E/CN.4/2006/78/Add.2 page 6 The Special Rapporteur participated in a lecture panel at the University of South Africa (UNISA), and gave a talk on indigenous peoples and the United Nations at the University of Free State. II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT 8. After 300 years of colonialism and 40 years of white minority rule known as the apartheid regime, the first democratic elections in South Africa were held in April 1994 under an interim Constitution, which was modified in 1996. In 2004, South Africans celebrated the first 10 years of freedom, marked by important progress in the consolidation of a culture of rights and institutionalized democracy. Out of the roughly 45 million inhabitants, Black Africans represent more than three-quarters of South Africa’s population with 79 per cent or 35.4 million, while Whites make up 9.6 per cent (4.3 million), “Coloureds” 8.9 per cent (4 million), and Indians/Asians 2.5 per cent (1.1 million). 9. South Africa has a unique history of the use of race and language as tools for controlling citizenship and rights, in a context of oppression and marginalization. The policy of racial segregation served to guarantee the political and economic power of the white minority. To this day, South Africa is dealing with the consequences of this disastrous policy. A large part of the fast-growing black majority lives in oppressive poverty and, in the outer districts of the cities, a spread of vast miserable settlements of tin and carton shacks, lacking sufficient sanitation, electricity and water, is the persistent reality. Illiteracy among the most marginalized groups, poverty, related to high unemployment rates, as well as important health challenges are some of the South Africa’s most severe social problems. While poverty exists among all sectors of society, Blacks constitute the poorest segment of the population, making up over 90 per cent of the 22 million poor. 10. Since 1994 the Government of South Africa has been firmly committed to the protection and promotion of human rights. Chapter 2 of the Constitution of 1996, entitled “Bill of Rights”, is considered the cornerstone of democracy in South Africa and is based on the principles of equality and non-discrimination. State institutions created to support constitutional democracy are the Public Protector; the Human Rights Commission; the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities; the Commission for Gender Equality; the Auditor-General and the Electoral Commission. The Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) is an independent body set up to oversee language rights. 11. The Constitution establishes the right of communities living under traditional law and custom to influence the way in which the country is run. The National House of Traditional Leaders advises the national Government on the role of traditional leaders and on customary law. 12. Official statistics do not reflect the presence of indigenous peoples. Categories in the census are still based on the apartheid typology of race and language. Nine of the 11 official languages (all except Afrikaans and English) are southern Bantu languages, Zulu and Xhosa being spoken as first languages by the majority of the African population. Afrikaans is spoken as a first language by 13.3 per cent of the population. English is spoken at home by 8.2 per cent of South Africans.