South Africa introduced racial monitoring in the workplace similar to Bermuda's CURE regulations after the abolition of apartheid, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference heard.

African National Congress MP Shaun Edward Byneveldt told the session on human rights that ensuring equal opportunities in the workplace was essential in the rebuilding of the country after white minority rule ended in 1994.

Afterwards, Development, Opportunties and Government Services Minister Terry Lister, who introduced CURE in Bermuda, said both countries were striving for fairness in the workplace.

Mr. Byneveldt, the MP for Western Cape, said his country had a bill of rights and a labour relations bill.

"Businesses have to annually profile in terms of how they doing in extending opportunities to all, especially the historically marginalised,'' he said.

He said South Africa realised the best way for the nation to develop was to "confront the issue of racism head on''.

Mr. Lister, who piloted the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality guidelines requiring companies to monitor their workforce in racial terms, said Bermuda and post-apartheid South Africa were confronting similar problems.

"It is interesting that they took that approach. The enquiries they had were seeking to create a level playing field,'' he said.

"The situation is the same in Bermuda where we are trying to create a level playing field and equality of opportunity.

"Our scenario is where we have full employment as opposed to some countries that have great unemployment.

"Because we have full employment in Bermuda one should be able to invest in Bermudians knowing that they can be employed and bringing them to the maximum capacity and don't have to bring in people to do the job because a Bermudian can do it.'' Keynote speaker Dr. Mohammed Selim from Bangladesh told delegates at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess, that parliament and the courts were the key instruments in securing human rights.

He said there were huge human rights abuses when Bangladesh emerged as an independent country from Pakistan in 1971.

There were hundreds of thousands of murders, rapes, burning of villages and and persecution of the Hindu religious minority.

He said the support of the international community was essential in helping Bangladesh survive the onslaught of anti-democratic religious fundamentalists.

Mr. Byneveldt said human rights could not be secured without tackling political economic inequality.

United Bermuda Party MP Patricia Gordon-Pamplin said there would be great concern if personal property, which a family had worked hard to get, was forcibly removed by Government.

And she said there was a more subtle form of human rights abuse than atrocities, when people were ridiculed in their own country for their political views.

"If you take the path of life someone doesn't agree with, you can be ostracised, criticised, downtrodden and outcast,'' she said.

"When one chooses an organisation that history has made to chose otherwise, it should still be respected this is a decision that one has made.

"To make a decision in a democratic society and still have to suffer the insults and sometimes diabolical references to one's personal choice is more difficult where democracy is supposed to prevail.'' DISCRIMINATION DIS