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On 29 August 2023, the Centre hosted a dialogue with community leaders, leaders of faith-based organisations, hospital staff, and representatives of grassroots organisations working on the protection of refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants (migrants) in Cape Town. The dialogue is an initiative of the Centre’s which seeks to promote social cohesion, and which is necessitated by, among other factors, the need to counter anti-African migrant sentiments that have contributed to the recurrence of xenophobic violence in South Africa, mainly targeting Black African migrants.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria is organising a two day Conference on the Implications of Illicit Financial Flows on the Right to Development in Africa. The Conference will bring together participants from a wide range of stakeholders including African governments, policymakers, representatives from AU institutions, international organisations, civil society organisations, academics, researchers and private sector representatives to raise awareness, examine causes, explore the human rights dimension, share research findings, and foster cooperation in combating IFFs. These objectives collectively aim to drive action and generate sustainable solutions to curtail IFFs and redirect resources towards inclusive and sustainable development in Africa.
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The Centre for Human Rights wishes to inform its friends, collaborating partners and all other stakeholders, of the appointment of Professor Nkatha Murungi, as Acting Director. This appointment follows the end of the term of the long-time Director, Professor Frans Viljoen, who has been the Director of the Centre since 2007. The 16 years of Prof. Viljoen’s leadership included several terms as Director, as well as interim extensions. He is now on a sabbatical, but will return and take up his position as teacher and researcher in the Centre at the start of 2024.
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On 18 August 2023, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities marked the one-year anniversary of adoption of its Guidelines on Deinstitutionalization, including in Emergencies (CRPD/C/5). Watch the official recording on UN Web TV here.
The Global Coalition on Deinstitutionalization (‘GC-DI’) is a collection of seven leading international organizations of persons with disabilities and civil society organizations. It was formed around the collective goal of promoting deinstitutionalization of persons with disabilities, under Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (‘CRPD’).
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, together with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, cordially invites you to a hybrid human rights based strategic litigation and advocacy training Workshop to curb the adverse effects of climate change and environmental shocks in Africa.
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Decriminalisation of anti-sodomy laws in an increasingly hostile environment in Africa
23 November 2023
The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, is convening a conference on sexual and gender minority rights in Africa under the theme decriminalisation of anti-sodomy laws in an increasingly hostile environment on sexual and gender minority rights in Africa. The aim of the conference is to critically analyse how anti-sodomy laws can be decriminalised under the prevailing hostile legal and political environment against sexual and gender minority rights in Africa. The conference will be held in hybrid format on 23 November 2023 in South Africa and online. It is anticipated that papers presented at this conference will be reworked by authors and submitted to be part of an edited book on decriminalisation of Anti-sodomy laws in Africa.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria seeks the consultancy services of an experienced consultant with research expertise to conduct a study to document the impact of digital violence on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) of women in Africa and measures taken by states to protect women from and respond to violence in the digital sphere.
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2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ (African Commission) adoption of the Model Law on Access to Information for Africa (the Model Law). Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria will be organising a commemorative seminar on 27 and 28 September 2023, which aims to explore the status of access to information in Africa.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria in collaboration with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) recently hosted the opening ceremony of the 32nd Christof Heyns Moot Court Competition. With its theme, "The Africa We Want: Sexual and Gender Minority Rights in Africa, Climate Change, and Corruption," this year's competition promised to be a platform for exploring critical legal issues in the African context. The opening ceremony was a star-studded event, featuring speeches from esteemed legal personalities who set the stage for what promises to be an intellectually stimulating competition.
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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.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (the Centre), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC) held a two-day Validation Workshop on the State Report of the Republic of Sierra Leone as required under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). The Workshop was held from 1 to 2 August 2023 in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone ratified the African Charter in September 1983 and the Maputo Protocol in July 2015, and as of January 2023, had three outstanding reports on the African Charter. Sierra Leone is also yet to report on the Maputo Protocol since ratification.
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To celebrate 20 years of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Office of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa) calls for newsletter article contributions.
