What is the significance of human rights day

The Commission is declared to be independent and, subject only to the Constitution and the law, must exercise its powers impartially and perform its functions without fear, favour or prejudice. Other organs of state, through legislative and other measures, must assist and protect it to ensure its independence, impartiality, dignity and effectiveness.

No person or organ of state may interfere with its functioning and it is accountable to the National Assembly to which it must report annually. The Human Rights Commission has extensive powers including to investigate and report on the observance of human rights, to take steps to secure appropriate redress where they have been violated, to carry out research and to educate.

It has the proactive duty each year to require relevant organs of state to provide it with the information on the measures they have taken towards the realisation other rights in the Bill of Rights concerning housing healthcare, food, water, social security, education and environment.

Cumulatively, these safeguards are arguably greater than their equivalent in the UK. South African courts must declare any law that is inconsistent with the Constitution to be invalid to the extent of its inconsistency.

These are not theoretical or academic possibilities. Each has been advocated in recent years by different senior leading figures in the Conservative Party. Three years ago, I had the opportunity to observe at first hand the work of the Commission. I was invited by one of the Commissioners to observe a hearing which he convened to require the mayor and chief executive of a large community in one of the more remote provinces to explain and justify why they had not taken adequate steps to deal with extensive sinkholes which were polluting the local water supply.

It was a remarkable exercise combining a semi-judicial function, supported by subpoena powers, with a hands-on collaborative approach in which the mayor and the chief executive were encouraged to identify ways in which the Commission might assist them in complying with their obligations, for example by making representations to the government to provide the necessary funding.

We all have a responsibility to ensure that our human rights record and history are preserved and strengthened for future generations. That is of course a two-edged sword. Enshrined and protected by the Constitution as they are, ultimately human rights depend in part on the support which they are given by various key actors: the government, both national and local, the judiciary, the criminal justice system, the prosecuting authority and the media.

In turn the commitment of state actors to enforcing and complying with human rights is influenced by the degree of pressure from public opinion to do so.

It is therefore important for ordinary citizens to do what they can to make known to those in positions of power their commitment to the rule of law.

Human rights are dependent on the rule of law because without it there is no one to enforce them and to give redress to victims when they have been abused. The topic was a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of the South African written and the British unwritten constitutions in dealing with politically sensitive cases. In preparing for the event, I researched recent instances of disregard for the rule of law in various democracies around the world.

The catalogue does not make for happy reading. Wholesale replacing of senior judiciary by the government in Poland, wholesale jailing of judges and civil servants in Turkey stand out.

The muted public response of the Government to the headline moved a retired Lord Chief Justice to comment that it was a little too late and a lot too little. Since then, the British Government purported to prorogue parliament, thereby potentially preventing it from voting against a No Deal Brexit, an act subsequently held by a unanimous decision of 11 Justices of the UK Supreme Court to be unlawful and of no effect.

In the United States the loser of the recent presidential election was recorded seeking to persuade a senior election official to find enough votes to overturn the victory of his opponent in Georgia, refused to take part in the orderly transition of power which lies at the very heart of the democratic system and persuaded millions of his supporters that an election which was held by judges across the country to be free and fair had in fact been rigged against him by his opponents.

If there is a common thread it is perhaps the rise of populism and a perception that conventions and attitudes on which the rule of law and the effective protection of human rights in part depends, and which for years have been taken for granted, are no longer considered by significant parts of the population to be important.

These are developments from which not even the most mature democracies are immune. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance and complacency is the enemy of vigilance. As it turned out, both in the challenge to the decision to trigger Brexit without the sanction of parliament and in the case of the purported proroguing of parliament, the unwritten British Constitution delivered the goods. The judiciary showed itself to be both impartial and fearless and the decisions of the Supreme Court were ultimately adhered to by the Government, albeit grudgingly.

And what of South Africa, a relatively recent addition to the list of genuine democracies? Even a written constitution depends for the effective enforcement of human rights on an impartial and fearless judiciary and the public commitment of the executive to upholding the rule of law and the human rights of its citizens. Nelson Mandela, who was sentenced to life in prison under a law enacted by a parliament in whose elections he had no right to vote, was nonetheless a passionate believer in the rule of law.

When he was President, he once volunteered to submit to cross-examination in a case in which a decision of his was being challenged in the Constitutional Court. For years the impartiality and independence of the senior judiciary has been one of the great strengths of the new South Africa.

The same is true of civil society and a fiercely independent and outspoken press. But the new South Africa has had its share of assaults on the rule of law and human rights. In police opened fire on striking miners in Marikana killing 34 people. In KZN there has been an epidemic of political assassinations. Under the previous administration it is alleged that corruption and bribery existed on such a scale and at such high levels of government that it gave rise to the name of State Capture.

Allegations of corruption continue and during the pandemic there is evidence of attempts to defraud the public purse by the submission of false invoices for PPE and there have been allegations of police brutality and unlawful killings in the enforcement of lockdown. Leading members of a political party have made speeches calculated to incite racial hatred. There is widespread disillusionment with the slow pace of economic transformation, of ending racial discrimination and of delivering some of the social rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

Not the least worrying item on the list is the saga of long-standing allegations of impropriety made by senior judges against a senior member of the judiciary which remain unresolved after many years and which have recently been added to by a public allegation by a retired Constitutional Court Judge that the judge in question is dishonest and that he should be suspended pending investigation both of the earlier allegations and of his recent decision to dismiss a charge of corruption against a former government minister.

Also pending is a decision of the Constitutional Court on an application by the Zondo Commission of Enquiry into corruption for an order committing former President Zuma to prison for contempt of the Commission by failing to appear before it when required to do so. Set against this dispiriting list must be put steps that have been and are being taken to investigate and where appropriate prosecute alleged offenders.

The State appointed a retired Appeal Court judge to conduct an enquiry into the Marikana shootings at which victims and their families were represented by distinguished counsel, including George Bizos, who were instructed by the Legal Resources Centre and had the right to cross examine police and other witnesses. The Zondo Commission itself is a wide-ranging investigation, armed with subpoena powers, led by the Deputy Chief Justice, into the so-called State Capture allegations.

It remains to be seen whether and if so, how many of the allegations will result in prosecutions and convictions. There has been no shortage of coverage by the press of all these matters or of calls on relevant organs of the state to discharge their duties under the Constitution to investigate and where, justified by the evidence, to prosecute. There is much to celebrate on Human Rights Day. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.

The UDHR is a milestone document that proclaims the inalienable rights which everyone is entitled to as a human being - regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Available in more than languages , it is the most translated document in the world. The principles of equality and non-discrimination are at the heart of human rights.

This includes addressing and finding solutions for deep-rooted forms of discrimination that have affected the most vulnerable people in societies, including women and girls, indigenous peoples, people of African descent, LGBTI people, migrants and people with disabilities, among others.

The pandemic had major upheaval on everyone, the crises have fueled poverty, inequalities, and discrimination. The world rights body says in order to build back a world that is better, resilient, and sustainable, we must take measures to close these gaps. Our Freedoms. Who we are. What we do Our roadmap How we work with others Annual report and publications.