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On 12 May 2020, the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, held a webinar on the need for businesses to respect and promote human rights in Africa, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion was held in Zoom.
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In commemoration of IDAHOBIT, there will be a webinar hosted by the Centre for Human Rights in collaboration with the Centre for Sexualities, AIDS & Gender, University of Pretoria.
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(Op-Ed by Dr Ashwanne Budoo)
Governments across the world are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside the mountain of related challenges, fake news has become a source of frustration. Some are now referring to this fake news phenomenon as a ‘disinfodemic’.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, would like to inform applicants and prospective applicants of the Advanced Human Rights Course on the Judicial Enforcement of Socio-Economic Rights in Africa (18 – 22 May 2020) that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of borders as well as academic institutions in South Africa, the course will be presented in a modified format — a format different from the conventional contact sessions.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, cordially invites you to a webinar on the need for businesses to respect and promote human rights in Africa, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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On 7 May 2020, the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, held the third in a series of discussions with Centre alumni, students and staff. These discussions deal with the potential and actual impact on human rights and democratisation of COVID-19 in Africa. The discussion was held in Zoom.
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On 5 May 2020, the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, held a webinar on human rights abuses by police officers during enforcement of government responses to COVID-19 in Africa. The discussion was held in Zoom.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, together with the Sex Workers Education & Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) and Sisonke is deeply concerned about the ongoing discrimination against sex workers in South Africa in response to the COVID-19 crisis and calls on the government to take urgent measures to extend its COVID-19 palliative measures to sex workers in need.
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(Op-Ed by Prof Daniel Bradlow)
Once again, African countries are confronting overwhelming debt burdens. According to the most recent World Bank debt statistics, they owe a total of $493.6 billion in long term debt to their foreign official and commercial creditors. About one third, $117 billion, is in the form of tradeable bonds. In 2019, many African countries spent more money servicing their debts than they did on health.
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After confirming the country’s first COVID-19 case on 5 March, South Africa braced itself for a 21-day lockdown, which officially began on 26 March and was initially intended to last until 16 April. The lockdown was subsequently extended to 30 April and has been further extended indefinitely with the relaxation of some of the restrictions and some sectors of the economy being allowed to reopen, along with the extension of certain socio-economic relief mechanisms intended to cushion citizens from the hardships that the pandemic is sure to induce. In this light, one of the regulations included a moratorium on evictions, with the understanding that evictions would place vulnerable persons at risk of contracting and transmitting the virus. The provision stipulates: “All evictions and executions of attachment orders, both movable and immovable, including the removal of movable assets and sales in executions, is suspended with immediate effect for the duration of the lockdown.” These regulations were aimed at minimising possible losses of income, particularly among the working class and people in the informal sector.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, is deeply concerned about the recent decisions by the Governments of the Republic of Benin and Côte d’Ivoire to no longer allow individuals and NGOs to take cases directly to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Almost all cases decided by the African Court so far have been submitted by individuals. Reducing this form of access to the African Court, impedes the establishment of the Court as a legitimate continental institution that entrenches the principles of accountability based on the rule of law. Our concern is exacerbated by the fact that that these decisions have been taken in a context of increased hostility towards the human rights bodies established under the African Union and decreasing support for their mandates.
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The Global Engagement Network on Internal Displacement in sub-Saharan Africa (GENIDA), which forms part of the global Interdisciplinary Network on Displacement, Conflict and Protection (INDCaP), makes the following submission in response to the Call for Inputs disseminated by the UN High-Level Panel (HLP) in March 2020.
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As the world commemorates the World Press Freedom Day, the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, commends the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights for making available the revised Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa at a time when the world has been plunged into a global health crisis, COVID-19. The current Declaration replaces the 2002 Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression in Africa. The revision was undertaken by the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (Special Rapporteur) against the backdrop developments in the developments that have taken place in the context of freedom of expression, access to information.
