03/11/2026
Annual Symposium Statement
The Symposium recognises the following:
1. Trust-building in civil-military relations requires a whole-of-society approach. Citizens should be meaningfully involved in defence policy-making, fostering a sense of inclusion, security and democratic participation.
2. Recognitional justice is imperative. Affording substantive freedoms and recognising the dignity of all communities must include the military community of practice. This is important in restoring dignity where it has been undermined and cultivating institutional trust, social cohesion and organisational resilience.
3. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa provides for civilian control of the SANDF, as a fundamental principle of democratic governance.
4. Military accountability is essential to maintaining civilian control. The armed forces must remain subject to legal, parliamentary and ethical frameworks, ensuring that they protect the State without threatening the democratic order.
5. An independent institution such as the Military Ombud is indispensable. It provides an important balance between the operational effectiveness of the SANDF and the requirements of constitutional accountability and procedural fairness.
6. Constitutional accountability and military oversight sustain democratic legitimacy. They ensure that the SANDF remains subordinate to civilian authority, upholds the rule of law and serves the public interest.
7. Independent oversight institutions contribute to institutional learning and continuous improvement. Through their powers of persuasion and other forms of soft power, they can strengthen accountability and the democratic legitimacy of the SANDF.
8. International collaboration strengthens oversight, while providing opportunities to leverage shared experience and promote trust, transparency, fairness and institutional accountability.
9. In a contemporary post-liberal world, a balance between transformation and sustainability is required, particularly in ensuring the well-being of people through effective complaints-resolution processes.
10. Complaints should serve purposes beyond the resolution of individual cases. They can address specific incidents, correct organisational and institutional problems, facilitate broader remedial action and inform policy review at provincial and national levels.
11. Complaints-resolution systems must incorporate appropriate checks and counter-checks, ensuring that administrative justice is achieved objectively and in accordance with procedural and substantive requirements.
12. Ombuds institutions must analyse complaint patterns and trends. This enables the identification of recurring systemic problems and the recommendation of appropriate remedial or corrective action, including policy review at national level.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Taken together, these takeaways reinforce the central message of our Symposium: complaints resolution is not merely an administrative process for addressing individual grievances. It is also an important mechanism of democratic accountability, institutional learning and systemic improvement.
Ultimately, the effective use of complaints and independent oversight contributes to strengthening trust between the military, the State and the society it serves.
I thank you.