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In pursuit of the ideals of excellence and diversity, the University of Pretoria wishes to invite applications for the following vacancy.
The University of Pretoria's commitment to quality makes us one of the top research Universities in the country and gives us a competitive advantage in international science and technology development.
This is a present but vacant full-time permanent position. The successful candidate should be able to start on 1 January 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter.
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On 3 - 4 August 2023, the Centre for Human Rights (the Centre), University of Pretoria, hosted a training on litigation of SRHR claims before national and regional mechanisms in Africa, at the Southern Sun Hotel in Pretoria, South Africa. The training was attended by over 40 practitioners of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). The participants were drawn from several African countries, including South Africa, Mauritius, Botswana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, DRC, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Uganda.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (Centre), invites qualified individuals to apply for the position of Case Study Researcher--Angola/Namibia. This is a consultancy position within a collaborative research project on the application of the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (OAU Refugee Convention) to refugee displacements in the context of the effects of climate change, environmental degradation, and disasters in Africa. This research project seeks to explore the impact of climate change, environmental degradation, and disasters on ‘public order’ within the framework of Article I(2) of the OAU Refugee Convention.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria is offering an internship opportunity within its Migrants’ Rights Unit. The intern will gain practical experience in the field of the rights of migrants.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (Centre), invites qualified individuals to apply for the position of Case Study Researcher. This is a consultancy position within a collaborative research project on the application of the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (OAU Refugee Convention) to refugee displacements in the context of the effects of climate change, environmental degradation, and disasters in Africa. This research project seeks to explore the impact of climate change, environmental degradation, and disasters on ‘public order’ within the framework of Article I(2) of the OAU Refugee Convention.
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From 24 to 25 July 2023, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria collaborated with the office of the Ombudsperson for Children in Mauritius to host a capacity building on the ‘Rights of Children with Disabilities in the African Human Rights System’.
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2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights' (African Commission) adoption of the Model Law on Access to Information for Africa (the Model Law). The Model Law was adopted on February 13, 2013 and provides guidance on Member States' legislative obligations in promoting and protecting the right to access information as outlined under article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the African Charter) and other relevant instruments such as the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa and the Guidelines on Access to Information and Elections in Africa.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (Centre for Human Rights), cordially invites community leaders, school principals and teachers, leaders of faith-based organisations, representatives of grassroots organisations working in the area of refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants, and hospital staff, to participate in a community dialogue in Cape Town, South Africa.
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On 2 August 2023, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria co-hosted Dr Serge Brammertz, Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. The theme of Dr Brammertz’s lecture was on the development and transformation of international criminal law as a branch of international law, and he also spoke about contemporary issues in the field.
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On 2 August 2023, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, hosted a child-led conference on children’s mental health in Schools in Africa, on its Hatfield Campus. The conference was attended by children nationals from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Law Faculty, University of Pretoria (Centre) held a two-day Alumni Networking Roundtable at the University of Pretoria from 27 to 28 July 2023. The Roundtable was organized as both an academic conference and networking event to reconnect the alumni of the Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (HRDA) with each other, with the Centre, and with the current students, during this 24th year of the HRDA.
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On Friday 28 July 2023, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, at the University of Pretoria (Centre), held its inaugural Christof Heyns Human Rights Memorial Lecture, at the Aula, University of Pretoria. The event was attended by about 150 participants in person, including Christof’s wife Fearika, and two daughters, Willemien and Renée, and around 50 participants online. The three panellists presenting the Lecture emphasised that the history and future of human rights remain based on struggle, and that the strategy against the current push back against human rights should be grounded in greater solidarity and more nuanced and sophisticated articulation of human rights language.
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Bringing together over 18 activists and lawyers, the Centre for Human Rights (Centre) held a capacity building workshop on strategic litigation and advocacy for LGBTIQ+ Advocates in Africa from 24 to 28 July, 2023. The capacity building workshop which has been held annually for the last 4 years aims at enhancing the skills of experienced activists in Africa in strategic litigation and advocacy towards the protection of sexual and gender minorities on the continent.
