INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS, TREATIES AND CONVENTIONS (as on May 2003)
Basic human rights instruments signed, but not yet ratified:
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Convention on the Political Rights of Women - 31 March 1953. SA signed the Convention on 29 January 1993. Lead department: The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
 
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SADC Declaration on Gender and Development for the Prevention and Eradication of Violence Against Women and Children SA signed the Declaration on 8 September 1997
 
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Addendum to the 1997 SADC Declaration on Gender and Development for the Prevention and Eradication of Violence Against Women and Children SA signed the Addendum on 14 September 1998.
Lead department: Office on the Status of Women / The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
  
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Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa SA signed the Protocol on 16 March 2004-10-14.
  
 
Basic human rights instruments not yet signed or acceded to:
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Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Lead department: Office on the Status of Women in the Presidency.
  
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Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography Lead department: The Department of Social Development.
  
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Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture
 
Basic human rights instruments already ratified/acceded to:
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International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - 16 December 1966 . SA ratified the Covenant on 10 December 1998.
Lead department: The Department of Justice
 
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Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, dealing with claims by individuals that they are the victims of human rights violations . SA signed and ratified.
Lead department: The Department of Justice
 
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Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty . SA signed and ratified.
Lead department: The Department of Justice
 
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Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination-7 March 1966 . SA signed the Convention on 3 October 1994.
Lead department: The Department of Justice
 
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Conventionagainst Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment -10 December 1984. SA signed the Convention on 29 January 1993.
Lead department: The Department of Justice.
 
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Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide . Lead department: The Department of Justice, in consultation with the South African National Defence Force
 
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Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women -18 December 1979 . SA ratified the Convention on 15 December 1995, without entering any reservations.
Lead department: The Department of Welfare.
 
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Convention on the Rights of the Child. 20 November 1989 . SA ratified the Convention on 16 June 1995~ without entering any reservations.
Lead department: The Office on the Rights of the Child in the Presidency: National Plan of Action for Children in SA Steering Committee.
 
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African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights -adopted on 27 June 1981 and entered into force on 21 October 1986 . SA acceded to the Charter on 9 July 1996.
Lead department: The Department of Justice.
 
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African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child . SA signed on 10 October 1997 Ratified the Charter on 7 January 2000.
Lead department: Department of Welfare
 
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Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. SA acceded to this Convention on 8 July 1997. It entered into force for South Africa on 1 October 1997.
Lead department: The Office on the Rights of the Child in the Presidency: National Plan of Action for Children in SA Steering Committee.
 
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Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children -Geneva, 20 September 1921 . SA signed (definitive) the Convention on 28 June 1922.
 
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Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women of Full Age - Geneva, 11 October 1933 SA signed (definitive) the Convention on 20 November 1935.
 
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Protocol to amend the Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Women and Children of 1921 and the Convention for the Traffic of Women of Full Age of 1933 - Lake Success, New York, 12 November 1947.
SA signed (definitive) the Convention on 12 November 1947.
 
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Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, plus Final Protocol. Lake Success, New York, 21 March 1950 . SA ratified the Convention on 10 October 1951.
 
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Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime SA signed during signing ceremony of the Palermo Conference, 12-15 December 2000.
  
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Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights SA signed on 9 June 1998.
Ratified on 3 July 2002.
  
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United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime SA signed during signing ceremony of the Palermo Conference, 12-15 December 2000. Ratified on 20 February 2004.
Lead department: Department of Justice.
  
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Council of Europe’s Convention on Cybercrime SA signed the Convention on 21 November 2000
 
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