Attention: Editors and Reporters

02 October 2023

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is a state institution established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 to support constitutional democracy. The SAHRC is mandated in terms of section 184 of the Constitution to promote the protection, development, and attainment of human rights, and to monitor the observance of such rights within the Republic of South Africa.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

Saturday, 30 September 2023

The South African Human Rights Commission (the SAHRC or Commission) met with a delegation from Post Bank and the Department of Communications on Thursday 28 September 2023.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss various matters pertaining to the inaccessibility of social grants by some of the Post Bank account holders on the 5^th and 6^th of September 2023. In addition, amongst others to establish whether those persons who held bank accounts with Post Bank and who were unable to access their social grant money, due to switching glitches on the Post Bank payment system, have now been assisted. Secondly to establish whether these tech challenges are anticipated to recur during the October payment cycle.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

28 September 2023

The SAHRC in Mpumalanga province is hosting a provincial dialogue under the topic: “The impact of homelessness on the right to access adequate housing.” The dialogue is aimed at entrenching a human rights culture deepening and the understanding of human rights in the province, specifically the right to access adequate housing.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

28 September 2023

International discourse on digital literacy and older persons has increased since the 2020 pandemic which accelerated the migration to digital interactions. The South African Human Rights Commission (the Commission) acknowledges the role emerging technologies and online platforms play in the development of our societal growth and evolution. However, the Commission has noted the social exclusion and limitation of enjoying particular human rights by older persons due to an increasing digital divide known as the “grey digital divide”. South Africa has committed in its Constitution to provide education, freedom of expression and access to information.

27 September 2023

Attention: Editors and Reporters

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC or the Commission) met with the Department of Social Development (DSD) and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) on Friday evening, 23 September 2023. Among the issues canvassed were the recent delay in the payment of grants to a large number of pensioners and persons with disabilities. The precise nature of the switching “glitches” experienced by Post Bank, as well as the important matter of whether those switching glitches will impact the next round of social grant payouts.

21 September 2023

Attention: Editors and Reporters

Land restitution in South Africa is a critical component of the country's broader land reform programme, aimed at addressing historical injustices related to land dispossession. Since the enactment of the Restitution of Land Rights Act No. 22 of 1994, thousands of land claims have been lodged by individuals and communities who were forcibly dispossessed of their land during apartheid. The government has processed and settled many of these claims, resulting in the restoration of land to claimants or the provision of compensation.

20 September 2023

Attention: Editors and Reporters

Farm workers play an important role in the agricultural sector, contributing significantly to food production and food security as well as the economy of our country. However, despite their essential contributions, farm workers often face alarming occupational health and safety challenges that demand immediate attention and intervention.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

20 September 2023

The South African Human Rights Commission (the Commission) in Gauteng will conduct a capacity-building workshop for Human Rights Champions/ Monitors (HRC) in Daveyton, Benoni. This engagement serves as a follow-up to our previous training of champions which took place in 2022.

19 September 2023

Attention: Editors and Reporters

Over the past months, the South African Human Rights Commission (the Commission) in the Northern Cape has been actively monitoring the state of health care services in the province to ensure compliance with established standards and has since identified critical issues that require immediate attention.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

19 September 2023

The South African Human Rights Commission (the Commission) in North West to convene a subpoena hearing against the HOD of North West Department of Human Settlements and the Municipal Manager of Ngaka Modiri Local Municipality.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

19 September 2023

The SAHRC in Mpumalanga will be conducting an exhibition on the mandate of the Commission in collaboration with other stakeholders who will also be sharing information on their services to communities in and around Emgcobaneni Trust, Hazyview.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

18 SEPTEMBER 2023

The SAHRC Eastern Cape provincial office will be embarking on various monitoring activities in Amathole District Municipality and Sarah Baartman District 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. 

12 September 2023

Attention: Editors and Reporters

The South African Human Rights Commission (the Commission or SAHRC) together with the South African population at large watched with great shock and dismay as 77 people lost their lives on 31 August 2023 following a fire that broke out at Usindiso in the Johannesburg CBD.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

11 SEPTEMBER 2022

The South African Human Rights Commission in Gauteng will visit Bheki Mlangeni District Hospital on 11 September 2023.

The visit follows the Commission’s investigation in 2021  following media reports that shed light on a number of incidents that brought the safety of patients and staff into question. There were further allegations of maladministration and the ill-treatment of staff at the hospital.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

11 SEPTEMBER  2023

The Gauteng Provincial Office is celebrating International Literacy Day by donating books and human rights materials to a Seitsing Primary School and Mohaung Primary School in Tokoza.

International Literacy Day (ILD) celebrations take place worldwide annually to remind the public of the importance of literacy and to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society. South Africa ranked last out of 57 countries assessed in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, which tested the reading ability of 400,000 students globally in 2021.

08 September 2023

Attention: Editors and Reporters

The South African Human Rights Commission in KwaZulu Natal (the Commission) in partnership with the KwaZulu Natal Department of Education (DoE), and other stakeholders, will conduct workshops in preparation for the Provincial Oral Rounds of the National Schools Moot Court Programme (NSMCP). The Commission and DoE following the workshops, will host the Provincial Oral Rounds at the Durban Magistrate Court.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

8 September 2023

The South African Human Rights Commission working in partnership with the Eastern Cape Education Department, Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and University of Fort Hare will host the provincial rounds of the National Schools Moot Court Programme (NSMCP) this weekend.  The provincial oral rounds consist of ten (10) participating schools with the aim of selecting a provincial team of four (4) successful schools to represent the Eastern Cape at the national rounds to be held in Gauteng at the Constitutional Court later this year.