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EVENT INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday 2 August
Time: 17h00 – 18h30
Venue: Centre for Human Rights lecture hall, Faculty of Law
RSVP: mispa.roux@up.ac.za
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On 26 July 2023, a momentous event took place at the University of Pretoria's Faculty of Law, as the Centre for Human Rights launched its groundbreaking #RacialJustice campaign. This campaign is poised to be a catalyst for transformative change, promoting equality, understanding, and social justice in a world that continues to grapple with racial disparities. With a deep commitment to fostering inclusivity, the campaign seeks to address racial discrimination head-on and pave the way for a more equitable future.
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On 20-21 July 2023, the Centre for Human Rights and the Pan-African Parliament Civil Society Forum (PAP CSO Forum), in partnership with the Parliamentary Network Africa (PNAfrica) convened a meeting in Cote d’Ivoire with some of the West African key actors to establish a formal mechanism of engagement between the PAP and civil society.
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15th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition
The Fifteenth Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition adopted a hybrid format, with the in-person final rounds scheduled to take place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland from 17 – 21 July 2023 and the preliminary virtual rounds (online) scheduled to take place from 20 – 27 May 2023.
Documents 2023
Hypothetical case to be argued
Official rules
Clarification of Facts
Appendix A: Memorial Cover Page
Appendix B: Memorial Scoring Sheet
Appendix C: Instructions to Judges
Appendix D: Scoring Sheet
Winning Team
National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi (India)
Winning team of the 2023 Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition (from left, Akhila Vijayan and Aishwarya Sridhar)
Preliminary Rounds
All registered teams are required to submit written heads of arguments (memorials). These memorials are assessed, and the best teams from each of the 5 UN regions (the top 14 teams from Africa; 13 from Asia; 9 from Latin America and the Caribbean; 8 from the West European and Other; and 6 from East European states), are identified on the basis of the marks awarded for the written memorials. The best teams qualify to participate in the preliminary rounds.
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The Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition reached a milestone, with the 15th edition of this Competition being held at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. As in 2022, the winning team emerged from the Asian region. This team, the National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi, India, was composed of Akhila Vijayan and Aishwarya Sridhar. The winning team won two Peter Coenen Scholarships for a Summer International Human Rights Implementation Programme at the University of Lucerne in Switzerland. The runner up team was St Thomas University, Canada.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, and the Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), hosted a multi-stakeholder engagement on 27 and 28 June 2023 in Harare, Zimbabwe. The engagement sought to promote a healthy information ecosystem throughout the Zimbabwean election process by enhancing access to information and promoting rights-based approaches to addressing the disinformation challenge.
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On a momentous day in Geneva, Switzerland, the world witnessed the fourth annual Nelson Mandela Human Rights Lecture, an event that has become a beacon of inspiration and intellectual discourse. This year's lecture focused on a critical topic that continues to shape our global landscape: the intersection of refugees and climate change. In a world grappling with both environmental and humanitarian challenges, the lecture served as a platform to address the urgent need for collective action and empathetic response.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, is pleased to invite applications for the Master's degree (LLM/MPhil) in Multidisciplinary Human Rights (MDHR) for the academic year 2024. This prestigious program offers an unparalleled opportunity for students to engage in advanced studies and research in the field of human rights, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to make a lasting impact on human rights issues globally.
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On 15 July 2023, the Faculty of Law and Political Science, Université Gaston Berger, in partnership with the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, hosted the annual Julius Osega Memorial Lecture, in Saint Louis, Senegal. The theme for this year’s lecture was ‘The challenges of democratisation and the protection of human rights in Africa’ (‘Les défis de la démocratisation et de la protection des droits humains en Afrique’).
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To mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria and the Faculty of Law, University of Nairobi launched two books published by the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP). The book launch took place in Nairobi, Kenya on 13 July 2023. The publications were launched in celebration of the Maputo Protocol turning 20 on 11 July 2023.
