On 22 - 24 August 2023, the Centre co-hosted a workshop with the Chair of African Legal Studies, University of Bayreuth. The workshop brought together scholars human rights in Africa and Europe, as part of a project that interrogates the reasons why some human rights violations persist with little or no change despite the establishment of extensive legal frameworks and aims to provide solutions to them. The project aims to answer three major questions: why do human rights violations persist on a large scale? Why is there such a huge disparity between the legal frameworks and incidences of violations? And what can be done to close the gap between formal protection and the lived realities of citizens? In opening the workshop, Prof Thoko Kaime, the seating Chair of African Legal Studies, Bayreuth University, expounded on the three questions as the basis for the project on intractable problems of human rights.
.Discussions at the Workshop focused on four examples of intractable problems, which were; sexual and gender minority rights in Africa, perspectives on child work and child labour in Africa, challenges of human trafficking, migration and housing in Africa, and perspectives on African culture, colonialism and decolonisation. Through panel discussions, the workshop also explored multifaceted solutions to the intractable problems of human rights, including a response to the complexity that arises from the intersectional nature of the issues, such as, the interaction of law and African culture, the role of political will in addressing human rights challenges, law as language and power, and the different understanding and values of justice in communities across the continent. Participants highlighted the role of systems and socialisation as key factors influencing the persistence of human rights concerns. The workshop is an entry point to explore similarly presenting human rights concerns in Africa and beyond.
The presentations at the workshop will result in a research publication examining these intractable problems of human rights and presenting solutions. The Centre thanks the Chair of African Legal Studies for the collaboration and the participants for making the workshop a success.
For more details contact:
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 4397
landilani.banda@up.ac.za
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3151
ch.vanderlinde@up.ac.za
