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Constitutional Dialogue on Assertiveness and Accountability under the Constitution
October 24, 2019 @ 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), the National Foundations Dialogue Initiative (NFDI) and the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) are partnering to host a series of national dialogues that bring different institutions and groupings together to discuss key issues confronting South Africa. The first dialogue will bring together the three branches of the state – the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary – as well as religious organisations (through the South African Council of Churches – SACC), other civil society organisations (through Abahlali baseMjondolo), business organisations (through Business Leadership South Africa – BLSA), and labour (through the major union federations). Issues arising from the event will be taken forward into further discussions.
This first Dialogue will centre on assertiveness within the framework of the Constitution. Two inter-
related questions will frame the conversation. First, how do the three branches of the state, religious bodies, civil society, business organisations, labour, and people not affiliated to any formal grouping
appropriate for themselves the key values underpinning the Constitution (human dignity, achievement of equality, advancement of human rights and freedoms, non-racialism, and non-sexism), asserting their rights while recognising their responsibilities towards others? For many it is unconscionable to think that constitutional values are compromised or that they need to be debated and potentially replaced. For others, these values are not values but the result of an elite compact which has ignored the voices of many. There needs to be a space where these views can be expressed and discussed in a way that will take the conversation forward as opposed to entrenching groups into mutually exclusive, binary positions.
The second question is: How can all who live in South Africa be assertive in holding the three branches
of the state accountable for delivering on the fundamental rights in the Constitution?
This Dialogue, and the series to follow, seeks to bring key role-players and other parts of the body
politic into a constructive dialogic space.
Where: Old Assembly, Parliament, Cape Town
When: 24 October 2019, 17h30 for 18h00-21h00
RSVP: Click here to RSVP