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20 March 2019 | Story Mamosa Makaya
Human Rights

Human Rights Month is a time to reflect on the nation’s journey to democracy, the attainment of change, and the building of awareness and education about human rights in academic institutions and society at large.
  
Human Rights Day in South Africa is historically linked to 21 March 1960, and the events of the Sharpeville Massacre where 69 people died and 180 were wounded when police fired on a crowd that had gathered in peaceful protest against the pass laws. In observing this important time, Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor said: “As a university community, let us join the rest of the country and celebrate the rights of all people to be protected from violation, irrespective of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc. Let us observe this day and stand together to promote respect for human rights.”

Human rights in action

At the University of the Free State (UFS), Human Rights Month is marked with celebratory events, awareness campaigns and fund-raising for social justice causes in faculties and departments by staff and students alike throughout the month of March, and is seen as an important time to show support for human rights in our society. The Student Representative Council (SRC) recently launched the #UFSWalkToUhuru project that aims to raise R2 million by soliciting academic and financial support from the public, stakeholders affiliated with the UFS, staff and students, to enable their fellow students to register for and continue with their studies across all three UFS campuses in 2020.

The Dean of Student Affairs, Pura Mgolombane said “Education is a fundamental human right which all citizens of a country should have an opportunity to access. Due to the legacy of slavery, colonialism and apartheid, most of the majority of our people could not be educated or educate their children.  The Walk to Uhuru campaign that has been initiated by the SRC becomes not only a social justice issue but a human rights response to the poor and impoverished. When the nation responds as we hope it will, it will be humanising not only the lived experiences of the students who will be beneficiaries of the fund, but to their families, society and to the nation. So, we call upon everyone to demonstrate their humanity (Ubuntu) by donating whatever they can.”

The first tier involves a 350 km walk from the Bloemfontein Campus to the UFS Qwaqwa Campus from 17 to 22 March 2019. On the second tier, the group continues the journey by road through four countries for 5411 km to Uhuru Peak on Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, from 20 June to 20 July 2019. 

The fundraising walk is a student-led initiative that seeks to promote and advocate educational rights to less privileged students, mitigating the exclusion of the financially disadvantaged and promoting their right to education.

Students, staff, and the public can make contributions/donations to the initiative by visiting the UFS Walk to Uhuru #givengain account page

Support, promotion and advocacy for human rights

The UFS through its various structures has adopted policies that recognise the rights of its students and staff with policies such as the anti-discrimination, promotion of equality and social justice policy and procedures, which is a demonstration of its commitment to providing opportunities for staff and students to pursue excellence and satisfaction in their academic and social lives.
   
The Free State Centre for Human Rights (FSCHR) was established in 2016, with a focus on the relationship between human rights and transformation at UFS and runs a research division which runs postgraduate teaching programme, while its advocacy division presents human rights training and awareness courses to staff and students, coordinates the resolution of human rights-related disputes, and assists management on an ad hoc basis in human rights-related policy development. The centre’s advocacy office held a human rights awareness campaign at the Thakaneng Bridge on the Bloemfontein Campus, from Thursday, 14 March to Wednesday 20 March with lucky draws and prizes. 

South Africa has included indivisible human rights in our own Bill of Rights, in Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. The Bill of Rights also comprehensively addresses South Africa’s history of oppression, colonialism, slavery, racism and sexism and other forms of human violations. The Bill of Rights embeds the rights of all people in our country in an enduring affirmation of the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom.

Prof Danie Brand, Director of the FSCHR said “at the UFS I like to think that we have a different understanding of rights: we see human rights as regulating relationships between us, as mechanisms that require us to enter into conversation with one another when we have disputes and reach solutions in which all of our human rights are, even if not vindicated, then at least taken account of. The rigorous process of engagement and consultation about what to do with the statue of MT Steyn illustrates this; as does the current process in which we are considering together what is and what is not acceptable as protest action on campus. Human rights require us to think and to talk, before we act.”

