12 November 2015

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

It is a small ordinary garden, with colourful spring flowers on the one side and a neat vegetable patch on the other. I want to photograph it, to capture the courage that creates beauty.

Everything else we have listened to and seen that day, seem designed to crush the human spirit. The horrific statistics of poverty, inequality, unemployment, precarious employment, food insecurity, lack of access to housing, water and sanitation, ill-health and gender based violence speak of the destruction of human life. The flowers show how human beings survive.

03 December 2012

By Commissioner Bokankatla Malatji, SAHRC Commissioner responsible to Disability & Older Persons

South Africa joins the international community in commemorating World Disability Day which is celebrated every year on the 3rd of December. It must be acknowledged that South Africa is a signatory and has ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and it is legally bound by the Convention’s provisions. The observance of this day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of the importance of integrating the rights of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

18 September 2012 

By Kayum Ahmed, SAHRC CEO

If you could choose to belong to any racial group, which one would you choose? Forget about the colour of your skin, your ethnic origin, or your mother tongue for a moment.
 
Would you stick to the racial group that you have historically been assigned to, or would you change your race?

02 October 2011

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

Plant a tree - preserve our planet: a simple, profound idea. In 1977 Africa’s first Woman Nobel Peace Prize-winner, formed the Green Belt Movement. Built on the recognition and value of rural women’s contribution, it became a catalyst for global change. Wangari Muta Maathai understood humanity’s integral connection to the earth ‘I am part and parcel of the earth...whether you are alive or dead, you are still part of it.”This tribute honours her words of clarity and wisdom.