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On 30 April 2020, the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, held the second in a series of discussions with Centre alumni, students and staff. These discussions deal with the potential and actual impact on human rights and democratisation of COVID-19 in Africa. The discussion was held in Zoom.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, cordially invites you to a webinar on human rights abuses by police officers during enforcement of government responses to COVID-19 in Africa.
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Understanding the rights of sexual minorities as human rights
In conversation with Dr Adrian Jjuuko
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The need for inclusive spaces for trans women in Africa
In conversation with Dr Anastacia Tomson
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Statement by Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, to the 2020 ECOSOC High Level Segment (HLS) for NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC on the theme of the 2020 High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on “Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development”.
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This year, South Africans celebrate Freedom Day in conditions of confinement. We are reminded that on this day, 26 years ago, for the first time in history all South Africans exercised the most basic of rights, the right to vote. This election ushered in a system of democratic governance based on the values of equality, inclusion and tolerance, as entrenched in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
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Since 2008, Lesbian Visibility Day is celebrated annually on 26 April. It has now grown into a week-long event known as Lesbian Visibility Week and is celebrated from 20 to 26 April 2020. The day aims to celebrate and support lesbian women while increasing the visibility of the lesbian community. Across the globe, women who love women continue to be persecuted in a unique way. Their sexuality is often viewed as a challenge to patriarchal masculinity and traditional gender roles, and this frequently results in targeted violence against lesbian women. The violent phenomena of homophobic rape, more commonly recognised by the misnomer ‘corrective rape’, continues to plague the lesbian community. This is the situation in Africa, as it is around the world.
COVID-19 Discussion Fora: Centre hosts discussion forum on exacerbated vulnerability during COVID-19
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On 23 April 2020, the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, held the first in a series of discussions with Centre alumni, students and staff. These discussions deal with the potential and actual impact on human rights and democratisation of COVID-19 in Africa. The discussion was held in Zoom.
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The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has published the revised Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa (the Declaration). The Commission adopted the Declaration during its 65th Ordinary Session which was held from 21 October to 10 November 2019 in Banjul, The Gambia. The revised Declaration replaces the 2002 Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression in Africa. The initiative to revise the Declaration was undertaken by the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (the Special Rapporteur). The adoption of the Declaration is a landmark development that elaborates article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and will contribute to an enhanced normative standard for freedom of expression, access to information and digital rights in Africa, in line with international human rights and standards. The Declaration was scheduled to be launched during the African Commission’s 66th Ordinary Session which has been deferred due to the COVID-19 crisis.
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(Op-Ed by Thomas White)
Let’s go back to the “trolley problem”. Imagine a group of hostages is chained to a train track with a runaway locomotive hurtling towards them. If the train stays on course, the entire group of hostages is going to die. If the train is derailed, fewer deaths will ensue, but massive chaos will be caused in the process.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, call on the South African government to act swiftly to reduce the further spread of COVID-19 in South African correctional centres. This can be done by releasing a limited number of incarcerated persons so as to reduce their risk of contracting the virus, and allowing for more effective social distancing within correctional centres.
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Students who have completed, or will complete, their doctoral studies in law at an African University in 2020 are encouraged to submit their doctoral theses for consideration for the new Pretoria University Law Press Thesis Prize, which will be awarded on an annual basis. The winning thesis will be published in book form by the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP).
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Evidence is emerging that persons with disabilities are being disproportionately affected by the Coronavirus pandemic and emergency measures being taken by governments worldwide. As governments rush to respond to the virus, it is more critical than ever to guarantee that measures taken are fully inclusive of persons with disabilities and prevent human rights violations from taking place.
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Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers of the African Human Rights Moot Court Competition have decided to adjust the format and dates of the 2020 African Moot Competition. The preliminary rounds of the Competition will now take place virtually, and the semi-final and final rounds have been rescheduled to take place in Dakar, in December 2020.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, are deeply concerned about the situation of migrants in the territory of South Africa during this COVID-19 crisis.
