01 September 2023

Attention: Editors and Reporters

The Northern Cape Provincial Office of the South African Human Rights Commission (the Commission) will participate in the Provincial Finals of the 2023 National Schools Moot Court Programme in Kimberley. The programme will be held in conjunction with the Northern Cape Provincial Department of Education and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. The programme brings together selected school learners across the province to engage in mock trial scenarios that test their advocacy skills and legal knowledge.

31 August 2023

Attention: Editors and Reporters

The South African Human Rights Commission (the Commission or SAHRC) has learned with grief and sadness of the fire that has engulfed the five storey Usindiso building on the corner of Delvers and Alberts Streets in Marshalltown, Johannesburg. The Commission wishes to convey its condolences to those who lost their relatives and friends in this tragedy and to wish a speedy recovery to those who were injured. At the time of writing this statement, reports indicated that more than 70 fatalities and more than 50 injuries had been recorded.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

29 August 2023

The South African Human Rights Commission (“the Commission”) in Mpumalanga will be conducting a capacity building workshop aimed at empowering Emakhosikati Structure (Wives to Traditional Leaders) on human rights and gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). The Commission has identified the Emakhosikati Structure in the province as a strategic stakeholder to be equipped on the subject to empower communities that are confronted by issues of human rights violations daily.

28 August 2023

Attention: Editors and Reporters

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in Free State together with the Department of Water and Sanitation and University of the Free State will conduct a stakeholder engagement on water contamination in Parys, Free State. The area falls within the jurisdiction of Ngwathe Local Municipality.

25 August 2023

Attention: Editors and Reporters

2023 marks 110 years since the enactment of the Natives Land Act of 1913 (Act). The Act enforced a legal limit to African land ownership situated in reserves and homelands to seven percent (7%). The Act further prohibited Africans from entering into any agreement or transaction for the purchase, hire, or other acquisition from a person other than a native.

In an effort to provide redress of this unjust act, Section 25 of the Constitution affirms that a person or community dispossessed of property after 19 June 1913 as a result of past racially discriminatory laws is entitled to either restitution of the property or to equitable redress.

22 August 2023

Attention: Editors and Reporters

The Northern Cape Provincial Office will be conducting a community human rights champions workshop in Douglas. The workshop is dedicated to empowering individuals and organisations who are at the forefront of advocating for human rights and social justice within their communities.

22 August 2023

Attention: Editors and Reporters

Then South African Human Rights Commission (the SAHRC) in Free State together with Legal Aid South Africa will be embarking on the legal clinics across Letsemeng Local Municipality, in Xhariep district between 21 – 25 August 2023. The purpose of these clinics among others, is to educate citizens about their rights as enshrined in chapter two of the Constitution.

21 August 2023

Attention: Editors and Reporters

In an ongoing effort to champion human rights and foster a more equal, inclusive, tolerant and diverse society in South Africa different stakeholders and role-players will be coming together for a crucial dialogue on equality, inclusivity, tolerance, and diversity. By bringing together a wide spectrum of perspectives and expertise, the dialogue seeks to explore strategies that will lead to a meaningful change at individual, societal and systemic levels. The dialogue will serve as a platform for open discussions on the progress made and challenges faced in the pursuit of equal rights for all citizens of South Africa. It recognizes the collective responsibility to build a nation where equality, inclusivity, tolerance and diversity are not only celebrated but also embraced as a source of strength.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

18 AUGUST 2023

The SAHRC in Eastern Cape will be embarking on various monitoring activities in Sarah Baartman District Municipality and Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality. Section 184 (1) (c) of the South African Constitution states that the Commission must monitor and assess the observance of human rights in the Republic. 

Attention: Editors and Reporters

18 August 2023

The South African Human Rights Commission (the Commission) together with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Clive Sithole Ceramics (Durban)/ Phansi Museum, Imiso Ceramics (Cape Town), and Van Schaik Bookstore will host the finalist round/ workshop with the youth which advanced through the first phase of the competition.  The youth finalist round on clay works, is part of the second phase of the Ukhamba Youth Pottery Exhibition and Competition, which is part of the Commissions SHiNE initiative.