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With the 2024 South African National Elections around the corner, the Democracy and Civic Engagement Unit at the Centre for Human Rights in Partnership with the Australian High Commission, South Africa convened a space in which young South Africans could engage on matters related to governance, democracy and stability on 14-15 July 2023. The democracy capacity building workshop was guided by the theme “Encouraging Youth Participation in South Africa’s Democracy.”
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The prestigious Nelson Mandela Moot Court Competition, named in honour of the iconic South African leader and human rights advocate, has long been recognised as a platform for aspiring legal minds to showcase their skills and passion for justice. With each passing year, the competition grows in significance, attracting talented law students from across the globe. As we delve into the advanced rounds of this year’s competition, let us explore the remarkable journey that participants undertake and the impact it has on the future of law.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria is pleased to invite you to the launch of the 2023 #RaciaJustice Campaign. The Centre joins the global community in the fighting against racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. The campaign aims to achieve racial justice for the many victims of racism and racial discrimination, in the region and continent alike.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (Centre) co-hosted a virtual meeting on colonialism and sexual orientation and gender identity with the United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity on 6 July 2023. The meeting brought together experts on colonialism, coloniality and decolonisation in relation to sexual and gender diversity from across the world.
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LEGAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS CENTRE AND CENTRE FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS V UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA (The reproductive rights case)
The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law University of Pretoria would like to invite you to the 4th edition of its case discussion series on decisions of African human rights bodies.
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By Bonolo Makgale and Nyasha M Mpani
"The revolution cannot triumph without the emancipation of women” — Thomas Sankara. Women on the African continent make up 50% of the population. Yet they continue to face discrimination, inequality and lack of access to equal opportunities.
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As part of the African women’s movement, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, and the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) convened with other women’s rights organisations in Nairobi, Kenya for the Annual General Meeting on 9 July 2023. The SOAWR AGM took place ahead of a two-day celebration of the Maputo Protocol anniversary on 10 and 11 July 2023 in collaboration with the African Union and the Government of Kenya, as the host state. The Centre financially supported representatives of 5 member organisations based in the Southern Africa region to participate in the AGM and the pivotal anniversary celebrations on 10 and 11 July 2023.
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In pursuit of the ideals of excellence, the University of Pretoria wishes to invite applications for the following vacancy. The University of Pretoria's commitment to quality makes us one of the top research Universities in the country and gives us a competitive advantage in international development.
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On 22 June 2023, the Centre for Human Rights (CHR) and the Centre for Sexualities, AIDS, and Gender (CSA&G) University of Pretoria, in collaboration with the Center for Gender Studies and Feminist Futures (CGS) and the Center for Conflict Studies (CCS) at the Philipps-University Marburg, hosted the series finale of the Pretoria-Marburg Queer Conversations.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, is concerned about the unwarranted and unlawful assaults on lawyers using brutal acts of violence and the criminal justice system in two autocratic states preparing for elections within the next two months. The governments of Zimbabwe and Eswatini will hold elections in August and September 2023, respectively, in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation of dissenting voices.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, is convening a conference whose theme is ‘Climate Change and Disability in Africa: A Human Rights Response.’ The aim of the conference is two-fold: 1) to critically appraise laws, policies, practices, programmes, polities and ideologies that relate to the rights of persons with disabilities in Africa, in the context of climate change and 2) to suggest remedial responses (domestically, regionally and globally) to address violations of the rights of persons with disabilities in climate crises. The conference will be held in hybrid format from 20 – 21 November 2023. It is anticipated that papers presented at this conference will be reworked by authors and submitted for consideration for publication in the 2024 volume of the African Disability Rights Yearbook. www.adry.up.ac.za
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From the 20th to the 22nd of June 2023, the University of Pretoria’s (UP) faculty of law, Centre for Human Rights’(CHR), Expression, Information and Digital Rights Unit, in collaboration with the Transformation Resource Centre (TRC), hosted a digital rights capacity-building workshop for parliamentarians in Maseru, Lesotho.