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The study on Civil society in the digital age in Africa: identifying threats and mounting pushbacks was undertaken by the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretroia and the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) to explore the extent of state-sponsored digital challenges that the civil society in Africa is faced with. It illustrates the challenges faced by civil society organisations and the importance of digital security measures.
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(Op-Ed by Prof Danny Bradlow)
The coronavirus and its economic consequences have caused economic tsunamis in every country in the world. The scale of the onslaught will dominate discussions at the International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank spring meetings due to take place – for the first time ever virtually – in mid April.
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Recently, three graduates of the Master’s in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA) programme, presented by the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, were appointed to positions in which they are able to apply the theory of democratisation and human rights to make a difference in two African states, Namibia and Uganda.
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The Centre for Human Rights in an effort to spearhead the belief of leaving no one behind acknowledges the importance of a rights-based approach to ageing and calls for the promotion and protection of the rights of older persons.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa, is calling for applications for the Master's degree (LLM/MPhil) in Human Rights and Democratisation (HRDA) for the Class of 2021. This prestigious degree is presented by the Centre in partnership with 12 leading African universities.The programme forms part of the Global Campus of Human Rights, with Pretoria as the hub of the African regional programme.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa, is calling for applications for the Master's degree (LLM/MPhil) in Disability Rights in Africa (DRIA) for the Class of 2021. The DRIA programme was launched in 2018 and is the first master’s degree programme in Africa focusing specifically on the rights of persons with disabilities in Africa.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa, is calling for applications for the Master's degree (LLM/MPhil) in Sexual & Reproductive Rights in Africa (SRRA) for the Class of 2021. The SRRA degree is a unique degree, offered as a blended learning programme, to which 15 individuals from African countries are admitted.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa, is calling for applications for the Master's degree (LLM) in International Trade and Investment Law in Africa (TILA) for the Class of 2021. The TILA degree is a unique programme to which 25 to 30 individuals from African countries with a degree allowing access to the legal profession (e.g. LLB or licence en Droit) and preferably experience in the field of trade and investment law are admitted.
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Due to the impact of the COVID-19, the oral rounds of the Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition will now be held in December 2020, and no longer in July. The Competition will be scheduled around Human Rights Day (10 December), with participating teams and judges traveling to Geneva, Switzerland, for the oral rounds. If this would not be possible, the oral rounds, probably in an adjusted and scaled down version, will be held on-line. Either way, the 2020 Competition will still be held.
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The African Coalition for Corporate Accountability (ACCA) wishes to inform its members, partners and other stakeholders of the suspension, until further notice, of the Southern and Central Africa capacity building trainings, as well as the side event scheduled to take place during the 66th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
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The UNCRC and its practical implications in the African context
In conversation with Adv Karabo Ozah
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The South African government announced a 21-day lockdown of the country starting on 27 March 2020, as part of measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the national directive, the University of Pretoria took the decision to close down until 16 April 2020. Being based in South Africa, and the University of Pretoria in particular, the Centre for Human Rights is directly affected by these measures.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions on movement has generated considerable anxiety and uncertainty for us. We support and embrace these measures for unmistakably serving the public good, but we are also aware of their disruptive effect on our regular mode of academic and programmatic work. We have therefore made efforts to ensure continuity as far as possible, and to minimise disruption where possible. Our commitment is driven by the long-term goal of ensuring the advancement of the protection of human rights through education, research and advocacy on the African continent.
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We live in uncertain times. Around the world, severe measures have been put in place to protect public health and avoid the collapse of health care systems. Many countries are in lock down and international travel has all but ceased. South Africa will be in lock down for 21 days from midnight on 26 March.
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As South Africa continues to evolve nearly 26 years into its democratic era, special occasions such as Human Rights Day on 21 March are a sobering reminder of the struggle and sacrifice that so many undertook for the benefit of all.
Human Rights Day memorialises the 69 people killed and 180 injured during the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, which followed a march by ordinary people demonstrating against unjust pass laws which infringed on their right to freedom of movement.
