6 March 2019

Cape Town – South African Human Rights commissioners (SAHRC) André Gaum and Chris Nissen reacted with shock at the conditions under which pupils at Tsitsa and Nalikamva primary schools in Mfuleni were taught.
Yesterday, they witnessed first-hand how teachers dealt with more than 100 pupils each day.

5 March 2019

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) welcomed the Cabinet decision of February 28, to refer the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) to Parliament.
“The Commission would like to commend the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Honourable John Jeffery for his role and support in this regard,” SAHRC spokesperson Gail Smith said in a statement.

4 March 2019

South Africa signed OPCAT in September 2006, but was yet to ratify the protocol, the SAHRC said.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on Monday welcomed the Cabinet’s referral for ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) to parliament.

3 March 2019

JOHANNESBURG - The South African Human Rights Commission says human rights violations have increased in South Africa. The commission says one of the contributing factors is the fact that many South Africans have no respect for the rule of law.

01 March 2019

Amid a surge in racism, the South African Government on Thursday announced the approval of the long-awaited National Action Plan to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

29 March 2019

The Constitution of South Africa provides for justiciable socio-economic rights. The right of access to adequate housing is one of the rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights in section 26 of the Constitution. The Constitutional Court in Jaftha v Schoeman and Others, Van Rooyen v Stoltz and Others 2005 (2) SA 140 (CC) stated the importance of the right of access to adequate housing in the following terms:

29 March 2019

On 13 November 2018, the Daily Maverick published an article written by Professor Belinda Bozzoli, a Member of Parliament and the Democratic Alliance’s shadow Minister for Higher Education and Training, entitled “What happens when universities start to decay: The case for Unisa”.  As a whole, the article is a vituperative attempt to undermine the credibility of the South African Human Rights Commission (‘the Commission’) and shows a patent lack of comprehension of its role and the methodologies employed in the course of its investigations.  Her observations, understood properly in context, recruits the pernicious sentiment that the Commission is moribund and needs resuscitation.  It conveys the message that the Commission does not have the ability and depth to carry out its constitutional and legislative mandate and therefore is not worthy of the respect accorded to it as an institution mandated to carry the vital function of strengthening constitutional democracy.

29 march 2019

I hate tribalism with the same vigor that many black South Africans show whenever a racist incident occurs. Every time I hear someone uttering degrading statements about my tribe, Tsonga, I feel doubly discriminated against. I am black and Tsonga.

29 March 2019

The concept of access to justice has become a global issue and has received recognition locally, regionally, and internationally. The right of access to justice is a fundamental human right which is not a “nice-to-have”, but a “must-have”. The ability to access justice unlocks all the other rights that a citizen has in any constitution of the country which she or he is resident in. Freedom under a democracy is meaningless if people are not able to access their rights. Therefore, the right of access to justice is a fundamental human and democratic right which is a central pillar of a free and equal society founded on the rule of law.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

25 MARCH 2019

The South Africa Human Rights Commission (Gauteng Provincial Office), the City of Tshwane and the Department of Water and Sanitation will hold a public meeting in Hammanskraal on Tuesday, 26 March 2019, to report back on progress made in addressing water quality concerns in the area.