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On 30 June 2023, in Menlyn, Pretoria, esteemed jurists and legal experts gathered to enhance their knowledge and awareness of LGBTIQ+ issues in South Africa. The event was part of an ongoing Equality Courts project, sponsored by the European Union, empowering communities, and presiding officers in the fight for equality and justice.
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Janet Gbam, a Doctoral student and the programme manager of the Masters Programme in Multidisciplinary Human Rights at the Centre for Human Rights, recently participated in the Education and Democratic Citizenship Conference (ICEDC) and Human Rights Education Review. The conference took place from 12-13 June 2023, focusing on the theme of ‘Human Rights and Education: Past, Present, and Future’.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria and the Faculty of Law, University of Nairobi cordially invite you to a launch of two publications recently published by the Pretoria University Law Press. The two publications will be launched in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). The Maputo Protocol turns 20 on 11 July 2023.
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The South African Human Rights Commission, in collaboration with the Department of Education, The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, cordially invite student volunteers at the University of Pretoria, whohave experience in mooting to apply to be a marker of essays in the central marking process for the National School Moot Court Programme.
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The year 2023 marks 75 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was passed, yet the passing of Human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko on 21 January 2023 has demonstrated the long fight for human rights and democracy continues. With nearly half a year passed since the death of Thulani Maseko, there is still no justice and accountability.
“We are caught between hope and fear - hope for democracy and fear of being assassinated.” – Thulani Maseko.
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The Centre for Human Rights, the Centre for Child Law both at the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria, and the Dullah Omar Institute at the Faculty of Law at the University of the Western Cape successfully hosted the annual Advanced Human Rights Course on Children's Rights in Africa from 19 to 23 June 2023.
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Henok Ashagrey, a passionate Doctoral student and Tutor for the LLM/MPhil (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa) program at the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, had an amazing opportunity to participate in a cutting-edge workshop titled 'Humour and Human Rights: Humour, a less explored tool to advance human rights.'
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, invites you to join the inaugural Christof Heyns Memorial Lecture in memory of the manifold contribution of the late Professor Christof Heyns to human rights.
Venue: University of Pretoria, Aula
Date: Friday 28 July 2023
Time: 16:30 for 17:00
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria invites applications from litigators and other stakeholders passionate about sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), for a capacity building training on litigation of SRHR claims before national and regional mechanisms in Africa. The training is scheduled to take place from 3-4 August 2023 in Pretoria, South Africa.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (Centre) and KADIRAT, Tunisia hosted a three-day Workshop on State Reporting under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter) and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol) from 15 to 17 June 2023 in Tunis, Tunisia. The overall objective of the workshop was to strengthen Tunisia’s capacity to comply with its state reporting obligations under the African Charter and the Maputo Protocol. The Workshop was also aimed at disseminating information to non-governmental stakeholders on the African human rights system.
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With the aim of harnessing the role of the media in positively influencing public attitudes through accurate, human-rights-based, and context-sensitive reporting on issues relating to migrants, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (Centre), in partnership with the European Union Delegation in South Africa, conducted training for journalists, other media practitioners, and social media influencers.
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The second session of the 2023 Pretoria-Marburg Queer Conversations took place on Africa Day, 25 May, in a joint effort by the Centre for Human Rights (CHR), Faculty of Law and the Centre for Sexualities, AIDS, and Gender (CSA&G), University of Pretoria, along with the Centre for Gender Studies and Feminist Futures (CGS) and the Centre for Conflict Studies (CCS) at the Philipps-University Marburg. These conversations have emerged from a shared interest in addressing LGBTIQ+ and queer identities among the participating centres.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (Centre), cordially invite you to a panel discussion on the decision of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights of the Child (African Children’s Committee), communication No: 0012/Com/001/2019, Legal and Human Rights Centre and Centre for Reproductive Rights (on behalf of Tanzanian girls) v United Republic of Tanzania (Reproductive Rights case).
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The current legal obligation on South Africa in terms of domestic and international law and legal precedent is absolutely clear: the government must arrest and surrender Vladimir Putin to the International Criminal Court (ICC) should he enter South African territory.
