09 August 2015

By Deputy Chairperson Pregs Govender, SAHRC Commissioner responsible for Basic Services & Health Care

Dignity is the inherent worth and value of every human being. Humanity’s birthright was silenced by apartheid’s capitalist and patriarchal paradigm, which devalued, fragmented and destroyed human beings.

The earth, air and water that sustain life became commodities to exploit for profit.

10 March 2016

By Chairperson Lourence Mushwana, Commissioner responsible for Migration & Equality

It is not a co-incidence that the South African Human Rights Commission decided to launch the Right to Food which on a day prior to the Human Rights Day in South Africa.

There must be a particular reason for the Constitutional imperative which states that ‘everyone has the right to adequate food and water’

02 March 2014

By Deputy Chairperson Pregs Govender, Commissioner responsible for Basic Services & Health Care

Hartbeespoort, Rooikoppies, Vaalkop and Klipvoor Dams are located in the Madibeng Municipality. Four dams...that should be more than enough water for everyone, to drink, wash and wallow in on scorching summer days in the North-West Province. The world’s third largest chrome producer and the richest Platinum Group Metals Reserve are in Madibeng. During Apartheid and Democracy the wealthy owners of the mines, tourist companies, agribusiness and other large industries did not experience water shortages or water cuts. Yet communities who are Black and poor, living next to the dams complained to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) that they went without water for days, weeks and months.

12 November 2015

By Deputy Chairperson Pregs Govender, Commissioner responsible for Basic Services & Health Care

On International Rural Women’s Day this week, over 250 rural women from across our country marched to Parliament. Their pamphlets and green t-shirts (over colourful traditional clothes) were imprinted with an image of a joyous woman. Hands encircling the earth, fingertips enfolding Africa, she proclaims:  “Women – guardians of seed, life and earth”.

26 April 2013

By Chairperson Lourence Mushwana, Commissioner responsible for Migration & Equality 

The South African Human Rights Commission is honoured that the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions and the Association for the Prevention of Torture chose it to host vital training in investigating allegations of torture.

It could not come at a more crucial time. As a country, we are experiencing torture, ill-treatment and police brutality of a magnitude we have not experienced since we became a democracy.

20 March 2013

By Deputy Chairperson Pregs Govender, SAHRC Deputy Chairperson responsible for Basic Services & Health Care
 
There are good people across our society, in Government and in civil society, who are deeply committed to our Constitution. They work hard and are committed to changing the reality of unemployment, poverty, inequality and violence. The biggest obstacle they identify is the lack of planning, the silo-mentality, the territorialism and egoism. These factors hinder co-ordination and co-operation within and between departments and spheres of Government. It has negative impact on policy and budget development, preventing the implementation of policies that could shift this reality. The result is a widespread perception that Government does not care.

12 November 2015

By Deputy Chairperson Pregs Govender, SAHRC Commissioner responsible for Basic Services & Health Care

It is a small ordinary garden, with colourful spring flowers on the one side and a neat vegetable patch on the other. I want to photograph it, to capture the courage that creates beauty.

Everything else we have listened to and seen that day, seem designed to crush the human spirit. The horrific statistics of poverty, inequality, unemployment, precarious employment, food insecurity, lack of access to housing, water and sanitation, ill-health and gender based violence speak of the destruction of human life. The flowers show how human beings survive.

03 December 2012

By Commissioner Bokankatla Malatji, SAHRC Commissioner responsible to Disability & Older Persons

South Africa joins the international community in commemorating World Disability Day which is celebrated every year on the 3rd of December. It must be acknowledged that South Africa is a signatory and has ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and it is legally bound by the Convention’s provisions. The observance of this day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of the importance of integrating the rights of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

18 September 2012 

By Kayum Ahmed, SAHRC CEO

If you could choose to belong to any racial group, which one would you choose? Forget about the colour of your skin, your ethnic origin, or your mother tongue for a moment.
 
Would you stick to the racial group that you have historically been assigned to, or would you change your race?

02 October 2011

By Pregs Govender, SAHRC Deputy Chairperson, responsible for Basic Services & Health Care

Plant a tree - preserve our planet: a simple, profound idea. In 1977 Africa’s first Woman Nobel Peace Prize-winner, formed the Green Belt Movement. Built on the recognition and value of rural women’s contribution, it became a catalyst for global change. Wangari Muta Maathai understood humanity’s integral connection to the earth ‘I am part and parcel of the earth...whether you are alive or dead, you are still part of it.”This tribute honours her words of clarity and wisdom.