“There are 192 HHPs (Highly Hazardous Pesticides) registered and in use in South Africa, of which only sixteen have partial bans or restrictions. Over a third – 57 out of 192 – of these pesticides are banned in the European Union due to the unacceptable risks to human health and the environment. Additionally, 36 of these pesticides belong to the most hazardous class.”
These statistics were read out by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Judge Navi Pillay, a juror on the South Africans People’s Tribunal on Agrotoxins (SAPToA) while presenting their findings to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Agriculture on 20 May 2025.
The parliamentary briefing, highlighting the severe impact of hazardous pesticides on farmworkers, follows public hearings convened by The People’s Tribunal on AgroToxins over two days in March 2025. The March tribunal, chaired by Judge Pillay, heard testimonies from farmworkers, many of whom are women, detailing health issues such as skin conditions, respiratory problems and reproductive complications linked to pesticide exposure.
SAPToA – A People’s Tribunal To Amplify Marginalized Voices
According to ‘People’s Tribunals, Human Rights and the Law – Searching for Justice’ published by Routledge, People’s Tribunals are “independent, peaceful, grassroots movements, created by members of civil society, to address impunity that is associated with ongoing or past atrocities.”
On its website, SAPToA describes the tribunal as “a community-driven process of justice which will hold the state, companies, farmers, etc. accountable for violating the rights of farm workers and dwellers by exposing them to highly hazardous agrotoxins” and that its aim is to “raise public awareness through the presentation of credible evidence, empowering the affected people and starting to develop a common campaign.”
During her opening address at the tribunal, Mariam Mayet, Director, African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) said that the South African tribunal on agrotoxins was a culmination of more than two years of diligent, hard and determined work by the coalition partners and emphasized that it was explicitly led and informed by the lived experiences of farmworkers, their families, farm dwellers and their children living in urban and agricultural areas impacted by agrotoxins.
The tribunal was necessary, the SAPToA website explains, because “commercial farmers and industry use many agrochemicals that are categorised as highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs), slated for banning by the international community. Government policy committed to this more than 14 years ago, but has largely failed to do so.”
Judge Pillay reiterated this failure during the briefing to Parliament when she emphasized the government’s failure to uphold international obligations, stating, “It appeared that government was conniving with corporations bent on profiteering at the expense of health and the general secrecy and withholding of information relating to the pesticides they were using, from the public.”
Good Laws, Low Implementation
During the testimonies at the public hearings in March, farmworkers recounted harrowing experiences, including the lack of sanitation facilities forcing them to urinate in fields recently sprayed with pesticides, leading to infections. These testimonies underscore the gendered dimensions of pesticide exposure and the urgent need for gender-sensitive policies in agriculture.
Judge Pillay, while referencing these testimonies, highlighted that in her experience, these injustices showed ineffective implementation and oversight of agrotoxins, related legislation and international protocols by the State.
“From all my experience and as High Commissioner, I chaired and met with Parliamentarians from all over the world. If I can pick one bottom line that we heard from the witnesses and the victims who testified before us at the tribunal, it was that…we may have good laws such as our Constitution, but it’s not being implemented.”
She added that “it is the special role of Parliament to look into implementation and whether our government and corporations are complying with the law in South Africa and also whether they are complying with undertakings they’ve given internationally.”
SAHRC Calls for Immediate Action
Judge Pillay expressed disappointment that while South Africa is a party to various international conventions and undertakings aimed at managing the use of agrotoxins, the country has not carried them out. She added that in the South African Development Community (SADC), almost all the other countries observe the ban on HHPs, except South Africa.
Commissioner Philile Ntuli of the SAHRC echoed these concerns, highlighting the continued use of Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) like Terbufos in agriculture and urged Parliament to take immediate steps to protect farmworkers and their families from the detrimental effects of these chemicals.
The tribunal’s proceedings and subsequent parliamentary briefing mark a pivotal moment in the fight against agrotoxins in South Africa. They highlight the necessity for systemic change, including stricter enforcement of pesticide regulations, greater transparency from agricultural corporations, and the adoption of safer, sustainable farming practices.
For more information on the South African People’s Tribunal on AgroToxins, visit agrotoxinstribunalsa.co.za.
To watch the May briefing to Parliament, visit https://www.youtube.com/live/grYfdF2r-nw?si=akW_hP7hZzjDktYt
