E/CN.4/2006/78/Add.2 page 2 Summary This report is submitted in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/51 and refers to the official visit paid to South Africa by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people from 28 July to 8 August 2005, at the invitation of the Government of South Africa, where he held consultations with national and regional authorities, representatives of non-governmental organizations, members of the academic world and members of the indigenous communities and organizations in the Western Cape, Free State, the Northern Cape and the Kalahari region. The present report is based on the information gathered during these consultations. To this day, South Africa is dealing with the legacy of the racist apartheid policy, under which all indigenous peoples of South Africa were oppressed and discriminated against. The indigenous Khoi-San were dispossessed of their lands and territories and their communities and cultures were destroyed. The tragic consequences of apartheid cannot be overcome in a few years, and the Special Rapporteur is fully conscious of the tremendous efforts that have been made by the democratic Government of South Africa to redress the many injustices inherited from the old regime. Since 1994, date of the first democratic elections in the country, the Government of South Africa has been firmly committed to the protection and promotion of human rights. Although indigenous peoples are still not officially recognized as such and official statistics do not reflect their presence in South Africa, the 1996 Constitution included a reference to Khoe and San people. In November 2004, the Government Cabinet adopted a memorandum that would lead to an official policy on recognizing “vulnerable indigenous communities”. In South Africa there are six large groups who identify themselves as indigenous. These ethnic groups include the three main San peoples (!Xun, Khwe and Khomani), the various Nama communities, the major Griqua associations and so-called revivalist Khoisan. The Special Rapporteur is encouraged by the Government’s declared commitment to meet the demands of the indigenous groups in the country and by the ongoing efforts to formulate and implement appropriate legislation and policies to address issues such as land restitution, multilingual and multicultural education, the representation of traditional authorities in public life and the delivery of health and other services. Government authorities are aware of the urgency to focus on the accumulated backlog of unsatisfied needs of indigenous communities. Indigenous people in South Africa have in principle equal access to all social services provided by the Government, including education, health delivery systems and infrastructure. However, they tend to be more marginalized than other sectors to the extent that they are concentrated at the lower end of the socio-economic scale. All indigenous groups face different challenges within the national society as a result of distinct historical processes and current circumstances. The Khomani San in the Kalahari were dispossessed of their lands and lost their traditional hunter-gatherer livelihood in the process. Today they are probably among the poorest and most marginalized indigenous communities in the country and their situation requires