The Centre for Human Rights and the European Union Delegation to South Africa cordially invites you to a presentation on EU perspectives on human rights and foreign policy by Stavros Lambrinidis, European Union Special Representative for Human Rights.

Date: Tuesday 28 May 2013
Time: 10:30 - 12:00
Venue: Centre for Human Rights Lecture Hall, Law Building, University of Pretoria

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The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea, Sheila B. Keetharuth, today called on the international community to keep Eritrea under close scrutiny until meaningful change is evident in the country.

“Blatant disrespect for human rights in Eritrea is unacceptable,” Ms. Keetharuth stressed after a ten-day mission to Ethiopia and Djibouti to collect first-hand information directly from Eritrean refugees on the human rights situation in their country. “Real change would require a fundamental reform process transforming the current culture of rights denial with one anchored in the rule of law, respect for and realization of all human rights and human dignity.”

‘The rule of law at home and abroad: Reflections (not only) on South(ern) Africa’

This Faculty Seminar Series (Faculty of Humanities) will be presented by Prof Henning Melber, Extraordinary professor at the Department of Political Sciences and Director Emeritus/Senior Adviser of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation in Uppsala

The discussant at the Faculty Seminar Series is Prof Michelo Hansungule (Centre for Human Rights, UP)

Judges from five countries (Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda) joined participants from another 20 African countries for a course on socio-economic rights, presented by the Centre for Human Rights from 6 to 10 May 2013. The aim of the course is to strengthen the capacity of judicial officers, lawyers and civil society actors, and to advance informed debate about the role of courts in realising socio-economic rights (and, thus, poverty alleviation).

The course is presented against the backdrop of the very recent entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, on 5 May 2013. The Optional Protocol allows individuals to submit communications (cases) to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. South Africa is not yet a party to either the Covenant or the Protocol.

'HUMAN RIGHTS IN A TIME OF HOMOPHOBIA: AN ARGUMENT FOR EQUAL LEGAL PROTECTION OF "SEXUAL MINORITIES" IN AFRICA'

Over the last decade or so, international acceptance of 'sexual minorities' has increased significantly, reflected in the consensus that a person's sexual orientation or gender identity should not be a basis for denying him or her the equal protection of the law. In most of the African continent, a conflicting trend of formally stigmatising homosexuality has manifested itself, leading to the following three questions: To what extent is this trend at odds with the formal legal protection under African regional human rights treaties and the constitutions of most African states? To what extent is institutionalising African homophobia justified by the arguments that equal legal protection of 'sexual minorities' is a neocolonial attempt at subverting 'African values', that it is in conflict with deeply-held religious beliefs and African culture, and that it flies in the face of the majority's views in African societies? What legal and extra-legal strategies should be used to advance the rights of sexual minorities and curb homophobia on the continent?

Nana Oye Lithur, an alumna of the Centre for Human Rights, was recently appointed as the Cabinet Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection in Ghana. In 2001, Nana graduated from the LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa.

In 2007, she received the prestigious Vera Chirwa Award for her human rights advocacy on the continent. Instituted in 2006, on the occasion of the Centre being awarded the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education, the Vera Chirwa Human Rights Award is named after Vera Chirwa, a lawyer and human rights activist who fought for independence, multi-party democracy and was saved in extremis from execution in Malawi.

For millions of Africans on the continent the event passed unnoticed, but the adoption by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) of a model law to inspire and guide African legislatures towards enacting access to information legislation may well usher in an era of greater openness on our continent. When the African Commission officially launched the ‘Model Law on Access to Information for Africa’ on 12 April 2013 during its 53rd Ordinary Session currently being held in Banjul, The Gambia, it for the first time adopted a model law on any topic.

The Model Law is the product of a two and a half year long drafting process coordinated by the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, under the auspices of the Special Rapporteur.

On 12 April 2013, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights officially launched the General Comments to article 14(1)(d) and (e) of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights at the Commission's 53rd Session in Banjul, The Gambia. 

Under the guidance of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa, and in collaboration with the Centre for Human Rights and regional experts, the General Comments were drafted, and adopted, to provide specific guidance about the obligations of states under these provisions. They further aim to support the Special Rapporteur in the promotion and implementation of the Women’s Rights Protocol; to equip civil society organisations with a yardstick for advocacy and state accountability; and to guide the future jurisprudence of the Commission.

The Multi-Level Government Initiative and the Socio-Economic Rights Project of the Community Law Centre (University of the Western Cape), together with the South African Research Chair on Multi-Level Government, Law & Policy are pleased to announce a conference on “Constitution-making in Africa”.

The Conference is organised as part of the African Human Rights Moot Court Competition, hosted by the Faculty of Law (University of the Western Cape) and the Centre for Human Rights (University of Pretoria) from 2 to 7 September 2013.

