Check against delivery Chairperson, My delegation thanks the Forum on Minority Issues for the opportunity to reply to comments made in the Forum. Chairperson, given that this is the Forum on Minority Issues, it is important to contextualise the situation in South Africa. Under colonialism and Apartheid, the majority of South Africans were oppressed through law, by small white minority. This oppression and discrimination by law was inspired by the ideology of white superiority and had, as its objectives, the economic and social marginalisation of black people who were the majority. The democratic government in South Africa is still dealing with the horrendous social and economic consequences of one of the most pernicious abuses of human rights of the 20th Century, which was the system of apartheid. Chairperson, it must be stressed that forms of discrimination under apartheid also extended to women who were treated as minors and the LGBTIQ community who had to live without any civil and political rights.The experience of this multiple and intersecting forms of oppression under apartheid gave rise to very specific protections under our constitution. Our Constitution, which came into effect 25 years ago, and notably its Bill of Rights espouses fundamental human rights and values, based on principles of justice, dignity and equality. In this regard, the Bill of Rights guarantees (a) equality before the law; (b) prohibits unfair discrimination; (c) guarantees human dignity and the freedom and security of the person; (d) and spells out the whole host of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights enjoyed by all. Our Bill of Rights expressly prohibits any form of discrimination based on race, class, religion, origin, gender, sex and sexual orientation. The constitutional protections are 2