March 18, 2019

Human rights month in SA: the long walk to freedom

located:	South Africa
editor:	Bob Koigi

Even with the most progressive constitutions across Africa that has ring fenced protection of fundamental human rights, mounting dissent and waning public confidence in the government by a bulk of South Africans point to a worrying trend where disrespect for the rule of law, police brutality, corruption and human rights violations have become commonplace.

And as the country marks the human rights month, to commemorate the sacrifices and struggles that paved way for democracy, revelations by the South African Human Rights Commission that violations are at their worst in the 25 years the country has enjoyed democracy is worrying, coming from a country that has positioned itself as the bastion of civil liberties.

Last year over 600,000 disabled children could not access education, a basic entitlement as this brought to the fore the country’s reluctance to enact a legislation that guarantees education for all.

Xenophobic attacks have spiraled out of control leading to deaths with foreigners living in constant fear despite having lived and worked in the rainbow nation for years. Even as these attacks rose last year there has still been no tangible prosecutions yet even as government pays lip service to enacting mechanisms that would bring to justice perpetrators of these racist attacks.

Gender based violence continues being under reported despite being widespread as victims fear reprisals and delayed justice.

But even with the tough human rights landscape, a silver lining exists in the works of human rights champions like lawyer Bonita Meyersfeld who was recently feted by French based Lawyers against Abuse organization for her fervent 20 year work in fighting gender based violence in a country that records the highest number of this kind of violence globally.

The launch of a policy by telecommunication company Vodacom to offer support to its staff affected by domestic violence and abuse is equally laudable.

For a country that prides itself as a benchmark for democracy and progressive rights, the government should use this month to place a pulse on its human rights ecosystem, and the drawbacks that are reversing the hard- earned gains in order to regain its shine.

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