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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, hosted the 2025 edition of the annual Advanced Human Rights Short Course on Sexual and Gender Minority Rights in Africa.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 03, 2025
The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (Centre for Human Rights) calls on the Zimbabwean government to respect and abide by its human rights obligations under the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other international human rights instruments. Journalists should be allowed to do their work without interference. The recent reports on arrests and interference in the work of journalists will have a chilling effect on freedom of expression and access to information. The use of the judiciary to silence journalists, activists, and government critics, if left unchecked, will cement the culture of impunity and entrench arbitrary arrests and prosecution of people with dissenting voices.
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On 28 February 2025, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, in collaboration with the Gender Equity Unit at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), hosted a training session on accessing Equality Courts in South Africa. The training comes during the week of Cape Town Pride, and less than 2 weeks after the murder of Imam Muhsin Hendricks, a prominent LGBTIQ+ activist who advocated for the rights of LGBTIQ+ Muslims and pioneered safe religious spaces within the Islamic community.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria cordially invites you to the opening of its academic programmes. On this occasion, students in the Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA), Multidisciplinary Human Rights (MDHR), Trade and Investment Law in Africa (TILA) and Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa (SRRA) master’s programmes, and new doctoral researchers will be individually introduced.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria in collaboration with the Open Society Foundations (OSF) cordially invites you to a Public Lecture on the Future of Human Rights. The public lecture will be delivered by Binaifer Nowrojee, President of OSF, one of the world’s largest funders of groups working for justice, equity and human rights.The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion bringing together diverse actors to discuss the future of human rights in South Africa and globally.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria adds its voice to the outpouring of mourning following the news of the death of Imam Muhsin Hendricks. Imam Hendricks was a stalwart in the LGBTIQ+ Muslim community in South Africa and paved the way for the recognition and inclusion of LGBTIQ+ persons in the Muslim community globally.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 20, 2025
The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria condemns the recent violations of human rights, particularly with regard to the right to dignity, privacy and bodily integrity, that occurred at Zanzou Night Club in Pretoria. Reports have surfaced detailing incidents of violence, harassment, and abuse directed toward patrons, which are alarming and unacceptable in any society that values human rights and the rule of law.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria expresses profound concern over the escalating humanitarian crisis in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The recent surge in violence has resulted in significant loss of life, mass displacement, and grave human rights violations.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria stands in solidarity with the global community in observance of World Radio Day on 13 February 2025. This year’s theme, “Radio and Climate Change,” underscores the critical role that radio plays in disseminating essential information about climate change, one of the most pressing global challenges of our time.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, welcomes the Wednesday 12 February 2025 public hearing by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, of the first inter-state case filed before it in Application 007/2023, Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Republic of Rwanda.
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Objective of the reader
The Centre for Human Rights is seeking a wide range of multidisciplinary submissions for the compilation of a reader on the best interest of the African queer child and surviving conversion therapy in Africa. The central objective of the proposed reader is to advocate for the eradication of conversion therapy targeted at African queer children guided by the rationality of the best interests’ principle, a child’s evolving capacity and a child’s age. In analysing legislation and case law, cultural, religious and societal understanding of gender identity and expression, sexual orientation and sexual characteristics the book further aims to clarify the complex issues of childhood conversion therapy, spotlight their different approaches to childhood conversion therapy and to suggest the statutory recognition of the rights of a queer child in domestic African law.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria is pleased to announce a groundbreaking judgment issued by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights today (5 February 2025), in Application No. 019 of 2018 Centre for Human Rights (CHR), Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) and Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) v. United Republic of Tanzania.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, invites you to a memorial service in honour of Professor Charles Ngwena.
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The South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC) has issued an e-Note confirming that pharmacists may not refuse to dispense abortifacients (a drug that induces abortion) due to personal beliefs or moral reasons. This e-Note comes after 13 NGOs and legal centres addressed an open letter to the South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC) and the National Department of Health. The letter highlighted alarming reports of pharmacists refusing to dispense abortifacients despite patients having valid prescriptions. A vast majority of these pharmacists cited moral or religious grounds as the reason for their refusal to dispense. A staggering 40% of surveyed pharmacies were implicated in these refusals, undermining constitutional rights to reproductive autonomy and access to healthcare.
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The Centre for Human Rights is saddened to announce the death of our own, Professor Charles Ngwena. Prof. Ngwena passed away in Pretoria on the 31st of January 2025.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria cordially invites alumni of the various academic programmes, training and special projects, friends, former colleagues, the human rights communities and sympathisers to a webinar honouring and celebrating the life and achievements of the Late Prof Michelo Hansugule.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, joins the global community in commemorating Data Privacy Day, observed annually on January 28. This day serves as an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of data privacy, empower individuals and institutions, and promote proactive measures to protect personal information.
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The SINO Africa Legal Forum 2025 invites submissions exploring the critical relationship between the rule of law and the development of the digital economy. As digital technologies reshape economies, robust legal frameworks are essential to ensure fairness, innovation, and protection of fundamental rights.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, calls for the immediate release of Ugandan lawyer Eron Kiiza, who was condemned to a nine month jail sentence summarily passed by Uganda’s military court martial.
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We are honored by your interest in our work. This report provides a detailed account of theWe are honored by your interest in our work. This report provides a detailed account of thekey activities that we undertook in the course of 2023. This report demonstrates our continuedcommitment to the advancement of human rights protection especially in the African context.We continued to pursue our mission through excellence in academic teaching and learning,research and publication, and advocacy to advance the promotion and protection of humanrights. The need for these interventions is immense, especially in the African context where thecapacities of key human rights actors to pursue implementation and accountability for humanrights protection is greatly constrained. Against a background of the shrinking resource basketand competing needs, the contribution of the Centre to the advancement of human rights anddemocracy remains an invaluable investment.
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Dear friends and partners,
Compliments of the New Year!!
The Centre for Human Rights is excited to welcome you to yet another year, full of promise and anticipation. We are eager to welcome new students, partners and to strengthen existing partnerships and relationships towards the advancement of human rights and democratic governance in our region and beyond.
Our home, the African continent, continues to experience significant challenges in the protection of human rights, and good governance. The continent continues to be characterized by conflict, inequality, social economic deprivation, and various forms of intolerance. The ongoing post-election conflict in our backyard of Mozambique provided a particularly dark backdrop for the recent holidays festivities. These realities can often feel daunting, and make our mission of contributing to human rights and democracy even more urgent.
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On 6 December 2024, the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), hosted a regional roundtable to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention). Held at The Capital Menlyn Maine in Pretoria, this hybrid event brought together 80 participants including government representatives (DRC, Mozambique, Madagascar, Zimbabwe), diplomatic missions, civil society organisations, academics, and international organizations to discuss the pressing challenges of internal displacement in Southern Africa and identify actionable solutions.