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Following President Cyril Ramaphosa's speech on 15 March 2020, the Executive Management of the University of Pretoria has decided to suspend contact classes, graduation ceremonies, conferences, mass gatherings and events.
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The Advanced Human Rights Courses (AHRC), in collaboration with the Disability Rights Unit of the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (UP), recently hosted the annual short course on Disability Rights in an African Context, from 9 to 13 March 2020.
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Background to the Yearbook
The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child are pleased to announce the call for papers for the Fourth Volume of the African Human Rights Yearbook (AHRY). The First Volume, which was published at the end of 2017, comprised 17 articles while the Second Volume contained a total of 23 contributions. It was published in early 2019. The Third Volume, published end of 2019, comprised 25 contributions. This joint publication, which contains contributions in English, French and Portuguese has been initiated in the framework of the complementarity relationships among the three institutions. For this Fourth Volume, we also invite abstracts in Arabic.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (UP) through its Advanced Human Rights Courses (AHRC) and the Disability Rights Unit is currently hosting the annual Disability Rights in an African Context course.
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From 3 to 4 March 2020 the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) hosted a Joint Workshop of Committees on the 2020 African Union (AU) theme. The AU’s theme for 2020 is Silencing the Guns: Creating a conducive environment for Africa’s development. The theme is intended to ensure that Africa creates a conducive environment towards prioritising peace, security and socio-economic development.
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COVID-19: Welcoming Ceremony Master's Programmes postponed
As South Africa faces the locally expanding coronavirus epidemic, the University of Pretoria’s (UP) executive management team has decided to postpone contact classes and to reschedule the academic calendar.
Therefore, the welcoming ceremony, scheduled for 20 March 2020, is postponed. Details regarding the rescheduling of the ceremony will be communicated via the Centre's website and social media channels in due course.
We urge our students, staff, friends and colleagues to stay safe as we collectively turn the tide against this pandemic.
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(Op-Ed by Ade Johnson, Thiruna Naidoo & Annie Bipendu)
International Women's Day (IWD), celebrated annually on 8 March, is an opportunity to reflect on the achievement of gender equality in the world, and particularly in Africa. The commemoration of IWD provides a chance to assess the changes and progress made towards the achievement of gender equality generally and the protection of the human rights of women and girls particularly.
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The Advanced Human Rights Courses (AHRC), in collaboration with the SOGIESC Unit of the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (UP), recently hosted the annual short course on Sexual Minority Rights in Africa, from 24 to the 28 February 2020. The course was attended by 58 participants from all over the world, with 20 African countries represented. This year’s participants included students on both the LLM/MPhil (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa) and the LLM/MPhil (Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa) programmes. Also in attendance were doctoral researchers, judicial officers, representatives from the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI), members of civil society, academics and members from the South African Police Services (SAPS).
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Registration for the 2020 Conference of the Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI) on 'The future of human rights: Socio-economic rights, equality and development' is now open!
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As a country previously ravaged by a protracted civil war that killed approximately 150 000 people and left behind 200 000 refugees, Liberia is rising from the ashes of its past. In addition, it has had to deal with the Ebola virus that also wiped out thousands more from its population, yet the country continues to strive to improve its human rights record. This was demonstrated by the commitment that the government of Liberia has made to the drafting of a state party report to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) 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).
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COVID-19: Public Lecture postponed
As South Africa faces the locally expanding coronavirus epidemic, the University of Pretoria’s (UP) executive management team has decided to postpone contact classes and to reschedule the academic calendar.
Therefore, the public lecturey, scheduled for 24 March 2020, is postponed. Details regarding the rescheduling of the lecture will be communicated via the Centre's website and social media channels in due course.
We urge our students, staff, friends and colleagues to stay safe as we collectively turn the tide against this pandemic.
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Discussion on the United Nations Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty
In conversation with Prof Manfred Nowak
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Registration for the 29th African Human Rights Moot Court Competition is now open. The competition will be held from 3 - 8 August 2020 in Dakar, Senegal.