This is an invitation to attend what should be a fascinating and invigorating discussion with a leading thinker on sexualities and rights in Africa. It forms part of an ongoing series of seminars on sexuality and gender, hosted by the Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies, the Centre for the Study of AIDS, the Centre for Human Rights, the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology and the Department of Philosophy Departments here at the University of Pretoria.

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The Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria cordially invites you to a lecture and discussion on ‘Lethal autonomous robotics: Coming to a theatre near you?’ by Christof Heyns, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and Professor of Human Rights Law, UP.

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Date: Friday 10 May 2013
Time: 10:30–12:00
Venue: Room 1-45, Law Building
RSVP: Pumeza, 012 420 6217, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by 2 May

The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria and the Open Society Justice Initiative held the final expert meeting to finalise the Draft Global Principles on National Security and the Right to Information from 5 to 6 April 2013, in Pretoria, South Africa.

The meeting brought together over 60 individuals, most of whom had previously participated in consultations held in Europe, Asia, North America and three sub-regions in Africa, in the last two years. Participants included senior security sector officials, academics, civil society and access to information experts-including three Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Expression from the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Organisation of American States and the United Nations.

The African Court Coalition organized a one hour discussion as a side event during the 53rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) with the theme; ‘Reflecting on the Current Developments at the African Court for Better Access to Justice in the Continent’. The event was held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel on the 11 April 2013, in Banjul, The Gambia with about 70 participants attending.

During an interactive one hour discussion, human rights experts and judge from the Court reflected on a number of issues relating to the Court which included among others; handling of cases transferred by the Commission and the outcome of a request for an Advisory Opinion before the Court for a case similar to the one pending before the Commission.

Equality Now, Solidarity for African’s Women's Rights and the Centre for Human Rights recently collaborated to host a training for lawyers on using the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa for legal action on 25 and 26 March 2013. The participants from this program were selected from partner organizations across Southern Africa including private law firms and human rights institutes. They ranged in expertise from litigation specialists to legal advisers in both the public and private sector.

It was an intensive two day session packed with varied and informative presentations including from the Southern African Litigation Centre, successes and challenges noted in strategic litigation of certain cases; as well as a presentation by Professor Frans Viljoen on using the Protocol to advance women's rights and the existing regional mechanisms-The African Commission, African Court and Regional Economic Communities.

The Scholars At Risk (SAR)’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Workshop was hosted by the Centre for Human Rights from 2-6 April 2013 and was attended by SAR staff, SAR’s monitoring partners and staff of the Centre. Participants were welcomed by the Dean of Faculty of Law, Prof André Boraine and the Director of the Centre for Human Rights, Prof Frans Viljoen.

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The aim of the Academic Freedom Monitoring Workshop is to improve SAR’s monitoring and information distribution system which creates awareness of conducts which constitute violation of academic freedom and human rights of members of the academic institution.

The Gender Unit in collaboration with Irish Aid recently hosted a report back session on Gender Mainstreaming; a follow up session to training offered to Irish Aid partners and some University of Pretoria staff on 17 - 21 September 2012 at the University of Pretoria. An important element of the Gender Mainstreaming session held last year was the development of projects which were to be implemented at the different organisations represented at the training session. This was done under the mentorship of Elize Delport and Karen Stefiszyn of the Gender Unit who took time to develop projects specific to the participants’ interest and also relevant within their organisations. The session on 14 and 15 March 2013 was designed to report back on the interventions carried out, as well as the highlights and challenges noted during the implementation of their projects.

The Scholars at Risk (SAR) has recently launched a global monitoring system to identify, track, and analyse attacks on academic freedom and university values. Using the information gathered through the monitoring system, SAR aims to build awareness and develop targeted advocacy responses to key attacks, ultimately enhancing protection for academic freedom and improving condition for higher education communities worldwide.

From 3 to 5 April, Scholars at Risk, with the support from the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria will convene its global team of monitors to evaluate the monitoring system’s progress to date, and build on the advancement already made.

Banjul, The Gambia, 22 March 2013 -The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has found the Zimbabwe Government responsible for the torture and ill-treatment of Gabriel Shumba, a well-known human rights advocate and lawyer from Zimbabwe. This is the first time in its 26-year history for the most important human rights body in Africa to hold Zimbabwe responsible for torture.

• Download the Redress.org press release

The quest to challenge the negative attitudes in society and unwind repressive state machinery towards sexual minorities in Africa has been embraced by many individuals and organisations across Africa and in other parts of the world. This was evidenced by the selection of participants who attended the annual short course on sexual minorities, presented by the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria from 11 to 15 February 2013. In total 39 participants from 26 African countries attended. Five others from Finland, Belgium, Britain and the USA also attended. Participants were drawn from both the public sector (including diplomatic missions) and civil society.

The Centre for Human Rights (CHR), University of Pretoria, in collaboration with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, Commissioner Pansy Tlakula, has commenced a two-year project entitled ‘Strengthening Legal Frameworks on Access to Information in Africa’. The project is for a period of two years (from 1 March 2013 to 28 February 2015)) and is being funded by the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), with additional funding from the Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA).