"The SAHRC has noted the allegations of ill-treatment of African nationals in China, including the forceful testing, quarantining, and other inhuman treatment, due to the Covid-19 pandemic," the commission said in a statement on Sunday.
"The foundational underpinnings of South Africa’s constitutional democracy, being equality, dignity, and freedom, apply to all people globally. The commission is therefore deeply concerned by these allegations which, if found to be true, would be an infringement on human rights, such as human dignity, equality, and other related rights, depending on what actually happened."
The commission echoed the call by the African Union (AU) and the South African government in urging the relevant Chinese authorities to investigate these reports and take appropriate remedial measures.
It also supported the call by the international relations and cooperation department (Dirco) on the African Group of Ambassadors in Beijing to engage the Chinese authorities with a view to ensuring that Africans were not subjected to any of the alleged violations of their rights or any other ill-treatment, and were treated equally, with dignity and respect, and no differently from other people in China.
The commission would engage with the Network of African Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI) with a view to calling upon the Chinese authorities to intervene and stop the discriminatory treatment of African nationals in the country.
The commission hoped that governments globally would continue to work together in the struggle against the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic and that all would also recognise that stigma and discrimination would do nothing to promote the global struggle.

Source: African News Agency (ANA)