E/CN.4/1999/15/Add.1
page 11
Distribution per race/gender
(15 February 1998)
Male
Whites
%
Female
%
Total
27,989
21.45%
13,884
10.64%
32.09%
Indians/Asians
3,563
2.73%
869
0.67%
3.40%
Coloureds
8,383
6.42%
1,955
1.50%
7.92%
65,105
49.89%
8,741
6.70%
56.59%
105,040
80.50%
25,449
19.50%
100.00%
Africans/Blacks
Total
Distribution of commissioned officers per race/gender for the total
of the South African Professional Soldiers
(15 February 1998)
Male
Whites
%
Female
%
Total
6,880
5.27%
1,538
1.18%
6.45%
Indians/Asians
742
0.57%
127
0.10%
0.67%
Coloureds
463
0.35%
63
0.05%
0.40%
2,486
1.91%
265
0.20%
2.11%
10,571
8.10%
1,993
1.53%
9.63%
Africans/Blacks
Total
The efforts to improve the cultural and racial balance among army officers
are the responsibility of Major General Sedibe, a black woman from the ANC.
Recently, a Black was appointed as the army’s Chief of Staff.
The Police
38.
Those interviewed by the Special Rapporteur acknowledge that the police
sometimes resort to violence and brutality, especially towards Blacks. In order
to put a stop to this kind of behaviour, the Community of Police policy, a
police department with a community support role has been set up. There is also
an Independent Complaints Directorate to which complaints about police behaviour
can be addressed. A programme of police reform has been devised and implemented
in collaboration with Belgium. As with the army, a scheme based on equal
opportunity and positive action is being implemented with a view to achieving a
hierarchical structure representative of the South African population by the
year 2000, with levels of 40 % and 10 % respectively for women and the disabled.
One of the first steps was to end the system of separate toilets for black and
white police officers. The use of racist terms such as “kaffir” has also been
banned. Efforts are being made to raise black police officers’ awareness of
their rights, so that they do not behave like victims and learn instead how to
react to persistent forms of racial discrimination. They also receive training
aimed at ensuring that they do not end up confined to subordinate units while