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The Center for African Studies at Howard University, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Africa Bureau, is offering a 4-week professional development course on Humanitarian Security for practitioners and graduate students in Summer 2023.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (Centre) is pleased to invite alumni of the Centres's master’s programme to participate in the Alumni Networking Roundtable which are scheduled to be held on Thursday 27 July 2023 at the University of Pretoria. The Roundtable will consist of five thematic sessions and an alumni networking meeting.
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The Centre for Human Rights is deeply saddened by the sudden passing of one of our alumni from the Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA) Master’s programme, Professor Aifheli Enos Tshivhase. According to the latest updates, the cause of his untimely death was attributed to a collapse at his home on Wednesday 7 June. Unfortunately, we did not receive any more detailed information.
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The concept of intersectionality was first introduced by Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe how Black women experience multiple forms of oppression and discrimination that cannot be understood or addressed solely by looking at race or gender separately. However, the concept has since been expanded to include other forms of oppression and marginalization beyond race and gender, such as class, sexuality, ability, and age. Disability scholars such as Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Kim Nielsen, Simi Linton and many others used the concept of intersectionality in demonstrating how social constructions of disability intersect with other social categories to create conditions of discrimination and marginalization. Rosemarie Garland-Thomson has argued that disability is not just a medical condition, but also a social and cultural category that intersects with other identities, to frame the experiences of persons with disabilities.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, is organising a capacity-building workshop on engagement with the African human rights system for African civil society organisations (CSOs). The capacity-building workshop is a two-day training workshop scheduled for Friday 12-13 October 2023.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria in collaboration with the University of eSwatini faculty of law, Law Society of eSwatini and CANGO cordially invites you to the Inaugural Memorial lecture in honour of its alumnus, Thulani Rudolf Maseko.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria is concerned with the passage of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Bill H.B 15 of 2022 (Patriot Bill) in Zimbabwe’s House of Assembly. The Patriot Bill, which was passed on 31 May, is overbroad, curtails freedom of expression, suppresses freedom of association and assembly and restricts political participation. The Patriot Bill proposes, among other things, to criminalises meetings with foreign governments for purposes of planning military intervention or calling for economic sanctions. The Bill will become law only after the Senate, the second parliamentary house, adopts it, and if President Mnangagwa assents to it.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, welcomes the appointment of Lindiwe Khumalo as the new Clerk of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP). This appointment comes at a crucial juncture for the PAP. Over the past couple of years, uncertainty and institutional challenges have persisted, including the presence of an acting Clerk for over a year.
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The Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023, became law in Uganda on 26 May 2023, after President Yoweri Museveni had assented to the Bill. This recent development is the culmination of a process that has defied reason in its bid to erase the rights and dignity of sexual and gender minorities in Uganda, and in respect of which the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (Centre), expressed deep concern for the inevitable violation of human rights that will occur.
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Over two days, 25 and 26 May 2023, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria in collaboration with the National Council for Children’s Services and Ministry of Labour and Social Protection convened in Nairobi Kenya for the second workshop on promoting child participation in development frameworks in Africa and strengthening the African base of the Global Child Leading Team.
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The Pretoria-Marburg Queer Conversations team hosted Dr Bev Ditsie in an online webinar titled 'Where is the joy? Portrayals and depictions of LGBTIQ+ persons'. The event took place on Freedom Day, 27 April wich falls during International Lesbian Week of Visibility, and was attended by colleagues and networks working with the affiliated Centres at the University of Pretoria and Phillips-Marburg. Bev Ditsie is a renowned lesbian activist, artist, and filmmaker.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria is concerned with the gross and systemic human rights violations targeted at human rights defenders, political activists, and civil society actors; because of calls for greater reforms in Eswatini’s political governance system.
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On 15 – 19 May 2023, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (the Centre) hosted an Advanced Human Rights Course on Women's Rights in Africa.
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Director Position - Closing date for application extended to 31 May 2023.
