Human rights organisations have urged the South African Government to compensate victims of apartheid.

There can be no further justification for the government to delay implementing a reparations programme AI and HRW statement

Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) say the government should urgently implement recommendations made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to that effect.

The TRC, chaired by Desmund Tutu, was set up to investigate human rights violations under apartheid, to advance reconciliation and the reconstruction of a new South Africa.

Its final report is set to be published in the first half of this year, opening the way for thousands of victims of the apartheid era to receive compensation.

Amnesty

The two human rights groups say President Thabo Mbeki should use the opening of the 2003 parliamentarty session on Friday to announce a programme of reparations for victims.

"There can be no further justification for the government to delay implementing a reparations programme, as has been urged for so long by civil society organisations," they said in a statement on Thursday.

The TRC in dates

1995: TRC set up 1996: hearings begin 1998: initial report 1998: TRC suspended 2001: scheduled final report postponed 2001: final committee dissolved 2003: final report expected

They say the government should also renounce any possibility of a further amnesty.

"The arguments used during South Africa's transition to justify granting immunity from prosecution are no longer applicable," they say.

There has been a debate within the government whether the limited amnesty should be extended.

The TRC heard some 6,000 amnesty applications.

Thousands of people named in the TRC report have been recommended for reparations - payments as compensation for the suffering they endured under apartheid.

These will progress with the publication of the final report.