HRW addresses Southern African rights abuses

Despite a robust and independent judiciary to protect the rule of law, SA’s human rights record remained poor in 2017. That’s according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report titled Fighting for Rights Succeeds. Other Southern African countries accused of human rights abuse include Angola, Mozambique, the DRC, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. The report also mentioned SA’s plans to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC). A City Press report notes that Dewa Mavhinga, Southern Africa director at HRW notes that as a founding member of the court, SA should ‘reclaim its moral high ground in terms of leadership in the human rights space’. Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said SA was founded on the struggle for human rights and therefore could not ignore the report. ‘Corruption is fundamentally corrosive to human rights. The increase in cases of violence against women and children is also worrying. There doesn’t seem to be an urgency from government to prioritise this challenge,’ he said. Regarding SA’s withdrawal from the ICC, Mathekga said: ‘This is an unfortunate development. I think South Africa’s response has been hasty and sets the wrong precedent for the continent.’

Full City Press report