Human Rights Day

Equality remains a concern, and most cases that are reported to the SA Human Rights Commission fall into this category. As South Africa celebrates Human Rights ...

Most of the recommendations centred around combating racial discrimination, hate speech and xenophobia; fighting violence against women; and protecting the rights of vulnerable groups. The UPR is given to member states every four and a half years. As South Africa celebrates Human Rights Day, the clock is ticking down to the deadline for the country's submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council's (UNHCR) "human rights scoresheet".

Our celebration of human rights is a reminder of the connections between human rights, love, beauty and dignity, and the fact that the scourge of hunger and ...

As I watch how so many have mobilised to help those displaced by the war in Ukraine, it is a reminder that we have the ability to take action. By examining the root causes of hunger at a systemic level, we believe it is possible to break the cycle. She said, “The way in which you package food is just as important as the nourishment in it. Recently, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Judge Denise Fisher. She said in a conversation, “At the soul of human dignity lies the right to assume that one is worthy of being nourished. If one has to scratch in a dustbin to get sustenance, one is not only inadequately fed, the fact that you must take another’s rubbish and put it into your body is the greatest indignity imaginable. I started to wonder why we would commemorate “Human Rights Day” when we are living in a time of prevalent human crisis.

More than 60 years after the Sharpeville massacre in which 69 protesters were killed after marching against pass laws and fighting for human rights, ...

“We are still dependent on other nationals for employment and our security is fully owned by other nations, and we don’t own our food production. Black children attend dysfunctional schools because the party in government employs unqualified teachers and fails to deliver textbooks. It is black people who stay in rat-infested areas and flea-ridden shacks because they have no homes of their own.

As the country celebrates Human Rights Day today, South Africa still has millions who face the harsh reality of starvation and food insecurity.

And in today’s world, fuel is the backbone of the world economic activities,” Nemushungwa explained. “Because of food insecurity, it is going to perpetuate poverty, meaning that it is going to impact on our economic growth. Dr. Azwifaneli Nemushungwa, a lecturer in economics at the University of Venda, said the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, might have devastating effects on the already ailing SA economy. This accounts for almost one-third of all food produced in the country. Almost 20% of South African households had inadequate access to food in 2017. A lot of people are living below that line.”

The Gauteng provincial government is expected to host commemorative events in the township on Monday, 21 March.

To date, the RRU has assisted thousands of refugees and asylum seekers in the Western Cape. In celebration of Human Rights Day, UCT News shines a spotlight on the significant role the unit plays in the province, and its work serving this vulnerable, ...

“Through our work, our aim is to reinforce the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa and to strengthen the rule of law more broadly. “The South African government has undermined and negated its commitments when it comes to protecting refugees and asylum seekers. In the next three to five years, she said the South African government should focus on putting efficient structures in place and drastically ramping up its asylum determination process. Added to that, facilitating general awareness campaigns to counter xenophobia and encourage social cohesion, registering the birth of new-born babies and helping refugees and asylum seekers access employment opportunities and other basic services like healthcare and education, forms part of the unit’s core function. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, refugees flee their countries of birth as a result of war, violence, conflict or persecution, and cross an international border to find safety in another country. The unit consists of a research hub, provides teaching and training to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, and conducts advocacy and training programmes aimed at various stakeholders, including members of the judiciary.