The field of human rights touches on a myriad of areas at higher education institutions. It is therefore an opportunity for staff and students to become aware of the immense contribution they make in their daily work, especially in academic areas such as gender studies, law, health sciences, and in support services structures such as staff and student wellness, LGBTIQ+ advocacy, protection services and with the work of the Centre for Universal Access and Disabilities, amongst others.

News Archive

CR Swart Memorial Lecture: Mr Cecil le Fleur
2006-08-08

Khoe and San call for government to speed up policy dialogue with indigenous communities  

 Mr Cecil le Fleur, leader of the National Khoe-San Consultative Conference and member of the executive management of the National Khoe-San Council, has called for a national policy on indigenous peoples to protect the human rights and special needs of indigenous people in South Africa.

 Mr Le Fleur delivered the 38th CR Swart Memorial Lecture on the Khoe and San at the University of the Free State (UFS).  He commended the UFS for its serious approach to the Khoe and San and for initiating initiatives such as a research project on the Griqua in which various aspects linked to language, -culture, -history, - leadership, their role in the South African community (past and present) and the conservation of their historical cultural heritages will be covered.   

 “The policy dialogue with indigenous communities initiated by government in 1999 and supported by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), has been exceedingly slow, owing to political and bureaucratic problems,” said Mr Le Fleur.

 According to Mr Le Fleur the slow pace is also impacting negatively on the United Nations’ efforts to expand the international standards and mechanisms for human rights so as to include the special needs of indigenous peoples.

 “The successful adoption of a South African policy would probably have a major impact on the human rights culture of Africa and, more specifically, on the UN system,” he said.

 “South Africa has a powerful moral authority internationally and is willing to use this authority in multilateral forums. At this stage, however, South Africa’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) may not take an official position on UN instruments and declarations pertaining to indigenous issues, until the Cabinet has resolved its own domestic policy position,” he said. 

 According to Mr le Fleur it therefore came as a great surprise when the DFA brought out a positive vote in the UN for the adoption of the "Draft Declaration on the Rights of indigenous Peoples" in June this year, even before the completion of the policy process. 

 Policy consolidation in South Africa is the primary key to creating a new policy climate in Africa in order to protect the rights of indigenous peoples.  “The existing constitution of the Republic of South Africa is one of the most liberal on the continent, and embraces the concept of redress of past discrimination.  It already includes a clause (Section 6) making provision for the protection of language rights for Khoe and San peoples - the fist peoples of southern Africa,” he said. 

 “If South Africa can effectively integrate this ‘third generation’ of collective rights within an existing democratic constitution, this will send a clear message to Africa and the world that indigenous rights are a necessary component of human and civil rights in modern democracies,” he said.

 Mr Le Fleur proposed an institutional framework based on set principles that would satisfy the needs and aspirations of the Griqua and other first indigenous peoples in South Africa.  “The proposed framework was based on the notion of vulnerability as a result of colonialism and apartheid, which stripped us of our indigenous identity, cultural identity and pride as people.  This injustice can hardly be addressed within the existing mechanisms provided by the current text of the Constitution,” he said.

 Mr Le Fleur also proposed that the principles of unique first-nation status, as recognised in international law, should be applied in the construction of the framework of the constitutional accommodation for the Khoe and San. 

 Mr Le Fleur further proposed that the Khoe and San’s indigenous status in constitutional terms must be separate from the constitutional acknowledgement of their status as a cultural community, as envisaged in sections 185 and 186 of the Constitution of 1996.

 According to Mr Le Fleur, the suggested mechanism should make provision for structures such as:

  •  A statutory representative council for First Indigenous Peoples of South Africa at a national level;
  • a separate Joint Standing Committee on Indigenous and Traditional Affairs, in both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces on which the Khoe and San can be represented;
  • a representative structure for the Khoe and San in the legislature of each relevant province; and
  • ex officio membership in the relevant structures of local government.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za 
24 August 2006


- Full lecture
- Photo gallery
 

 

 

 

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