The FW de Klerk Foundation today released its CRL Rights Report Card for 2026, identifying significant developments affecting cultural, religious and linguistic rights while highlighting persistent implementation challenges across South Africa’s constitutional landscape.

The Report Card found that four of the eleven rights assessed improved during the reporting period, four remained stable and three deteriorated, indicating meaningful but uneven progress in the practical enjoyment of constitutional rights.

Among the most significant developments were the constitutional recognition of South African Sign Language as the country’s twelfth official language, the continued expansion of Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education, the adoption of the ||nkwa Declaration at the National Language Summit, proposals to strengthen multilingualism through amendments to the Use of Official Languages Act, and controversy surrounding the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities’ Section 22 Committee.

“The findings demonstrate that South Africa’s constitutional protections for cultural, religious and linguistic rights remain strong. However, progress in law and policy continues to outpace progress in implementation,” said Daniela Ellerbeck, an attorney and the FW de Klerk Foundation’s Constitutional Rights Programme Manager.

“Encouraging progress has been made in several areas. However, the gap between constitutional commitments and the lived realities of many South Africans remains a significant concern. Progress in policy and legislation is too often not matched by effective implementation,” said Christo van der Rheede, the Foundation’s Executive Director.

The report identified a range of recurring obstacles that continue to limit the enjoyment of these rights, including inadequate funding, limited institutional capacity, shortages of qualified personnel and weak accountability.

To address these challenges, the Foundation recommends dedicated funding for language services, stronger compliance powers for PanSALB, urgent measures to address shortages of court interpreters, and the responsible use of emerging technologies to improve multilingual access to public services, especially at a municipal level.

The Foundation emphasised that strengthening implementation, accountability and institutional capacity will be essential to ensuring that constitutional protections translate into meaningful outcomes for all South Africans.

“The priority now is to ensure that these protections are not just on paper, but become tangible benefits for every community,” Ellerbeck concluded.

The full CRL Rights Report Card 2026 is available here 

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