if
convicted, punished with penalties commensurate to the gravity of the crime;
(c)
Ensure that victims have unhindered access to White Door Safe Space
facilities, Khuseleka One-Stop Centres, Thuthuzela Care Centres and shelters
throughout the country, as well as to victim-friendly rooms in police stations; and
ensure the effective functioning of the Gender-Based Violence Command Centre;
(d)
Ensure that victims of violence and their families receive full redress for
the harm suffered, including fair and adequate compensation and the fullest
rehabilitation possible;
(e)
Provide mandatory training on the investigation and prosecution of
gender-based and domestic violence to all law enforcement and justice officials, with a
view to ensuring efficient prosecutions, and provide training to police on questioning
victims in a gender-sensitive manner in order to avoid their retraumatization;
9