The Free State Centre for Human Rights is a critical, interdisciplinary, and contextually engaged research, advocacy, and legal-practice institution, focusing in its work on the relationship between human rights and transformation.

This relationship is approached from a critical perspective that recognises its double-handed nature; the fact that human rights, in whatever context, relate both positively and negatively to transformation, can both enable and hinder transformation.

Within the broad framework-concern with the relationship between human rights and transformation, the Centre’s work coalesces around three thematic focus areas: impoverishment; democracy; and identity. This means that the Centre’s 

work and its research community is interdisciplinary, drawing on a range of different disciplines and combining insights and wisdom from a variety of fields.

Although the Centre is primarily an academic research institution, its work is contextually engaged. Apart from its Research and Postgraduate Division, the Centre consists of an Advocacy Division that engages in transformation related human rights advocacy on the UFS campus and a Legal Services Division that operates as a Free State-focused public interest litigation unit in cooperation with the UFS Law Clinic.

All the Centre’s work is geographically located: research, advocacy, and litigation focus on issues on the UFS campuses, in Bloemfontein and in the Free State Province.

Research and Postgraduate

In terms of Research, the Free State Centre for Human Rights focuses on the relationship between human rights and transformation, from a critical, inter-disciplinary and contextually engaged framework. Read more.

Advocacy

The Advocacy Division promotes transformation through human rights education and advocacy on the UFS campuses and more broadly in the Free State Province, Lesotho, and South Africa. Read more.

Legal Services

The Legal Services Division  is a human rights strategic litigation unit that litigates on behalf of clients on brief or as amicus curiae seeking the protection of human rights, social justice and transformation. Read more.

Interdisciplinary Master of Human Rights

This coursework Master's programme is designed to accommodate students and professionals from various academic disciplines. With its mode of delivery online with no residency requirement, the programme can be completed part-time. Read more.

Master's Degree by Dissertation

The Free State Centre for Human Rights offers the Master’s Degree by Full Dissertation. The programme provides students with the relevant skills to work independently as well as under supervision. Read more.

LLD/PhD Programme

The Free State Centre offers a doctoral programme in Human Rights including LLD (Doctor of Laws) and PhD (Doctor of Philosophy). The former is dedicated to candidates with a law background while the latter is for those with background other than law. Read more.

Free State Centre for Human Rights at UFS hosts inaugural Human Rights Day Lecture