Monday, 08 November 2010

The SA Human Rights Commission is urging the South African government to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT).

In addition to this, the Commission is urging the Department of Justice & Constitutional Development to fast track the Combating of Torture Bill which seeks to ensure that South Africa complies with its international obligations in terms of the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) which South Africa has signed and ratified by criminalizing and prohibiting acts of torture. Currently the act of torture is not a recognized statutory crime in South Africa.  Torture legislation is needed in order that the criminal justice system can deal more effectively with acts of torture.

SAHRC presented to Parliament on implications of ratifying the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance

The South African Human Rights Commission today made a presentation to the Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Cooperation. The purpose of the presentation was to assist the Committee to clearly understand the implications of ratifying the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.   

The Commission will launch its 7th Economic and Social Rights Report: Millennium Development Goals and the Progressive Realization of Economic and Social Rights in South Africa during November. Details of the launch will be posted soon.

The Commission and the Open Democracy Advice Centre hosted the National Information Officers Forum on the International Right to Know Day, 28 September 2010, at the Sunnyside Park Hotel in Johannesburg, Gauteng.

Date: Thursday, 24 February 2011

An analysis conducted by the South African Human Rights Commission (Commission) and the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute on the national Budget released yesterday, revealed that there is congruence between the intentions of the State of the Nation Address and the overall budget allocations.