Attention: Editors and Reporters

17 July 2019

On 28 March 2019, both houses of Parliament ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). The OPCAT establishes international and domestic mechanisms for torture prevention through a system of regular visits to places of deprivation of liberty in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. South Africa deposited the instrument of ratification of the OPCAT with the Secretary-General of the United Nations in New York on 20 June 2019. In accordance with article 28 (2), the OPCAT will come into force for South Africa on 20 July 2019.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

16 July 2019

As part of the 2019 Schools Moot Court Competition, the North West Provincial Office will be hosting capacity building workshops aimed at empowering both learners and educators in preparation to partake in the national competition later in the year. The workshops are expected to create awareness on how the Constitution and the law work through court process to protect, demonstrate and promote respect of fundamental human rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights.

16 July 2019
Attention:  Editors and Reporters

On 17 July 2019 the South African Human Rights Commission will host a colloquium on evictions in Gauteng with a view to craft practical and implementable solutions to address unlawful evictions in the province.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

08 July 2019

 The South African Human Rights Commission (“Commission”) KZN Provincial Office will conduct information sessions and setup helpdesks at the community workshops hosted by the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs: Consumer Affairs Division, in the areas of Utrecht and Molweni.

07 July 2019

The South African Human Rights Commission has played a leading role in helping to quell the protests at Plettenberg Bay which saw the N2 though the town closed for several days this week.
The Bitou Municipality said that the N2 had been reopened to traffic on Saturday after an official from the SAHRC helped broker an agreement with residents of Qolweni, who took to the streets on Tuesday morning.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

08 July 2019

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) will host an advocacy intervention and a media engagement in Kwa-Nongoma from the 11-12 July 2019.

3 July 2019

A legal fight is underway, spearheaded by the Centre for Child Law, which seeks to secure the right of undocumented learners to access to basic education.

3 July 2019

A furore has erupted over the city council’s implementation of a by-law that leads to homeless people being fined for sleeping on pavements or erecting illegal structures, with the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) saying they are launching an investigation.

3 July 2019

The Gauteng health department has launched an inquiry after a heavily pregnant woman said she was turned away at a clinic in Pretoria and had to give birth at the gates of the facility.

3 July 2019

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has been allowed to join as an amicus curiae (friend of the court) in a case fighting for the rights of undocumented pupils to receive a basic education.