SAHRC provincial manager Lloyd Lotz said the roadshow was intended to equip communities with information on the role and mandate of the commission, and the role and responsibilities of the government in strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights.

“We educate communities about their rights and responsibilities. That includes socio-economic rights that speak to issues of service delivery, such as the right to access healthcare, water and sanitation, adequate housing and to education,” Lotz said.
He said it also covered farm workers’ rights to fair labour practices.
“After every session we try to have law clinics to take possible human rights complaints from the public.”

He added that the commission’s annual Trends Analysis Report (TAR) 2016/17 released in December last year provided a snapshot of trends and findings relating to human rights violations over the past five years.

“The starkest revelation by the TAR is that complaints based on section9 of the Constitution (dealing with equality, especially before the law) remain the highest category of complaints received by the Commission. However, (the number of) complaints based on equality are down from 749 in the 2015/2016 financial year to 705 in the current financial year,” Lotz said.
Of the 705 equality complaints lodged with the commission, 486 (69%) were based on race.

The roadshow, which started in Hermanus, will on Thursday proceed to Bredasdorp.
SAHRC commissioner Chris Nissen said it was a platform “for people to report cases of violations of their rights and issues of concern and for them to engage with those concerns”.


Source: Cape Argus