The Foundation for Human Rights and Advice Offices: Sustainability and Future Perspectives

Abstract

During the last ten years of apartheid rule, civil society organizations gradually became the privileged partners of the European Community’s support to democratization in South Africa. In order to avoid direct politicization of its activity in the country, the European Commission primarily funded civil society groups, which had broad social goals, through umbrella organizations that acted as intermediaries. The bulk of funds to civil society organizations was administered by the so-called ‘Special Programme for the Victims of Apartheid’ initiated in 1986. Not only was the Community’s programme the largest initiative adopted by a foreign institution in South Africa, but its focus on civil society and human rights (including legal aid to civil society activists) supported the goal of many local actors of using court trials involving apartheid issues as an instrument to broaden the room for democratic action. This Report is based upon an academic research conducted between January and July 2004. This research focused on all community-based advice offices directly funded by the FHR until the end of 2003.

Keywords: Democracy assistance, advice offices, human rights, South Africa