Attention: Editors and Reporters

06 AUGUST 2024

The South African Human Rights Commission’s (“SAHRC”) Gauteng Provincial Office is investigating the funding crisis experienced by Non-Profit Organisations (“NPOs”) since the beginning of the 2024/2025 financial year. The crisis has had a devasting impact on the operational running of various NPOs in the province. Several NPOs have been forced to make drastic decisions such as retrenching staff and cutting down on the delivery of essential services.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

Tuesday, 06 August 2024

Water is central in leading a life with dignity. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 in section 27(1)(b) entrenches the right to have access to sufficient water.  Municipalities which are designated as Water Services Authorities (WSAs) in terms of the Water Services Act 108 of 1997 play a crucial role in providing water. Unfortunately, some WSAs in the country are severely challenged and struggle to fulfil this important constitutional and statutory obligation of providing water to all households within their jurisdictions.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

05 AUGUST 2024

The South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) North West Provincial Office will host a joint stakeholder engagement with the South African Police Service, the Department of Correctional Services and the Department of Public Works.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

6 August 2024

The South African Human Rights Commission’s (the Commission) Eastern Cape Provincial Office (ECPO) is undertaking series of activities in the Makana Local Municipality with a particular focus on service delivery concerns. A significant initiative this week involves engaging responsible stakeholders on the persisting challenge of access to water in the Makana Local Municipality. Access to water refers to the ability of individuals and communities to obtain safe, sufficient, and affordable water for drinking, sanitation, and other basic needs. The Constitution provides that the state must make water accessible in a progressively realisable manner.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

5 August 2024

On or about 27 May 2024, the South African Human Rights Commission (Commission) in the Eastern Cape Provincial Office (ECPO) was alerted through various media publications to an incident during a protest at Walter Sisulu University. In this incident, nine (9) students were injured by rubber bullets allegedly fired by the South African Police Services (SAPS) and security personnel. Some reports indicated the use of live ammunition to disperse the crowds. These reports alleged that the crowd management methods employed were excessive and fall outside of the prescripts of the empowering legislation.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

31 July 2024

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC/the Commission) has noted with serious concern allegations of racism in Gauteng and the Western Cape. It is disturbing that these incidences continue to occur 30 years into democracy. It is more distressing to see that three of these incidents are alleged to have taken place in schools.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

31 July 2024

The South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) North West Provincial Office will conduct a capacity-building workshop aimed at capacitating civil organizations and legal advice centers in Lichtenburg. The aim of the capacity-building workshop is to capacitate human rights champions on the Bill of Rights and the three mandates of the Commission.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

30 July 2024

The South African Human Rights Commission’s (“the Commission”) Mpumalanga Provincial Office will be conducting information sessions on the Social Harmony National Effort (SHiNE).

Attention: Editors and Reporters

29 July 2024

The South African Human Rights Commission’s Mpumalanga Provincial Office will be holding a stakeholder engagement on the eradication of pit latrines in public schools in Mpumalanga.

The engagement follows reports indicating that there are several schools in the province that still make use of pit latrines, despite having such toilets been declared degrading, unsafe and banned by the Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure of 2013.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

25 July 2024

The Gauteng Provincial Office of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in collaboration with the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) is hosting a dialogue to unpack the National Investigative Hearing Report into the July 2021 Unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal (July Unrest Report).

Attention: Editors and Reporters

24 July 2024

The Western Cape Provincial Office (WCPO) of the South African Human Rights Commission (the Commission) will be conducting various monitoring activities in the Garden Route District. According to Section 184(1)(c) of the Constitution, the Commission is tasked with monitoring and assessing the observance of human rights in the Republic. The monitoring and assessment of potential and actual human rights violations allow the Commission to ensure redress and uphold human rights in the Republic.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

22 July 2024

The South African Human Rights Commission's (SAHRC) Eastern Cape Provincial Office (ECPO) will be conducting monitoring activities in the Alfred Nzo and Joe Gqabi District Municipalities from 22 - 26 July 2024. The ECPO has received complaints in these areas relating to potential human rights violations and considering this, the provincial office will conduct monitoring activities to collect additional information for further assessment. A community outreach engagement will be conducted at the request of the community in Mt Fletcher.

Date: 18 July 2024

Attention: Editors and Reporters

The South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) Limpopo Provincial Office (LPO) will conduct a Stakeholder Engagement in Musina, Limpopo.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

18 July  2024

The North West Provincial Office is conducting a subpoena hearing in respect of the officials of the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

17 July 2024                                                                                  

The North West Provincial Office (NWPO) will conduct a subpoena hearing in respect of the Head of the Department of Health (“the Department”) in the North West. The subpoena hearing relates to various complaints about access to the province’s health care services. The NWPO wrote numerous correspondences to the Department in its quest to investigate the complaints it received, which were not responded to.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

Monday, 15 July 2024                   

The South African Human Rights Commission (the Commission or the SAHRC) has learned with great sadness about the passing of former Deputy Chairperson, Dr. Zonke Majodina.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

Friday, 12 July 2024

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC/the Commission) has taken note of the outcome of the Life Esidimeni inquest handed down by the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday, 10 July 2024. The Life Esidimeni tragedy is one of the saddest and most unacceptable chapters in the history of the health care system in democratic South Africa. These were mental health care users who were supposed to be looked after and cared for, yet they were neglected and subjected to inhumane treatment which tragically led to some losing their lives.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

10 July 2024

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC/the Commission) marks three years since the occurrence of the July 2021 Unrest, which claimed the lives of more than 350 people in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

10 July 2024

Attention: Editors and Reporters

The KwaZulu Natal Provincial Office of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC or the Commission) has partnered with the Sthabile Community Development Centre to conduct a children's rights workshop for the learner representative councils of Mvaba High School and Nkosinathi Secondary School.

Attention: Editors and Reporters

Wednesday, 10 July 2024

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC/the Commission) strongly condemns the theft of the school roof affecting three classrooms at Mmanjaakgora Primary School in Prisca village, Moretele, which was discovered on July 6, 2024.