Limited access to health care, violence against women, and deaths in police custody in South Africa are among issues highlighted in an Amnesty International report on human rights abuses released on Wednesday.
”One of the issues that bugs us is limited access to health care … [the] government is dragging its feet over anti-retrovirals and we join other organisations in condemning this,” said Amnesty International South Africa chairperson Samkelo Mokhini.
Speaking in Johannesburg at the release of Amnesty’s annual report on the state of the world’s human rights, Mokhini said there are concerns about a 47% increase in complaints of police violations in 2004.
There was also a 35% increase in deaths in police custody, according to the Independent Complaints Directorate.
”We thought that 10 years into democracy this would be something that would not be found,” Mokhini said.
Amnesty is also very concerned about the high rate of violence against women in South Africa.
”We think the political will is still lacking to deal with violence against women in South Africa,” Mokhini said.
”If 55 000 women are raped in a year, the state has failed in its duty to protect them.”
Mokhini also criticised the South African government for not taking a firmer stance against human rights violations in Zimbabwe.
”South Africa, domestically … has committed itself to human rights … but sometimes one gets the impression they don’t want to export what happens at home.
”I think South Africa should assert itself a bit more, especially in Zimbabwe,” he said. — Sapa