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Media Statement: SAHRC releases an update report on implementation of its recommendations following the 2021 July Unrest Hearing

Attention: Editors and Reporters
Friday, 17 October 2025

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC/Commission) has released a report titled Current Status: Implementation of the Recommendations contained in July’s People: The National Investigative Hearing into the July 2021 Unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (Current Status Report. The Current Status Report provides an update on the implementation of recommendations that the SAHRC made in its report titled July’s People: The National Investigative Hearing into the July 2021 Unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (July Unrest Report). The July Unrest Report was a product of a National Investigative Hearing (Hearing) undertaken by the SAHRC between 15 November 2021 and 21 June 2022 following Unrest that took place in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July 2021. The Hearing took place in Durban and Johannesburg.

The financial damage of the Unrest was estimated at R50 billion, and approximately 353 lives were lost. The July Unrest Report contains numerous findings on human rights violations that occurred during the unrest and provides 33 (28 requiring action) recommendations that were directed at various institutions.

Some of the key observations in the Current Status Report are:

  • Response rate: 91%
  • Response from institution: 10 of 11 institutions responded.
  • Average time frame to respond to SAHRC: 9.5 calendar months.
  • Recommendations implementation rate: 12 of 28 (43%) recommendations were fully implemented.
  • Highest performers in implementing recommendations: the Presidency, the South African National Defence Force, the State Security Agency, and the South African Police Service.

The Current Status Report and the July Unrest Reports are available on the SAHRCs website.

The SAHRC will continue to monitor the recommendations and intends to provide a final report.

Ends

 

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