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Doublespeak: Second Vice President, Enock Kamzingeni Chihana. Photo: Mikel Images

Malawian state’s rhetoric belies reality

Communities grapple daily with failing health services, entrenched corruption and gender inequality, leaving women and girls literally walking for survival

Malian police dispersed a demonstration against the presence of the French army in the country, on the fifth anniversary of the French military intervention. (Voice of America Africa via Wikimedia Commons)

Strength in exile: West African defenders building Hope across borders

With greater support for protection systems, human rights defenders can overcome the many obstacles that have been thrown in their path

Members of the Black Sash and Movement for Colonial Freedom  and the Black march to South Africa House in London to deliver a memorandum to South African prime minister JG Strijdom. Photo: ulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis/Getty Images

Apartheid, crimes against humanity: How the law remembers the past

The 80th anniversary of WWII is an opportune moment to reflect on the future of justice in South Africa

Paramedics tend to a person injured by police during protests in Mbabane in 2021 as security forces cracked down on pro-democracy protests in Africa’s last absolute monarchy. Photo: AFP

eSwatini’s 20 years of constitutionalism characterised by a crackdown on freedom of expression

The country’s revival of the Sedition and Subversion Act is a revival of a colonial law that stifles human rights.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948, but in this new era, we may be headed for the end of this global pact.

Human rights threatened by crude global power games

There are worrying signs that the world is headed for a new form of colonialism as Trump sets a precedent domestically and abroad

Academics say claims by politicians and on social media are fueling xenophobia and could compromise their safety.  Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance /Getty Images

South African research funds ‘at risk’ over Gaza stance

A number of local universities may face cuts to their funding after cutting ties with Israeli institutions

In Africa, refugees struggle to enjoy human rights and freedoms.

African governments pay lip service to the human rights of refugees

Those on the fringes of society are too easily excluded from political and democratic affairs

UN Security Council

Africa must have permanent representation on UN Security Council

The British high commissioner to South Africa reflects on the value of the United Nations for the UK and South Africa to achieve shared objectives

Empty graves after exhumation of bodies in the mass grave created during the Russian’s occupation in Izyum, Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP)

Human rights dealt a blow by 2022

New and ongoing conflicts and rise of authoritarianism undermine vision for universal human rights

French President of Council Vincent Auriol pronounces a speech during the opening ceremony of the third United Nations Assembly at the close of which, on December 10, 1948, was adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP

10 December marks two anniversaries: South Africa’s Constitution and Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Although the rights enshrined in the Declaration have sparked change and transformation globally and here in South Africa, the world continues to face multiple crises

Anger: Supporters of China’s Muslim Uyghur minority burn a poster of President Xi Jinping after China was accused of crimes against humanity over its treatment of the Uyghur. (Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images)

The world needs to take human rights seriously

Freedom of conscience and movement cannot be used as a reason not to wear a mask or to be vaccinated

US President Donald Trump (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

2018, the year of women’s rights?

A new report by Amnesty International has urged governments around the world to prioritise making resources available for the empowerment of women

The coronavirus outbreak has left millions at the mercy of the country’s warring factions, which will not stop fighting, despite an escalating humanitarian emergency. (Mohammed Huwais/AFP)

What does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights mean in today’s fractured world?

The 70th anniversary of the declaration is a critical time to reaffirm its importance and guarantee its continued relevance

Manchester United’s Paul Pogba celebrates with team mates after scoring their second goal (Jason Cairnduff/Action Images/Reuters)

Botswana hangs on to the death penalty

Most of Africa is abandoning the death penalty but Botswana — an affluent, landlocked, diamond-exporting state — is among the leading exceptions