everyone
Nalisha Kalideen
Although South Africa’s Bill of Rights is one of the best in the world, most people are still not aware of it or their rights as enshrined in it, says Paula McBride, the co-ordinator of the recently formed Rights Africa.
It is because of this lack of human rights awareness within South Africa that Rights Africa was formed on behalf of the European Union Foundation for Human Rights. Its aim is to fill the gap in awareness of human rights by integrating human rights issues into popular culture.
Although the campaign is directed at the South African population in general, there are six special interest groups that receive special focus. They include people living with HIV/Aids, refugees and prisoners.
Rights Africa wants to create awareness primarily through the Rights Advice helpline that has been set up to provide callers with advice on human rights. Ten operators, who among them have knowledge of all official 11 languages, man the call centre.
The advice line has been operating since December last year, and is basically an information centre which aims to help callers through the procedures they can follow when their human rights have been violated and refer them to the proper places which specialise in that particular issue.
The intention behind the creation of this helpline was to create something that provides a service to the people. McBride feels that although awareness and education are central to human rights, they will be ineffective if people are unaware of where and how to use them.
To date a large percentage of the callers have been from KwaZulu-Natal or Gauteng, are Zulu speaking and require advice on labour and discrimination issues. This data – accumulated from the helpline – will ultimately be used to compile an annual report on human rights awareness. The report will provide an empirical assessment of the levels of human rights awareness in South Africa and McBride hopes that it will provide assistance to existing human rights institutions.
But it is not only through the helpline that Rights Africa intends to generate awareness. It also has a media campaign by way of television, radio and posters. A music road show and advertising on taxis are already in the pipeline and celebrities such as soccer stars Papi Khomane and Daniel Mudau, actress Florence Masabe and popular musicians Claire Johnston and Arthur have been roped in to help spread the word of human rights awareness.
“Society is about individuals and it is the intention of this campaign to try and open a door to individuals and their human rights issues.
“As a democracy South Africa has a Constitution to be proud of, but it needs to become real, and to do that it needs to come into our homes and our everyday lives,” says McBride.
She adds that she wants people to stop thinking of human rights as a concept outside of themselves, but as something that belongs to them as individuals.
The Rights Africa advice line is at 0860 120 120, or log on to www.rightsafrica.co.za