NCOP adopts controversial Hate Speech Bill

Parliament’s second house, the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), adopted the controversial Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill (Hate Speech Bill) during its plenary sitting today, reports Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA) in a press release,

The bill, which according to FOR SA criminalises speech that should be constitutionally protected and erodes freedom of expression was passed despite massive public opposition evidenced by tens of thousands of submissions delivered to the NCOP before the May 25 deadline for comment.

In its press release FOR SA explains that the bill proposes criminalising hate speech. which it defines as an expression that incites harm, and promotes or propagates hatred against a group of people specifically listed in the bill.

“The Hate Speech Bill remains highly problematic, particularly because the NCOP left unchanged the wide definition of ‘harm’ (which includes subjective and vague concepts).  They also failed to define ‘hate’, which is the quintessential element of the crime of hate speech. The exemption clauses in the bill (for journalists, academics, artists and religious expression) are self-defeating and offer very little real protection, yet the NCOP also left them unchanged,” says FOR SA.

“The net effect is that the bill criminalises what should be constitutionally-protected speech.  It indefensibly erodes the fundamental right to freedom of expression, including religious expression”, says Daniela Ellerbeck legal advisor of FOR SA.

FOR SA reports that no amendments were made to the clause of the bill which deals with hate speech. But the NCOP has proposed to lower the maximum jail sentence for hate speech from eight years to five years.

“This token amendment is farcical since, contrary to recommendations by the public to reduce or eliminate the three-year jail sentence proposed by the Department of Justice in the original version of the bill, the National Assembly inexplicably increased it to eight years”, says Michael Swain executive director of FOR SA.  “The NCOP Committee has done nothing except reduce this sentence from eight years down to five years, without doing anything to cure the overall problematic nature of the Hate Speech Bill. They have also evidently ignored the vast majority of the inputs from the public participation process to reduce or eliminate the jail sentence.”

Next, the Bill will be sent to Parliament’s first house, the National Assembly (NA) to decide if it accepts or rejects the amendment proposed by the NCOP. If the NA subsequently passes the bill, it will be sent to the president for his assent, whereupon it will become law, says FOR SA.

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