DIRCO rejects US human rights report, says it is 'inaccurate & deeply flawed'
Washington’s state department has published a human rights report, claiming that government was involved in arbitrary and unlawful killings.
A South African flag. Picture: Simphiwe Nkosi/EWN
JOHANNESBURG - The Department of International Relations & Cooperation (DIRCO) has expressed disappointment at the United States' (US) latest disinformation campaign about the country.
Washington’s state department has published a human rights report, claiming that government was involved in arbitrary and unlawful killings.
The Americans once again take issue with expropriation without compensation, which was signed into law this year.
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The report also falsely labels the alleged killing of Lucodia Ndlovu and Mariah Makgato by a Limpopo farmer, who then fed them to his pigs, as extrajudicial killings.
A-contextual information, discredited accounts, misleading and distortion - these are just some of the words used by DIRCO to describe the US report on human rights in the country.
It criticised America, a country which walked away, refusing to be held accountable by a multilateral peer review system through the UN Human Rights Council for producing what it has termed a one-sided, fact-free report without due process or engagement.
South Africa's international relations department said this country operated on a transparent system, where information was freely available.
Minister Ronald Lamola’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri: "We register our profound disappointment with this report. We reject it. It is inaccurate and deeply flawed."
And while the US rejects South Africa’s move towards expropriation, it's been described by the UN Human Rights office as a critical step towards redress.