Human rights threatened in South Africa, warns bishop

‘We must confront the harsh reality that many citizens still endure violations of their rights,’ said Bishop Sithembele Anton Sipuka.

A South African bishop expressed concern at the decline of the country’s human rights commitments and called for the full embrace of its constitutional guarantees. 

South Africa is celebrated globally for its “progressive” constitution adopted after the fall of apartheid more than three decades ago, recognising universal rights denied in other countries.

However, critics have accused the government of failing to honour the spirit of the constitution, noting the continued denial of basic human rights such as food, clothes and shelter to millions of South Africans.

Bishop Sithembele Anton Sipuka of Umtata, who was until January this year the president of the Southern African Bishops’ Conference, said more needed to be done for the country fully to recognise human rights for all, in a message on South Africa’s Human Rights Day on 21 March.

“We must confront the harsh reality that many citizens still endure violations of their rights,” Bishop Sipuka said, in a video published by his diocese.

“As advocates for social justice, let us create a society that values and respects everyone by celebrating our differences to build a more inclusive and compassionate nation,” he said.

South Africa, the continent’s richest country, faces extremes of wealth and poverty, with high levels of unemployment and crime, raising widespread concerns about the government’s commitment to meeting basic human rights.

“Challenges such as high unemployment strip individuals of their dignity. Gender-based violence devastates families. Abuse of elderly people often goes unaddressed. Discrimination based on sexual orientation remains prevalent, and incidents of bullying in our schools continue to occur,” Sipuka added.

South Africa’s Human Rights Day is commemorated each year on 21 March, the anniversary of the killing of more than 60 protesters in 1960 by the apartheid government’s security forces in what became known as the Sharpeville Massacre. 

Bishop Sipuka also called for the “building of a compassionate nation” to ensure that “human rights abuses as exemplified by the Sharpeville tragedy do not recur”.

Bishops seek healing for South Africa’s democracy anniversary

Obituary: Jonty Driver – anti-apartheid campaigner, educationalist and writer

Stay updated — add us as a preferred news source on Google: