... at the end of deliberations by the portfolio committee.
As the hon Minister has already pointed out, the Preamble to the Bill reminds us that South Africa has a shameful history of gross human rights violations. That included the torture of many of its citizens and inhabitants - dare I say, many of whom sit in this honourable House, having experienced such torture!
Section 12 of our Constitution provides, and I quote:
Everyone has the right to freedom and security of the person, which includes the right -
(d) not to be tortured in any way; and
(e) not to be treated or punished in a cruel, inhuman or degrading way.
It is also common cause that the prohibition against torture in international law is absolute and that torture is impermissible under any circumstances, including war, public emergencies, state of emergencies, and terrorist threats. This prohibition is so strong and universally accepted that it is now a fundamental principle of international law.
Hence, we find the provision in clause 4 (4) of our Bill, which reads as follows, and I quote:
No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, including but not limited to a state of war, threat of war, internal political instability, national security or any state of emergency may be invoked as a justification for torture.
To further strengthen the latter provision clause 4(5) provides, and I quote:
No one shall be punished for disobeying an order to commit torture.
Even at this late stage, it is appropriate for our constitutional democracy to have this law on our statute books, given the shameful history we have referred to. In terms of this law torture is now an offence that is punishable by imprisonment for up to life.
Its implications are that police officers who assault people held in their cells can now be charged and prosecuted for torture. It means that prison warders who allow inmates in their care to be abused, raped or sodomised could be charged and prosecuted for the crime of torture. It also means that Home Affairs officials at our border posts, and at Lindela, who abuse illegal immigrants by assaulting them, may be charged and prosecuted for the crime of torture.
It is somewhat ironic that we should be debating this legal instrument after this weekend's media reports about a certain Stephan Steve Whitehead, who has been exposed as allegedly being instrumental in the late Dr Neil Aggett's suicide. In the Mail & Guardian of 9-15 November 2012, it is reported, and I quote:
The apartheid security police officer whose interrogation methods - including electric shocks, assault and 62 hours of non-stop questioning - led to the suicide of trade unionist Neil Aggett, has reinvented himself as a business counterintelligence consultant whose clients include government departments and major corporations.
The Mail & Guardian report refers to the TCR report, which, and I quote:
... found that the intensive interrogation of Dr Aggett by Major A Cronwright and Lieutenant Whitehead and the treatment he received while in detention for more than 70 days were directly responsible for the mental and physical condition of Dr Aggett, which led him to take his own life.
Leaving aside for now the fact that Steve Whitehead is happily doing business with our government, we want to say that if what is reported in the Mail & Guardian is true, every effort must be undertaken by the National Prosecuting Authority's Priority Crimes Litigation Unit, NPA-PCLU, to bring Lieutenant Steve Whitehead before our courts to answer for his deeds. Hon Minister, we appeal to you to use your influence on our National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, mindful of the autonomy they enjoy, to bring about this prosecution of Lieutenant Steve Whitehead. With those words, I thank you for listening to me. [Applause.]