SA is still faced with human rights challenges

by Gabi Khumalo

Pretoria – South Africans are still faced with human rights challenges which have shifted them away from their culture and values, says South African Human Rights Commission Chairperson Jody Kollapen.

Speaking at the 3rd Human Rights Conference on Tuesday, Mr Kollapen said fifteen years into democracy and South Africans still find it difficult to practice values of human rights.

“Human rights are about reviving the culture and values including ubuntu and dignity, which we have lost connection with, building society is an area we haven’t been able to grasp yet,” he said.

Mr Kollapen said if the country is to leave a legacy for the next generation; it has to take stock on where it is and also have a level of honesty.

He said some South Africans were still living in their comfort zones and found it difficult to change.

“We still see it as insurmountable and we all still feel comfortable in our little comfort zones. It’s having the courage to transcend that, that’s sometimes lacking.

“It is only once individuals start to look each other in the eye and share and discuss their differences and develop humility that this could be overcome,” he said.

The two-day conference, themed ‘Unity in Diversity: Promoting and Advancing Constitutional Value in South Africa’, will deliberate on progress and current challenges in the quest to protect and promote human rights as well as entrenching a culture of human rights in South Africa.

Freedom Park Trust Chief Executive Officer, Dr Wally Serote said those who struggled for liberation were very conscious and deliberate to ensure the culture of human rights dominate in this country, however this has been displaced.

“It has been skewed and we need to relocate ourselves to that culture and all citizens must recognise that change did take place in this country,” he said.

He said human rights should be balanced with human obligation. – BuaNews