Attention: Editors and Reporters
Date: 20 June 2025

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is outraged by reports that workers of the humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers were allegedly threatened and intimidated on 14 June 2025 whilst providing essential aid to flood victims in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape Province.

SAHRC position on the Expropriation Act

Attention: Editors and Reporters
Wednesday, 18 June 2025

The South African Human Rights Commission (Commission / SAHRC) has observed, with concern, public discourse at national and global platforms, whereby the Expropriation Act (No. 13 of 2024) (hereafter “Expropriation Act”) is portrayed as a key component of South Africa’s land reform agenda. The position of the SAHRC is that the Expropriation Act does not clarify the conditions for equitable redistribution of land. Neither does it present a compensation framework that is historically sensitive. It merely delineates the procedures and conditions under which the State may acquire privately owned land.

Attention: Editors and Reporters
Wednesday, 18 June 2025

On Thursday 12 June 2025, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) through its Free State Provincial Office (FSPO) was granted a court order by the Free State High Court against the Masilonyana Local Municipality and its Municipal Manager who were cited as the first and second respondents in the matter.

Attention Editors and Reporters
Monday, 16 June 2025

As the country commemorates National Youth Day, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC/Commission) honours the bravery of the youth of 1976 who dared the apartheid government to protest against its policy of forcing Afrikaans as the language of instruction in Black schools.

Attention: Editors and Reporters 
Sunday, 15 June 2025

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has taken note of social-media messages urging violent “operations” on 16 June 2025 against foreign nationals. We have already alerted the National Commissioner of Police and will keep these calls under close watch, reserving the right to pursue charges under the Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020 should they amount to criminal incitement. 

Makhanda High Court Judgment on scholar transport

Attention: Editors and Reporters
Friday, 13 June 2025

On this International Albinism Awareness Day, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) stands in solidarity with persons with albinism and joins the global community in reaffirming their inherent dignity, equality, and rights.  This day serves as both a solemn reminder of the discrimination and violence faced by persons with albinism and a call for government, civil society, and the private sector to advance inclusion, uphold and protect their human rights. The 2025 International Albinism Awareness Day is marked under the theme Demanding our Rights: Protect our Skin, Preserve our Lives

Attention: Editors and Reporters
Friday, 13 June 2025

 

Yesterday morning, 12 June 2025, the Minister in the Presidency, Ms Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, announced that:

“Cabinet has approved the ban of Terbufos, also known as Halephirimi, and the import of this chemical compound into South Africa. Terbufos, classified as an organophosphate, is commonly used as an insecticide and pesticide in the farming community. The ban will be accompanied by a suite of enforcement measures, while broader consultations are underway to identify safer alternatives in order to safeguard food security and support farmers.”

Attention: Editors and Reporters
Thursday, 12 June 2025

The South African Human Rights Commission (Commission/SAHRC) invites members of the media to a briefing on its week-long provincial visit to monitor the state of human rights in the Limpopo Province. The visit, led by Advocate Sandra Makoasha, SAHRC Commissioner responsible for Pro-Human Rights Budgeting; Business and Human Rights; and Health, was jointly conducted with the Limpopo Provincial Office.