• A Chance for South Africa to do the Right Thing for Syria
    Commentary
    Feb 2, 2012

    Will history repeat itself at the United Nations Security Council? The last time South Africa was called to vote on a resolution on Syria, on October 4 last year, it chose to abstain, along with India and Brazil.

  • Universal Periodic Review of South Africa
    Written statement
    Jan 20, 2012

    South Africa has failed to clarify its position on the 22 recommendations made during the first UPR cycle in 2008 – making the assessment of the implementation problematic.  South Africa should clearly communicate its responses and commitments on all recommendations made during its second UPR cycle. 

  • Healthcare is failing women
    Commentary
    Dec 20, 2011

    South Africa has one of the world's highest incidences of violence, including rape and domestic violence, against women. A study by Interpol estimates that, in South Africa, a woman is raped every 17 seconds and one in four South African women suffers domestic violence.

      

  • Beyond corrective rape
    Commentary
    Dec 12, 2011
    United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a simple but profound message in her United­ Nations speech in Geneva last week. Her message: human rights are indivisible and governments cannot selectively withhold rights.
  • South Africa: LGBT Rights in Name Only?
    Press release
    Dec 5, 2011
    Black lesbians and transgender men in South African townships and rural areas face an overwhelming climate of discrimination and violence despite protections promised them in the country’s constitution, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
  • South Africa: Vote on Protection of Information Bill Damaging
    Press release
    Nov 22, 2011

    South Africa’s parliament vote to pass the controversial Protection of State Information Bill is a blow to freedom of expression and democratic accountability, Human Rights Watch said today.  Parliament should have heeded the calls of South African civil society,  representatives of the media, and political opposition and refrained from holding the vote. 

  • A Globalized LGBT Rights Fight
    Commentary
    Nov 2, 2011
    In 1994 South Africa included protections for sexual orientation in its interim Constitution — the first country in the world to do so. The following year the president of neighboring Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, condemned homosexuality as a perversion imported from the West.
  • On Women’s Choices, South Africa Should Continue to Lead
    Commentary
    Oct 31, 2011
    The United Nations is not always known for clarity, but on October 24 it issued a report that is crystal clear. Women who need or choose to have abortions should not be punished by their governments. Women, the report affirmed, are entitled to information, family planning, and health services that constitute the human right to health.
  • Keeping Health Systems Accountable: A Critical Component of the Every Woman, Every Child Campaign
    Commentary
    Oct 20, 2011

    Abeba M., an Ethiopian refugee living in Port Elizabeth, a small coastal town of South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province, developed severe high blood pressure during her pregnancy. She went to a district hospital for treatment of this dangerous condition, but left because “the nurses and doctors did not treat me well,” she told me. She had to return when her condition worsened, though, and was admitted. Instead of getting the help she needed, she experienced treatment delays, abuse, and negligence.

  • IBSA: Push Syria to End Bloodshed
    Press release
    Oct 15, 2011
    India, Brazil, and South Africa are not leveraging their rising global influence to help stop the bloodshed in Syria.