After some 15 years at the helm of the Centre for Human Rights, the current Director (Professor Frans Viljoen) will stand down from the position (while staying on with the Centre as professor of international human rights law). The closing date for applications is 31 May 2023; interested persons should please apply through the UP website
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South Africa, like the rest of Africa – and the world – celebrates ‘Africa Day’ today. This day, 25 May, is the date on which, 60 years ago, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was founded. The OAU was in 2002 transformed into the African Union (AU), with its inaugural session being held in Durban, South Africa, on 9 July 2002. Because the roots of ‘formalised pan-Africanism’ are traced back to 1963, the date of the OAU’s founding still marks ‘Africa Day’.
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At an historic meeting on 19 May 2023 at the Pan African Parliament (PAP), in Midrand, a group of civil society organisations, under the umbrella of the PAP Civil Society Organisations (CSO) Forum, for the first time formally met with Members of the PAP (MPAPs) in a Parliamentary Dialogue as part of the PAP’s May 2023 ongoing session. The meeting signalled the recognition by the PAP of the importance of civil society, and the ambition of the PAP to be a genuine peoples’ parliament. The PAP CSO Forum PAP presented recommendations to the MPAPs pertaining to the relationship between the PAP and civil society, human rights, peace and security, the Free Movement of Peoples Protocol and the Malabo PAP Protocol. MPAP Pemmy Majodina, Chief Whip of the ANC, chairing the Parliamentary Dialogue, undertook that the recommendations would be further discussed by the relevant PAP Committees, and that part of the PAP’s next session would be devoted to discussing them.
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On 17 May 2023, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (Centre) commemorated the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). The Centre commemorated the day by hosting two events centred around this year’s theme of ‘together always: united in Diversity’, in collaboration with its networking partners Alliance Française, the South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law (SAIFAC), at the University of Johannesburg, with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands.
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The Centre for Human Rights is an internationally recognised university-based institution combining academic excellence and effective activism to advance human rights, particularly in Africa. It aims to contribute to advancing human rights, through education, research and advocacy.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (Centre) is the regional headquarters of Global Campus Africa and presents the masters in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA) together with 12 partner universities from across Africa. The Centre is one of seven (soon to be eight) regional hubs of the Global Campus of Human Rights, which each presents a masters programme in partnerships with universities in different regions of the world.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, in collaboration with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission), will host a 3 day conference on the implementation and domestic impact of the decisions of the African Commission. The Conference will be held from 13-15 September 2023 at the Southern Sun Hotel, in Pretoria, South Africa. (‘Decisions’ refer to findings and recommendations in individual communications; recommendations in Concluding Observations on state reports; as well as thematic and country specific recommendations in various reports, resolutions and other soft law instruments adopted by the African Commission.)
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One of the members of the Communications team of the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, David Ikpo, at the UP Graduation Ceremony on 15 May 2023 added a doctoral degree qualification to the honours degree in ‘motion pictures’ he had obtained earlier this year.
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On 10 May 2023, the Centre for Human Rights,Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria hosted a Panel Discussion on the Anglophone Crisis, moderated by Smith Naseri Edumebong. Ntokozo Sibanyoni welcomed all the participants in physical attendance and virtually, with over 80 participants joining the discussion and others following the event Live on the Centre’s YouTube Channel accessible here.
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On 8 May 2023, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, submitted a complaint on behalf of two South African citizens, Mr Sello Tsolo and Mr Tjoko Kambule, to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) against the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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The Centre for Hunan Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria is deeply concerned about the ongoing Anglophone crisis in Cameroon, characterised by non-state armed groups in the North-West participating in violent conflict with the government of Cameroon over perceived discrimination on the basis of language.
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On 4-5 May, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria hosted a civil society engagement with the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) SADC Chapter in partnership with the Mozambique Human Rights Defenders Network and The Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders for this two day workshop.
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The South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law and the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria invite you to an online seminar titled ‘The Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill – does it Constitute an International Crime?’
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, delivered its statement on the human rights situation in Africa at the ongoing 75th session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Commission), on 4 May 2023.
