Help the Referendum Party to end all race-based policy in South Africa.
Please support the Twenty-First Constitutional Amendment Bill by co-signing a letter to the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development calling on the committee to table the legislation and recommend that parliament vote in favour.
If we want South Africa to be truly non-racial, then we must all stand up and say so.
Please sign and then share with your family and friends.
You can read a copy of the letter here
You can read a copy of the Bill here
How will the bill end race-based policy?
The Bill primarily amends section 9 of the Constitution - the section on equality.
Section 9 already prohibits racial discrimination, but subsection 2 currently allows the state to take measures to advance ‘categories of people’ who were previously disadvantaged by unfair discrimination. The courts have read this to mean that racial discrimination is allowable in such circumstances.
The proposed Bill will still allow the state to take action to remedy the effects of unfair discrimination in the past, but it will now require that the state must take into account the specific circumstances of each individual impacted by its actions. The state will be prohibited from taking blanket actions against groups of people (e.g. by race) and it will no longer be allowed to remedy the effects of unfair discrimination against one person, by unfairly discriminating against another.
Once the Constitution has been amended, the courts will be forced to declare racial discrimination unlawful, and all the existing race-based laws will need to be amended to be brought in line with the amended Constitution.