The outcome of the ANCs long-awaited KwaZulu-Natal conference was a win for the Thuma Mina crowd. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
Socio Economic Justice for All (SEJA), known by the popular name Amarightza, is a programme of the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR) in partnership with the department of justice and constitutional development (DOJ&CD) and the European Union.
The foundation’s mission is to address the legacy of apartheid, assist with building a constitutional democracy, and contribute to building strong civil society organisations and public institutions that promote, protect and fulfil human rights.
The goal is to create an active citizenry, aware of their rights and how to access them.
The foundation targets vulnerable groups. Its work with the DOJ&CD in areas including the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, hate crimes and the National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, extends across the programme.
The foundation’s work with migration fits into the broader mandate of its programme. This is done in the understanding that we have to address the root issues of poverty and assist the government in realising its mandate to provide socioeconomic rights. The foundation supports civil society attendance of sessions of African Commission.
In addressing the injustices of the past as well as in dealing with the reverberations of conflicts in the rest of Africa, the foundation is aware that the principles of transitional justice which seek to end impunity and prevent recurrence must prevail in times of extended transition and transformation. Its work on the continent is an extension of its local work.
A window of opportunity
FHR, through the work of Yasmin Sooka, the executive director who co-authored the African Union’s Transitional Justice Policy Framework and who serves on the high level panel on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, recognises that the resolution offers African women a window of opportunity to build sustainable peace and human security.
A conference in Uganda last month noted that 15 years after Resolution 1325, there is an urgent need to address the unequal power relations between women and men. Recognising unequal resource distribution and promoting economic empowerment strategies are fundamental to all of the work of the FHR.
In addition the FHR supports iMeditate Africa, a free campaign that promotes peace in Africa, encouraging the use of meditation, mindfulness or quiet time as an essential element in peacebuilding for the continent. On May 23, a live webcast led by the humanitarian Sri Sri Ravishankar, united 20 African countries with the global community in a public peace meditation. This approach complements the struggle for equality.