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Online participation: International Interdisciplinary Security of Land Tenure Conference

03 May 2024 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Supplied

The Law Faculty is excited to host the International Interdisciplinary Security of Land Tenure (IISLT) Conference and extends an invitation for broad online institutional engagement in the event. Participants are encouraged to register early to secure their virtual presence and bookmark the link, which grants access throughout the conference days from 6 to 8 May 2024.

Conference Link

See the attached final conference programme.

Conference Programme

The University of the Free State (UFS), in collaboration with esteemed research partners, will host the IISLT Conference scheduled for 6-8 May 2024 on the Bloemfontein Campus, Equitas Building. The conference aims to address the pervasive issue of insecure land rights plaguing rural communities in South Africa, despite constitutional safeguards and landmark legal decisions.

Transforming the rural land economy

Under the theme Transforming the rural land economy: the creation of secure land rights for the enhancement of rural livelihoods and sustainable development, the conference seeks to explore solutions to the complex challenges surrounding land tenure security.

Dr Anthea-Lee September-Van Huffel, Lecturer in the UFS Department of Private Law and a member of the IISLT Planning Committee, emphasised the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to address land tenure security issues. She stated, "Security of land tenure requires an interdisciplinary approach that is conscious of the intersectionalities between property, environmental law and conservation, customary law and succession, gender and traditional practices, natural resources and socio-economic rights, development, agriculture and land reform, poverty, politics and governance. It is time for innovative holistic rights-based solutions."

The conference proudly collaborates with international and national research partners such as Anglia Ruskin University in London, England; Imo State University in Owerri, Nigeria, the National University of Lesotho's United Nations Development Programme Human Rights Chair, Lesotho; the Law Faculty of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria; the University of Stellenbosch, Department of Private Law, and the Free State Centre for Human Rights. Other closely associated research collaborators are Public Affairs Research Institute and the UFS Centre for Development Studies.

The International Interdisciplinary Security of Land Tenure Conference presents a unique platform for stakeholders to engage in critical discussions, share insights, and propose innovative solutions towards securing land rights for rural communities and fostering sustainable development. Join us for this pivotal event aimed at transforming the rural land economy for the betterment of society. The conference is strongly aligned with Vision 130 and the Sustainable Development Goals (8) Economic growth, (10) Reduced inequalities, (11) Sustainable communities, and (15) Life on land.

Contact information:

For general enquiries, contact Riekie Viljoen via email at viljoenr@ufs.ac.za.

News Archive

Freedom of religion, a constitutional right and area of global concern

2017-01-17

Prof Shaun de Freitas
Photo: Mamosa Makaya

Freedom of religion is enshrined in the South African Constitution, states that everyone has the right to freedom of religion, which more specifically entails the freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief and opinion. It makes provision for the protection of religious communities in South Africa. Consequently, the maintenance and protection of such a right is of fundamental importance.

Prof Shaun de Freitas, Associate Professor of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) specialises in constitutional law, with a specific focus on the right to freedom of religion, and has produced several publications in the field. The latest is titled “Transcending the Private-Public School Divide in the Context of the Right to Freedom of Religion in South Africa”, Chapter 19, in Religious Freedom and Religious Pluralism in Africa – Prospects and Limitations published by Stellenbosch University in 2016.

Prejudice a challenge in all societies
There are numerous challenges faced by religious groups around the world concerning prejudice, association with terrorism and political power and influence. Therefore, research in this field becomes important in helping to uphold the rights and freedoms of religious minority groups, to be able to foster understanding between communities.

Balancing responsibility and religious rights
His current focus is on challenges that have arisen in South Africa, more specifically pertaining to the right of medical practitioners to object conscientiously towards participating in certain medical procedures, the parameters of freedom related to religious associations and the inclusion of religious expression in public schools. These matters are also relevant to many other parts of the world (including, ironically enough, those democratic societies that endeavour to make diversity flourish).

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