The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is set to launch a National Investigative hearing into the July civil unrest.
Last month’s looting and violence in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng left more than 340 people dead and resulted in mass human rights violations.
Most victims died in stampedes during the looting and shootings.
Damage to infrastructure and property amounted to billions of rands. It also had a devastating impact on the country’s economy with some businesses being unable to reopen.
In a statement, the commission says the role and effectiveness of the state particularly of police and the security cluster as a whole will come under scrutiny.
The commission will also investigate underlying reasons that contributed to the unrest, looting and violence.
It says its decision to probe these events was informed by an Imbizo it held in July in an effort to better understand and respond to the challenges brought by the unrest.
The Commission will then recommend short, medium and long-term measures to be adopted by relevant stakeholders and the State to address the resultant human rights violations and prevent a recurrence of future unrest, including better public order policing.
Video: CRL Rights Commission is concerned about the conflict in some parts of the country
