10th June 2016

Attention: Editor and Reporters
 
The South African Human Rights Commission held a conciliation meeting on 7 June to conclude its investigation into a hate speech complaint against Western Cape resident, Matthew Theunissen.  Theunissen engaged in a racist Facebook rant which went viral on social media.   The matter was reported to the SAHRC on 3 May and given the nature of the complaint the Commission investigated the matter as an own initiative investigation.
 

13 – 15th June 2016 (3 day hearing)

Two years ago during protests in Malamulele in Limpopo, at least 5 schools were set alight.  The Commission understands that those schools have still not been repaired. In October 2014, protests relating to access to water broke out in Zeerust, North West Province. During these protests, children were barred from attending school. The protests took place close to the examination period and the barring of children from attending school jeopardized examination preparations by matriculants. The North West Province also experienced protests in June 2013, February 2015, and in June 2016 protests in Majakaneng village resulted in closure of schools. This trend is prevalent across almost all provinces in the country.

08th June 2016

Attention: Editor and Reporters

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has noted with concern the increase in the killing of members of political parties in the build-up to the Local Government Elections, which are to be held in early August this year.

09 August 2015

By Deputy Chairperson Pregs Govender, SAHRC Commissioner responsible for Basic Services & Health Care
 
Wathint'Abafazi Wathint'imbokodo – Bread and Roses
 
The song of women on the march in 1956, honours the love that ensures the survival of millions of families and communities. One of the meanings of Imbokodo is ‘grinding stone’ referring to the work countless women do to produce food for our world. In contrast to the production of weapons of death, creating food to nourish and sustain life is not counted in the GDP, the measurement of economic growth.

02 June 2015

By Commissioner Shafie Ameermia, Commissioner responsible for Access to Justice & Housing
 
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa with its entrenched Bill of Rights has received international acclaim for being the most progressive legal instrument in securing human rights to date. Furthermore, an empirical study of the constitutions of the world, found that the South African Constitution is amongst the most influential benchmarks for modern constitution-making.

06 August 2015

By Commissioner Shafie Ameermia, Commissioner responsible for Access to Justice & Housing
 
In a recent ruling by the Western Cape High Court, Judge Siraj Desai, noted that, “[t]he facts underpinning this application relate to the debt collection procedure employed by the micro-lending industry and give rise to significant disquiet, if not alarm.”

05 October 2015

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

On October 3, the 20th anniversary of the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), we travelled to Xhora Mouth in the Eastern Cape to report back to the community that laid a complaint regarding access to emergency medical services, which led to the SAHRC hearing on emergency medical services in the Eastern Cape earlier this year.

28 August 2015

By Commissioner Janet Love, SAHRC Commissioner for Environment, Natural Resources & Rural Development; and Researcher Angela Kariuki
 
eGoli! The “Place of Gold”, the popular nickname adopted for Johannesburg in its formative years, is the economic hub of the country and the continent, generating a large percentage of South Africa’s GDP. The province in which it falls, Gauteng, is responsible for at least a quarter of the country’s total mineral production – the bulk of this being gold.

19 August 2015
 
By Dr Danny Titus, SAHRC Commissioner responsible for Human Rights and Law Enforcement & Prevention of Torture
 
At a summit on rural safety and security in 1998 our former president Mandela was quite clear when he referred to the immediate human suffering, the lack of security and stability in our rural and farming community. He referred to the serious disruption to our economy, the threat of reduced growth and production, loss of wages and profits, and in time unemployment. He was referring to the attacks and killings on farms. He continued to state that "the government deplores the cold blooded killings that have been taking place on farms," and that "killings on farms, and crimes in general, have been a feature of South African life for many decades."

Attention: Editors and Reporters
 
04 January 2016
 
The South African Human Rights Commission has noted with serious concern the alleged racist comments attributed to some people on social media.