E/CN.4/2006/78/Add.2
page 21
94.
The Ministry of Health should study possible solutions to the constraints being faced
by the indigenous communities in Platfontein, including the possibility of establishing a
fully equipped clinic able to respond to the health demands of the inhabitants of that
township.
95.
Health care delivery services should target specifically the marginalized indigenous
communities and particularly their poorest members.
96.
The introduction of drinking water to indigenous communities should be considered
as a priority in the developments plans of the areas where such service still does not exist or
where these services are insufficient.
97.
The KNSLB should establish as a priority a comprehensive feasible plan to
preserve, protect and promote indigenous languages in South Africa and their preservation
should be protected by law. Its advice should be given careful attention by the
Government and be followed up by relevant legislation and public policy. The assistance
of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) should
be sought.
98.
The efforts of the Nama Development Institute to promote the Nama language
through language education in primary and secondary schools and the establishment of a
Nama radio station should be supported by the relevant authorities and international
cooperation.
Administration of justice and related justice issues
99.
Special training activities for personnel in the judiciary should be undertaken to
overcome the prevailing cultural ignorance of the specific needs of indigenous
communities. A system of visiting or roving tribunals should be instituted for distant
communities in which access to the judiciary is difficult and costly in practice.
100. In the case of the death of Optel Rooi, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the
court case be resolved as soon as possible, that compensation be paid to the family of the
victim, and that greater efforts be made to train the local police (as elsewhere in the
country) to be even handed and fair towards the San. He also wishes to underline the
urgency of the South African Human Rights Commission’s recommendation that there is
need for a circuit, periodic or special court in the local area (Ashkam or Rietfontein) to
deal with these issues.
Intellectual property
101. The intellectual property rights of indigenous communities should be protected by
law as for example in the case of the commercial exploitation of the Hoodia gordonii plant
used by the San, the conservation of the various rock art and sacred sites that have special
meaning for indigenous communities, and the preservation of traditional medical practices.