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The UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights, Dr Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky, developed the Guiding Principles on Human Rights Impact Assessments of Economic Reforms (A/HRC/40/57) to help governments understand how to use human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) to promote human rights compliant economic reform policies.
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On 6 February 2020, the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (UP), collaborated with Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen to host the second African edition of Cosmocafe. The Cosmocafe concept is part of the Human Rights Pavilion project conceived by Vanmechelen. It entails real conversations on human rights issues, referred to as SoTO Dialogues (Survival of the Other), that discusses the possibility of a universal human rights concept and the role of human rights in development. Previously, Cosmocafes have been held in 19 locations worldwide including Harare, Zimbabwe.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria through its Advanced Human Rights Courses (AHRC) and the SOGIESC Unit, is currently hosting the annual Sexual Minority Rights in Africa course.
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The political exclusion of refugees was discussed at a recent lecture hosted on 18 February 2020 by the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. The theme of the lecture was on the voting rights of refugees. Students on the Master’s programmes in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA) and Multidisciplinary Human Rights (MDHR) were also in attendance.
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Journey to becoming the Chairperson of the African Commission
In conversation with Dr Solomon Dersso
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, is presenting a massive open online course (MOOC) on nthe African human rights system. Enrolment is free and the course runs from 17 February to 9 March 202. This is the second time that this MOOC is presented.
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A number of alumni of the Master’s programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA) participated in the 17th All Africa Course on International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The course was presented at the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, from 28 January to 6 February 2020.
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(By Christof Heyns & Frans Viljoen)
A new, global academic study to answer this question is launched in collaboration with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, cordially invites you to a Brown Bag Lunch Lecture on Voting Rights of Refugees by distinguished international refugee law scholar, Dr Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, is seeking a Deputy Accountant. The deadline for applications is 21 February 2020.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, is seeking a Project Manager for its Business and Human Rights Unit. The deadline for applications is 21 February 2020.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, will host the 2020 Conference of the Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI) on 'The future of human rights: Socio-economic rights, equality and development'. The conference will be held from 4 to 5 September 2020 at Future Africa.
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On 23 and 24 January 2020, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, convened a colloquium on developing responses to the persistence of unsafe abortion in the African region. The colloquium was convened by the Centre’s Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa (SRRA) programme. The focus of the colloquium was two-fold: critically exploring laws, policies and practices that serve as barriers to access to safe abortion in the African region; and suggesting reforms to overcome the barriers in ways that respect, protect, promote and fulfil women’s human rights.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), cordially invites you to a side-event on Civil Society Engagement with the Pan-African Parliament (PAP). This event will be held on the sidelines of the upcoming Alternative Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa.
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Registration for the 12th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition is now open. The competition will be held from13 to 17 July 2020 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
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The year 2019 was quite momentous for us in the Centre for Human Rights, both in the Centre’s capacity as an academic institution and as an NGO.
As an academic department of the Faculty of Law, we celebrated 20 years of the Master’s programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA). We had a number of events with alumni and we were so fortunate to reflect on the great achievements of many of them and the significant roles they have been playing on the African continent. We also marked the introduction of another Master’s programme, one in Disability Rights in Africa last year and we saw a number of students graduating in our Master’s programme in International Trade and Investment Law in Africa (TILA).
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The African Disability Rights Yearbook (ADRY) is calling for papers for consideration for publication in Section A of the ADRY in 2020. The ADRY publishes once a year with a focus on disability rights issues and developments of contemporary concern to persons with disabilities on the African continent. The ADRY is published by the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) and is published as a peer-reviewed open-access journal.
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On 10 December 2019, the Centre for Human Rights held its annual graduation ceremony on International Human Rights Day at the Aula, University of Pretoria. On this occasion, Justice Zak Yacoob, retired judge from the Constitutional Court of South Africa, was awarded an honorary doctorate degree. It was the first human rights graduation ceremony presided over by UP’s Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Tawana Kupe. It was also the first University of Pretoria law graduation ceremony as Dean by the recently elected Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Elsabe Schoeman.
