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UFS research fellow appointed UNDP Human Rights Research Chair

26 October 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

Dr Carol Chi Ngang, a category C2-rated researcher and research fellow in the UFS Free State Centre for Human Rights, has been appointed as the UNDP Human Rights Research Chair at the National University of Lesotho, where he is currently affiliated.

A National Research Foundation category C2-rated researcher and research fellow in the Free State Centre for Human Rights at the University of the Free State (UFS), Dr Carol Chi Ngang, has been appointed as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Rights Research Chair at the National University of Lesotho, where he is currently affiliated.

According to Dr Ngang, the Human Rights Chair was established with the broad mandate to undertake and promote cutting-edge policy research, curriculum development, and community engagement. He says the chair is envisaged to generate a steady stream of research outputs on various aspects of human rights in Lesotho, and most importantly, to explore the human rights components of the Sustainable Development Goals.

For establishing the Human Rights Chair and funding its programme activities, Dr Ngang expresses his gratitude to the United Nations Tripartite Partnership (UNTPP), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Lesotho.

Knowledge-based foundation for a human rights culture

Dr Ngang states that the establishment of the UNDP Human Rights Chair in the Faculty of Law at the National University of Lesotho is not only timely, but also indispensable in the sense that it provides the opportunity to lay a solid knowledge-based foundation for a human rights culture in Lesotho to respond to and seek to redress the exigencies and the lived experiences of the Basotho.

“With the country’s political landscape characterised for the last decades by, among others, a distressed economy, shaky coalition governments, and instability, Lesotho’s human rights record is not an impressive one.”

Dr Ngang elaborates, “In spite of a cabinet decision taken as far back as 1995 and the adoption of the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution Act in 2011 – with explicit provision for the establishment of the Lesotho Human Rights Commission – 27 years down the line the august institution, which is supposed to oversee the promotion and protection of human rights in Lesotho, is yet to see the light of day. Lesotho remains one of the few countries in Africa and around the world that is yet to put in place a human rights commission to ensure protection of the vulnerable population, of which the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights are threatened on a daily basis.”

According to him, one of the most pressing issues in the human rights field currently, is the establishment of the Lesotho Human Rights Commission. “It is a central concern not only for our funders and the Ministry of Law and Justice and the many other active forces that have invested time and resources in the process, but importantly, also for the Lesotho society at large,” he states.

“Without the commission, the vulnerability of the population is multiplied.”

Effecting real transformation in the human rights situation in Lesotho

Dr Ngang says in the absence of a human rights commission, besides focusing on research and the dissemination of knowledge, the Human Rights Chair will additionally cover gaps in the areas of advocacy, amicus curiae interventions, and public interest litigation in human rights matters before the courts.

“It is our anticipation that the research outputs generated by the Human Rights Chair will be utilised productively, including by Lesotho-based civil society organisations, to inform policy advocacy and most essentially, leverage policy formulation, decision making, and resource allocation for the realisation of human rights in the country.”

Dr Ngang also foresees that it will shape the direction of governance and governmental actions in meeting the global Sustainable Development Goal targets, as well as the strategic objective of national transformation as outlined in the Lesotho National Strategic Development Plan II.

The Human Rights Chair, he says, has established working relations with the Ministry of Law and Justice, as well as a collaborative partnership with the Lesotho NGO sector, and envisages doing so with the private sector and other major stakeholders. “These strategic alliances are intended to ensure that knowledge generated by the chair through research is utilised by the relevant stakeholders to effect real transformation as far as the human rights situation in Lesotho is concerned.”

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Honorary doctorate to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu attracts wide attention

2011-01-27

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu after receiving his honorary doctorate in Theology at the UFS.
- Photo: Hannes Pieterse

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The University of the Free State (UFS) awarded an honorary doctorate to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu on Thursday, 27 January 2011. The graduation ceremony, which was attended by guests from across the country marks a milestone in the history of the university.

Amongst the guests were the ambassador of the USA to South Africa, Mr Donald Gips; the British High Commissioner to South Africa, Dr Nicola Brewer; members of the local government; Ms Barbara Hogan, former Minister of Public Works and the daughters of Bram Fischer, Ruth Fischer-Rice and Ilse Fischer-Wilson. Friends of Dr Tutu, Dr Ahmed Kathrada, Ms Barbara Hogan and Dr Allan and Ms Elna Boesak also attended the occasion.

The UFS also received a message of congratulations from the Deputy President of South Africa, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe. “The choice to honour this exemplar of virtue to which most of the world still look for direction as it buckles under social, political and economic difficulties is laudable in all respects,” he said.

Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, said: “We honour a great son of South Africa who made a tremendous contribution to peace, reconciliation and justice in South Africa and in the world.

“There were times when few of us thought apartheid would end in our lifetime, yet you stood as a rock reassuring us, not about a black future, but about our common future. For this reason, Arch, we would not miss this opportunity to honour you for any reason whatsoever.

“You, Sir, are a Jew among Muslims, a Christian among Hindus, a Catholic among Anglicans, a bridge-builder among all of us. That is why we love you; because you look deeper and see further than all of us.”

According to Prof. Francois Tolmie, Dean of the UFS’s Faculty of Theology, the university honours Dr Tutu for his contribution as theologian – through his teaching and the books he wrote – as well as for the role he played in bringing about reconciliation in South Africa as well as in the rest of the world. The university also honours Dr Tutu as a moral and spiritual leader who never sacrificed his integrity as a Christian.

Apart from being a church leader and a leading world figure, Dr Tutu is the author of several books and also held a number of teaching posts at various tertiary institutions.

In 1984, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his role as a unifying leader figure in the campaign to abolish apartheid in South Africa. A further highlight in his career was his election as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986. He was the first black African to serve in this position, which placed him at the head of the Anglican Church in South Africa.

Many South Africans also remember the role he played when President Nelson Mandela appointed him in December 1995 to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was established to investigate human rights violations during the apartheid era. The Archbishop guided the nation in the process of choosing forgiveness over revenge and in so doing set a historic international precedent.

In 1996, he retired as Archbishop of Cape Town but continues to speak out in favour of human rights, equality and social justice in South Africa and throughout the world.

In August 2009, President Barack Obama presented him with the Medal of Freedom, the United States of America’s highest civilian honour. Dr Desmond Tutu is recognised around the world as a moral leader committed to the human rights of all people.

Today he is chairman of The Elders, a group of world leaders who, in view of their integrity and leadership, are equipped to deal with some of the world’s most pressing problems.

Prof. Tolmie says: “It is often asked how Dr Tutu could have achieved all this in the span of one lifetime. Some people would refer to his warm personality or his humanness, his deep sense of humility or his wonderful sense of humour. Probing a little deeper, however, one is struck by Dr Tutu’s deep relationship with God. He is known as a man of faith, a man of prayer. He lives his life coram Deo, in the presence of God.”

Dr Tutu also lead the introduction ceremony of the UFS’s International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice.

Media Release
27 January 2011
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

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