Resolution – Farm murders

The UNPO General Assembly,

Regretting the notable increase and continuous brutal murders of farmers and farm workers in South Africa since 1994;

Noting that the violence and atrocities is targeted against a strategic minority enterprise responsible not only for food security but also job creation, economic growth and prosperity to the entire South African nation;

Affirming that, in lieu of:

- 11 514 farm attacks and 2 207 murders between 1991 and 2006/07 according to official statistics by the South African Police Service (after 2007 no official statistics on farm murders were released); 

 - a total of 277 farm attacks and 67 farm murders committed during 2014; 

 - the brutal and violent nature of farm attacks and murders;

- the comparative figures to the international average of 7 murders per 100 000 of the population per year, South Africa registers 32.2 per 100 000 per year – but, projected on the specific category it reflects 132,8 per 100 000 per year for farmers;

Therefore, we, the UNPO General Assembly:

1. Call upon the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to table the report on its National Hearings during September 2014 relating to farm attacks;

2. Urges the South African Government to declare farm attacks a priority crime and take real action to stem such;

3. Request the United Nations Human Rights Commission to initiate a full investigation to pressurize the South African government to put an end to these atrocities.

Resolution – Afrikaans mother tongue education

The UNPO General Assembly,

Expressing concern on the deliberate actions taken by the South African government to dilute and eventually eradicate Afrikaans-language mother tongue education;

Noting that:

- although English mother tongue speakers only comprise the fourth largest language group in South Africa, 21 of the 25 public universities in South Africa are single-medium English institutions;

- despite the fact that Afrikaans speakers remain the third largest language group in South Africa, there is no single medium Afrikaans university;

- there is current concerted efforts to transform all institutions of higher learning to single medium with English as the medium of instruction;

- the South African government’s continuing establishment of new universities where the only language of instruction will be English, is resultant discrimination against the other South African languages and mother tongue education;

- the South African government is forcing Afrikaans medium primary and secondary schools to accept non-Afrikaans speaking learners which eventually leads to the transformation of the schools into English medium schools;

- although the majority of Afrikaans mother tongue speakers in South Africa are non-white, racial transformation is used as guise for the eradication of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction at school and tertiary levels.

Therefore, we, the UNPO General Assembly:

1. Condemns the systematic discrimination committed with impunity not only against the 2 710 461 white Afrikaans-speakers but also the 3 442 164 coloured and 602 166 black Afrikaans-speakers;

2. Call upon the South African government to afford equal education opportunities for all its peoples in their mother tongues, in terms of the South African constitution.

To view the full resolutions as a PDF, please click here for the one on farmer attacks, and here for the one Afrikaans mother tongue language.