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Statement by the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, observer status no 116 to African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, at its 75th Ordinary Session, banjul, the gambia, may 2023, on the situation of human rights in Africa.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria and Ghent University, Belgium, hosted their annual advanced human rights course on the African human rights system in comparative perspective, with 40 in person participants and 30 online participants. Participants were drawn from a variety of sectors including legal practitioners, human rights advocates, civil servants and academics and included students on the Centre’s master’s programme in human rights and democratisation in Africa. Participants came from 19 African and two European countries.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, in partnership with the European Union Delegation in South Africa, seek to implement a structured training to strengthen the role of journalists and emerging media outlets and practitioners on accurate, human-rights based, and sensitive reporting on issues relating to migrants and refugees to counter xenophobia and other forms of intolerance towards foreigners.
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On 2 May 2023, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, hosted a hybrid side event on Resolution 552 on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Intersex persons in Africa. The side event was hosted at the 75th Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR/the African Commission), as part of the Centre’s continued regional engagement on the rights of LGBTQI+ people in Africa. The side event was organised by the SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sexual Characteristics) Unit in collaboration with the Africa Civil Society Engagement (ACSE). It was attended by numerous civil society organisations, human rights scholars, and activists from within and outside Africa.
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The Centre for Human Rights,Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, invites you to a panel discussion addressing the armed conflict and human rights violations in Anglophone Cameroon. The Anglophone conflict has intensified progressively, characterised by mass human displacement, a breakdown in law and order, social catastrophe, extreme violence against civilians and multiple serious human rights violations.
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Justice Johann van der Westhuizen, retired judge of the South African Constitutional Court, delivering a public lecture at the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, underlined the importance of progressively realising the socio-economic rights guaranteed under the South African Constitution. He made a specific plea for the government to report annually to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on the extent to which it is realising socio-economic rights.
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The Disability Rights Unit at the Centre for Human Rights held a two-day regional convening on access to justice for persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities from 2 to 3 May 2023 at Capital Hotel Menlyn Maine in Pretoria, South Africa. Titled Court accommodations for persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities in southern Africa, the convening was a follow-up to the first convening held in May 2022.
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The Centre for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria, invites you to a panel discussion addressing the conflict situation and human rights violations in Cameroon.
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The 2023 World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) day is commemorated under the theme: ‘Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of Expression as a Driver for all Other Human Rights.’ On this occasion, the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (the Centre) recalls the 2019 Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa (the Declaration) which frames freedom of expression as a cross-cutting fundamental human right that is a cornerstone of democracy and a means of ensuring respect for other human rights (civil and political rights and socio-economic rights). As a basic and enabling right, freedom of expression can also potentially contribute to the much-needed socio-economic development and democratic transformation in Africa.
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On 27 April 2023, the Centre for Human Rights’ Expression, Information and Digital Rights Unit (EIDR) in collaboration with Youth and Society (YAS) of Malawi, hosted a webinar on the status of implementation of the Malawi Access to Information Act. The webinar was moderated by Chrispin Bosire, Smith Naseri Edumebong and Idirashe Amanda Chikomba, from the EIDR clinic. The speakers were drawn from stakeholders in Malawi that are contributing to the implementation of the Act. These are Mandy Pondani (Media Institute of Southern Africa-MISA Malawi), Mwandida Theu (Youth and Society), Chance Kalolokeska (Malawi Human Rights Commission) and Authur Chipenda (Malawi Ministry of Information and Digitisation). The webinar is part of the Centre for Human Rights’ commemoration of 10 Years of the Model Law on Access to Information for Africa that was adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 2013, to provide legislative guidance to member states of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ on the implementation of article 9 of the African Charter which provides for the right of access to information.
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The Centre for Human Rights (CHR) attended the 22nd meeting of the CSO Forum for the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, held from 26 - 27 April 2023, in Maseru, Kingdom of Lesotho. The meeting was organised ahead of the 41st Session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child meeting from 28th April to 6 May 2023, in Maseru, Kingdom of Lesotho.
