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CONSULAR SERVICES PRESENTATION TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS & COOPERATION ON 29 OCTOBER 2014

SCOPE OF PRESENTATION • Staff Establishment • What are consular services • Summary of services rendered • Expectations vs Reality • Diplomatic protection • Current high level cases • Challenges and trends

SCOPE (cont) • Strategic issues for 2015 and beyond • Statistics for 3rd Quarter 2014-15 • Nigeria disaster – Building collapse

What are Consular Services? It refers to those services provided by a country to its citizens abroad. It consists mainly of qualified support to citizens who are distressed or destitute, consular notarialservices and civic/immigration services. Consular assistance is aimed at protecting the interests of our nationals abroad in keeping with customary international law and practice and the obligations any Government has towards its citizens.

THE VIENNA CONVENTION ON CONSULAR RELATIONS, 1963 The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,1963 (VCCR) is the primary reference. It describes the legal environment for consular relations between signatory states and the rights and duties of such states.

Summary of Services rendered • Consular assistance in emergencies which includes providing a support service and coordinating government efforts in hostage cases, assistance rendered to nationals abroad in cases of political turmoil or natural and man-made disasters as well as communicating on behalf of South African nationals abroad with the next of kin and/or friends in South Africa in the event of an emergency. • Logistical support and non-financial assistance for South African nationals who are in hospital abroad or who may need to be repatriated to SA for urgent medical attention. • Advice, guidance and support to a custodial parent/guardian in matters of parental child abduction

Summary of Services rendered (cont) • Consular assistance to South African nationals arrested or detained abroad. • Notification of the next of kin of arrested or detained persons abroad if so requested in writing by the arrested or detained person. • Assistance with the transfer of funds from next-of-kin to prisoners abroad. • Communication with the next-of-kin in the event of reported death or life threatening illness or injury. We also provide non-financial logistical assistance with the importation of mortal remains or burials of South African nationals abroad. • Provide guidance to next-of-kin and liaison with relevant stakeholders in the search for missing persons abroad and/or determination of the whereabouts of South African nationals abroad under certain circumstances.

Summary of Services rendered(cont) • Legal Request and Process Administration: • Facilitation of the service of process via diplomatic channels to have summons served to respondents abroad. • Facilitation of other legal processes via diplomatic channels when requested to do so by the authorised authorities. These processes include requests for extradition, rogatory letters and evidence on commission. • Consular notarial services and legalisation of public documents executed within South Africa for use outside the Republic of South Africa by means of an Apostille Certificate or a Certificate of Authentication and vice versa. • Online registration of South Africans abroad (ROSA)

IMMIGRATION- AND CIVIC SERVICES • Mandate lies with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA); • Immigration- and Civic Services rendered at missions abroad are coordinated by DHA in Pretoria; • Immigration Services: Visa services rendered to foreigners; • Civic Services rendered at missions abroad are aimed at South African nationals & include passport applications, ID applications, birth registrations, death registrations.

EXPECTATIONS vs REALITY • DIRCO and missions abroad must respect the sovereignty of countries; • DIRCO and Missions abroad cannot enforce the SA Constitution, other Acts of Parliament and South African Court orders abroad; • Cannot intervene in private legal matters and private labour disputes abroad; • Cannot get a person out of jail; • Cannot pay ransom for hostages.

DIPLOMATIC PROTECTION • An action taken by a State to protect its nationals against the actions of another State in respect of injury to the person or property of a national caused by a wrongful act or omission attributed to the latter state; • States have a right to extend diplomatic protection. The right is exclusive to the State and the national cannot claim the protection as a right; • Government has the obligation to consider the request; • Ad hoc committee formed; • Keep record of actions; • Government actions are not beyond scrutiny of the Court

CURRENT HIGH LEVEL CASES • Pierre Korkie kidnapped in Yemen; • Stephen McGown kidnapped in Mali; • Daniel Janse van Rensburg detained in Equatorial Guinea; • Messrs. Tsolo, Kambule detained in UAE • Nigeria building collapse at SCOAN