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Justice Zak Yacoob, retired judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights Graduation Ceremony on International Human Rights Day.
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More than seven million children are deprived of liberty worldwide. This is according to the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty that was launched on Monday 9 December 2019.
The sub-regional launch of the Global Study study took place at the Future Africa Campus of the University of Pretoria (UP) on Monday and was hosted by the University’s Centre for Human Rights in collaboration with the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and the Global Campus of Human Rights. The aim of the launch was for Southern African states to reflect on ways in which they can take on board and provide national measures to give effect to the recommendations in the Global Study.
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The Master’s degree graduation ceremony of the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, is held annually on International Human Rights Day on 10 December. The event will be live streamed on YouTube.
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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, is proud to announce the winners of this year’s FACES African Student Cellphone Film Competition on 10 December, which is International Human Rights Day. The purpose of the competition is to encourage students from Africa to express themselves and to engage with human rights issues of relevance to Africa, using available cellphone technology.
We thank every participant that took time to submit an entry for FACES 2019.
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On 8 December 2019, following an Alumni Symposium held at the University of Pretoria's Future Africa Campus, the Centre for Human Rights launched its 20-year edition of the Alumni Diaries.
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On 8 December 2019, the Centre for Human Rights hosted its #HRDA20Years Alumni Symposium at the Future Africa Campus, University of Pretoria. The Symposium was part of a number of events recently hosted by the Centre for Human Rights, celebrating 20 years of the existence of its Master’s programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA).
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On 7 December 2019, the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, welcomed back around 60 alumni from its Master’s programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA). Students of the HRDA Class of 2019 and alumni from across the continent and from different graduating classes congregated at the Centre to kick-off the #HRDA20Years celebrations.
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The 2020 African Human Rights Moot Court Competition was officially launched on 6 December 2019, when the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria, Prof Tawana Kupe, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the three partner universities.
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The Master's programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA) is an academic and practical programme on human rights hosted by the Centre for Human Rights. The programme, established in 2000, focuses on human rights in Africa but with a global footprint. Taught by eminent scholars and practitioners in the field of human rights and international development around the world, the programme is the first of its kind designed to address the gap in human rights scholarship and advocacy in Africa. Now, with an alumni strength of 537 and counting, HRDA has become a beacon of hope for human rights development in Africa and in the world. The original mandate of HRDA to strengthen human rights debate on the continent has been largely achieved in the last twenty years with its alumni spread in almost all sectors including legal practice, inter-governmental organisations, national judiciaries, academic institutions, governments, philanthropy and many more in and out of Africa.
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The Women’s Rights Unit at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, has intensified its call for the ratification of the Protocol to African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa (Older Persons Protocol) through a series of advocacy initiatives targeting African Union member states.
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The Sub-Regional Launch of the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty will take place on 9 December 2019 at the seat of the Global Campus Africa which is the Centre for Human Rightsm University of Pretoria, South Africa. The launch will be held at Future Africa Campus in Hillcrest, Pretoria. The focus of this conference is on how to effectively implement the recommendations of the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty from a regional perspective.
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December 5, 2019
The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, is deeply concerned about the recent decision of the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania to withdraw its declaration made under article 34(6) of the Protocol of the African Charter on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights allowing individuals and NGOs to take cases directly to the African Court.
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Men and boys should be socialised from a young age that they do not need to assert their power over women. Statements that promote toxic masculinity should not be said to young boys. 'Boys dont cry' is a statement that teaches men to suppress their emotions and risk instilling in them toxic and violent behaviour. Lets deal with VAW at its root cause.
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Information is power. The topic of violence against women should not be taboo. Open and frank discussions in communities should be held in order to inform and engage would be perpetrators on the devastating effects of violence against women to the whole society.
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(By Geoffrey Ogwaro)
As South Africa commemorated World Aids Day on December 1, the country pledged to renew, rejuvenate and recommit itself to the fight to end HIV. There are nascent plans and frameworks in place, such as the national strategic plan on HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and tuberculosis (TB) and the national LGBTI HIV plan.
