Volkstaat - Legal Basis

Legal Basis

Section 235 of the South African Constitution allows for the right to self-determination of a community, within the framework of "the right of the South African people as a whole to self-determination", and pursuant to national legislation. This section of the constitution was one of the negotiated settlements during the handing over of political power in 1994. The Freedom Front was instrumental in including this section in the constitution. No national legislation in this regard has yet been enacted for any ethnic group, however.

International legislation presents a recourse for the establishment of a Volkstaat over and above than what the South African Constitution offers. This legislation is available to all minorities who wish to obtain self-determination in the form of independence. The requirements set by international legislation are explained by Prof C. Lloyd Brown-John of the University of Windsor, Ontario as follows: "A minority who are geographically separate and who are distinct ethnically and culturally and who have been placed in a position of subordination may have a right to secede. That right, however, could only be exercised if there is a clear denial of political, linguistic, cultural and religious rights." The rights awarded to minorities were formally enshrined by the United Nations General Assembly when it adopted resolution 47/135 on 18 December 1992. However, it is questionable whether this applies to Afrikaners, as there is no municipality in South Africa in which white, Afrikaans-speaking citizens represent a majority, so Afrikaners are not "geographically separate".