Challenges and trends • Increasing number of SA nationals travel abroad • Growing incidents of SA nationals involved in emergencies such as natural or man-made disasters and others such as hostage taking • Low public awareness on the role of consular services • Increased media interest in consular matters • Increased complexity of consular cases • Number of South Africans arrested abroad as so-called drug mules

Strategic issues for 2015 and beyond • More focus on public awareness and education on consular services • Review of the non-financial nature of consular services • Application of new technologies such as social media to communicate with nationals in distress

Consular Statistics for July to September 2014

Nigeria Disaster • The sleeping quarters at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in Lagos collapsed on 12 September 2014 • Due to a news / information blockage the SA Missions in Abuja and Lagos received scant information in the first few days • After receiving an indication that 67 SA citizens had died, DIRCO on 16 September 2014 requested the NATJOINTS to be activated and

Nigeria Disaster (cont) • the disaster to be dealt with by the NATJOINTS as a coordinating mechanism • The NATJOINTS is the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure and in essence is responsible for safety, security and intelligence in South Africa • The NATJOINTS was activated the same day at 15h00 with key departments attending

Nigeria Disaster (cont) • The situation was analyzed according to information available at the time and certain first-order decisions were made to immediately address the situation • The NATJOINTS decided that an assessment team under the leadership of the Head: National Disaster Management should be established from key departments which would be sent to Lagos to assess the situation on the ground,

Nigeria Disaster (cont) • determine what additional resources might be required in order to manage the situation, in conjunction with the Nigerian authorities • The first assessment team left on 17 September 2014 followed by a second team • The first reports indicated that the situation on the ground was very bad with many challenges • After assessing the medical situation of the injured it was decided that it was imperative that

Nigeria Disaster (cont) • SA repatriate the injured as soon as possible • A SAAF plane departed to Lagos with an extended SANDF medical team on 21 September 2014 • The 28 injured were repatriated to SA on 22 September 2014 and admitted to Steve Biko Hospital with the Dept of Social Development providing psychosocial support to the families • The second phase is now focusing on the

Nigeria Disaster (cont) • repatriation of the mortal remains • In this regard the NATJOINTS Task Team has been literally working round the clock, including weekends and public holidays, to put together a comprehensive plan to return 85 bodies, i.e. 81 South Africans and four foreign nationals • The current challenge is identifying the bodies – a company in Stellenbosch was appointed by

Nigeria Disaster (cont) • the Nigerian Government to identify the bodies through either fingerprints or DNA • As soon as all the bodies have been identified the Nigerian Government will be able to hand over the bodies to the SA Government • Once the go ahead is given for the repatriation of the mortal remains two planes will be sent to collect the bodies at the mortuaries in Lagos and return them to SA

Nigeria Disaster (cont) • It should be noted that this is the first major disaster of this kind that South Africa is dealing with • With regard to the Tsunami in 2004 there was collaboration between some government departments, the Jewish Board of Deputies and Netcare after which certain guidelines were compiled on how to deal with disasters • The NATJOINTS has had to be creative in its

Nigeria Disaster (cont) • thinking and “think outside of the box” as some of the standard policies do not apply and or do not cover an event of this nature, for e.g. the National Disaster Management Act does not cover events outside of the country • The dedicated team of officials comprising the NATJOINTS Task Team have all pulled together and developed a plan that has addressed not only the return of the injured but also the repatriation of the mortal remains

Nigeria Disaster (cont) • Minister J Rabede, as Head of the IMC, has been briefing the South African public on developments and will soon be able to confirm the date as to when the bodies will be returned • The NATJOINTS remains seized of the situation and will ensure a successful conclusion to this tragic event that resulted in the loss of so many lives

CONCLUSION South Africa will continue to fulfill its obligations to its citizens who are in distress abroad. THANK YOU

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