The theme for this year is “ending the HIV/Aids epidemic: community by community”, and the United Nations Programme on HIV and Aids is emphasising the role of communities in ending the epidemic once and for all.
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Today marks just over a year since the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the Committee) issued its concluding observations on the initial state report of South Africa. Article 35 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) requires states that have ratified the Convention to submit a comprehensive report on measures taken to ensure that the rights guaranteed under the CRPD are enjoyed by persons with disabilities in their countries. State parties are required to submit their first report within two years of ratifying the CRPD, and subsequent reports every four years. South Africa became a signatory to the CRPD in 2008. The country’s initial report was due for submission on 3 June 2010 but was only submitted to the Committee on 26 November 2014.
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Violence against women prevents women and girls from reaching their full potential. Education for women and girls is therefore important in efforts to end gender based violence.
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Violence against women and girls is prevalent and widespread, it cuts across age, education, marital socio-economic and financial status.
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In speaking out against violence against women and girls, we need to challenge dominant stereotypical norms that excuse and rationalise VAW. For example, we need to begin to teach our children that doing house chores such as cooking and cleaning is a skill and therefore not gender specific.
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A global research partnership, which uses technology to deliver ground-breaking human rights investigations, has been recognised with a nomination at the prestigious Times Higher Education Awards. Amnesty’s Digital Verification Corps, in partnership with the University of Essex and five other global universities, which includes the University of Pretoria through its Centre for Human Rights, has been awarded the 2019 Times Higher Education award for international collaboration, for the joint work that went into our comprehensive investigation into civilian casualties in Raqqa earlier this year.
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We need to have open, frank and important conversations on violence against women and girls. These conversations would bring about the much needed attention to the issue of VAW as a global and national crisis. It would empower women and girls find their voices, challenge stereotypical notions, break and demystify the culture of silence that surrounds violations such as rape, sexual harassment and intimate partner violence.
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On 26 November 2019, WITNESS and the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, hosted an expert meeting in Pretoria, South Africa. The workshop was on the emerging threats posed by deepfakes and other forms of AI-enabled synthetic media.
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There is a need to create safe spaces for women and girls. Our homes, workplaces, schools and streets should be safe spaces. Most times, perpetrators of rape and sexual harassment are known to victims and survivors.
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The Republic of Liberia ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 1982 and its supplement instrument, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), in 2007. By virtue of its ratification of these instruments, Liberia is bound by the reporting obligations as prescribed under Article 62 of the African Charter and Article 26(1) of the Maputo Protocol. However, despite these commitments, the last time Liberia reported to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (African Commission) on the African Charter was in 2012 and the country is yet to report on the Maputo Protocol.
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There are no blurred lines when it comes to consent. Consent involves an active affirmation. No means no! Consent is compulsory, all the time, with no exceptions. Just because a woman is friendly with a man, doesn’t mean she has consented to have sexual relations with him.
Lets put an end to rape. Lets stop victim shaming #enoughisenough #standagainstrape #consentisassimpleastea
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Gender-based violence is the violence targeted at individuals or groups on the basis of gender. Examples include rape, femicide and intimate partner violence. Globally, one in three women and girls have experienced one form of violence in their homes, schools, workplaces and on the streets because of the perpetuation of patriarchy.
We need to start seeing change. Let us create safe spaces for women and girls. #EnoughIsEnough
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On 22 and 23 November 2019, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Embassy in collaboration with the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (UP), held a leadership colloquium at the Sanlam Auditorium on the UP Hatfield Campus. The theme of the colloquium was 'UAE’s Year of Tolerance: Prospects for Peace and Stability in Africa'. The colloquium was held under the backdrop of the activities of the UAE’s Presidency on promoting tolerance and as a way to address rampant forms of discrimination taking place in the UAE and the rest of the world. Its aim was to emphasise tolerance and acceptance of difference of social, political, ethnic, cultural or religious backgrounds.
