On the 25th anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre, on 21 March 1985, members of the South African Police opened fire on a crowd of people attending the funeral of an apartheid activist in Langa, Eastern Cape. This incident became known as the Langa massacre.

Since 1994, the government has commemorated these painful chapters of our past to unify South Africans and affirm our human rights culture. It is an affirmation that the dark deeds of our history will never be repeated in a democratic society.

What are human rights?
Human rights are rights that everyone should have simply because they are human. In 1948, the United Nations defined 30 human rights articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It established universal human rights based on humanity, freedom, justice, and peace.

South Africa has included indivisible human rights in our Bill of Rights, Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. The articles of our Constitution can only be changed by a two-thirds majority in Parliament, which means it is difficult for anyone, including the government, to take away the basic rights of a citizen.

The Bill of Rights preserved in our Constitution is the cornerstone of our constitutional and representative democracy. The Constitution as our supreme law means that no laws that go against it may be passed. The Bill of Rights also comprehensively addresses South Africa’s history of oppression, colonialism, slavery, racism, sexism and other human violations. The Bill of Rights embeds the rights of all people in our country in an enduring affirmation of the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom.

Contributing to fostering a human rights culture in the country and workplace
So, how does one create a fair and just society, especially considering the historical context of South Africa? This is done through education, advocacy, leadership, accountability and dialogue.

Education is critical in building a human rights culture in South Africa. Education should cover the historical context of South African human rights struggles, which must be included in school and university curriculums. It is, therefore, crucial for education to cover human rights values, principles, and standards. In addition, human rights education should continue in communities and the workplace.

Advocacy is related to raising awareness of human rights violations and ensuring effective laws that can adequately protect and promote human rights.

Leaders in our country, communities and workplaces must conduct themselves as role models by speaking out against any violation of human rights and ensuring that policies are geared to address these transgressions.

Accountability for any perpetrator requires an effective justice system to investigate and prosecute human rights violations by focusing on issues such as corruption and inequality that contribute to the violation of human rights of others.

Dialogue and conversation are important in building a human rights culture and should involve society, including government, civil society and the workplace.

Inclusivity implies dealing with discrimination and inequality and that people are treated with dignity and respect regarding any aspect of who they are as human beings.

The venerable pan-African institution, Unisa, continues to promote human rights in various ways, including through access to education by raising funds for disadvantaged and deserving students who cannot pursue their studies due to outstanding debts at the university. Among others, the university will, later this year, hold the second Shaping Futures Golf Challenge to raise funds for financially needy and academically deserving students. The university also invites society members to help invest in the future and assist these worthy students by donating.

To promote education and dialogue relating to human rights, and in line with Unisa’s 150th-anniversary theme Reclaiming Africa’s Intellectual Futures, the university’s Department of Leadership and Transformation will host a Human Rights Month Seminar themed Fostering greater social cohesion, nation-building, and a shared national identity on 23 March 2023. Among others, issues to be discussed at the seminar include 150 years of Unisa’s history and the notion of human rights, and the Constitution from a Bill of Rights perspective – the role of Unisa as the largest ODeL institution expanding access to the poor and working-class students.