A/HRC/8/32 Page 10 for accountability for the safety of detainees. A human rights-based approach has been introduced to enhance accountability through civilian oversight of the police service. In addition, there is provision for the appointment of independent prisons visitors who report to the Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons. 29. On the questions about freedom of expression and the rights of human rights defenders, the delegation explained that the South African democracy has been founded on the struggle of human rights defenders. The Constitution guarantees that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, the right, peacefully and unarmed, to assemble, picket and present petitions. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and the freedom and security of the person to be free from all forms of violence from either public or private sources. Whereas the South African Bill of Rights entrenches the right to freedom of expression, it does not extend to propaganda for war, incitement of imminent violence or advocacy of hatred based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm. Civil remedies are available to victims of racial hate speech under relevant legislation. The right to freedom of expression includes the freedom of the press and other media. The media in South Africa is not State-owned. Concerning questions raised about refugees, including from Zimbabwe, it was explained that the legislation on refugees was not nationality-specific. Due to the extensive occurrence of mixed migratory flows, South Africa’s asylum system had been prone to abuse by visitors other than genuine refugees who apply for asylum permits in large numbers. A critical side effect had been a serious clogging of the asylum system, resulting in a backlog of some 100,000 applications. The Department of Home Affairs introduced incisive action to address the situation and as a result the backlog had been reduced to 8,000 at present. An advanced integrated biometric refugee identification system is currently being installed. This will prevent the recurrence of a backlog build-up. 30. Regarding the questions raised on access to services on HIV/AIDS, the delegation pointed out that this issue was addressed in its statement and added that a significant amount of resources had been put aside to ensure there is equal access to health-care facilities and services so as to ensure appropriate access to treatment for health-related conditions. The delegation also explained that the issue of corporal punishment came before the Constitutional Court as early as 1995 with the landmark case The State v. Williams. The Court held that juvenile whipping was a dehumanizing form of punishment and did not warrant the overriding of constitutionally entrenched rights. This led to the enactment of the Abolition of Corporal Punishment Act in 1997. In South Africa, corporal punishment was considered a form of degrading, cruel, and inhumane treatment and punishment and perpetrators were dealt with according to the Criminal Code. It was further explained that torture had been used by the apartheid regime in a systematic way to instil fear in the Black majority of the nation and to terrorize them. Torture had been dealt with in the institutional and legislative framework, and the challenge was to repeal all internal security laws which were inconsistent with the Constitution of South Africa. Thirty-six laws were repealed in 1996. These repealed acts provided for detention without trial, various administrative actions against the media, organizations, demonstrations and persons. The South African Constitution outlaws torture, even during a state of emergency. Currently the Government is finalizing the torture criminalization bill, which was at the stage of being responded to by civil society, and it would criminalize torture in accordance with CAT. With regard to the work of the TRC, the delegation provided information that the interim constitution of the Republic of South Africa in 1993 paved the way for the opening of a dialogue between the Government and the liberation movements as well as an unbanning of the latter. The Commission had a mandate to hold hearings on past atrocities committed by the apartheid regime and to heal and reconcile the nation. Amnesty was and is still being granted to deserving applicants. The Commission also dealt with the issue of reparations and remedies for victims. With regard to compensation, 90 per cent of applicants have been paid 30,000 South African rand. The remaining 650 cases presented a challenge, as they could not be traced or had