Respect, Protect, Fulfill: The Implementation of the Human Right to Water in South Africa

2011 ◽  
pp. 415-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inga T. Winkler
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Right

Involuntary Circumcision of Males in Illegal Initiation Schools in South Africa: A Violation of African Customary Human Rights?

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Porsche Makama
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Topical Issue ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Traditional Practice

The incidence of deaths associated with the practice of forced and botched circumcisions at initiation schools has become a topical issue in South Africa. In recent times, the number of deaths and injuries among initiates has risen at an alarming rate, most of them occurring at illegal initiation schools. The continuous rise in the number of injuries among initiates at these schools has elicited mixed reactions among community members, some referring to it as genocide in the case of fatalities and calling for its abandonment, while others argue that this traditional practice should be allowed to continue. The majority of young men who go to initiation schools do not make the decision on their own, nor do they have a choice in the matter. Instead they are compelled by parents or guardians, influenced by friends, and also coerced by others in the community who insist that they have to ‘go to the mountain’, as initiation schools are generally referred to in South Africa. It has been argued by those against circumcision that this practice infringes constitutional rights and contravenes the Children’s Act 38 of 2005. There have been numerous instances where young and even mature males have been taken from the streets, or even from the comfort of their homes, and forced into circumcision camps with or without their consent. This begs the question whether the continued practice of a cultural tradition that violates the fundamental human right and freedom to choose religious and cultural beliefs is justifiable.

Housing as a Basic Human Right: A Reflection on South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mziwandile Sobantu ◽  
Nqobile Zulu ◽  
Ntandoyenkosi Maphosa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
Human Rights Discourse

This paper reflects on human rights in the post-apartheid South Africa housing context from a social development lens. The Constitution guarantees access to adequate housing as a basic human right, a prerequisite for the optimum development of individuals, families and communities. Without the other related socio-economic rights, the provision of access to housing is limited in its service delivery. We argue that housing rights are inseparable from the broader human rights discourse and social development endeavours underway in the country. While government has made much progress through the Reconstruction and Development Programme, the reality of informal settlements and backyard shacks continues to undermine the human rights prospects of the urban poor. Forced evictions undermine some poor citizens’ human rights leading courts to play an active role in enforcing housing and human rights through establishing a jurisprudence that invariably advances a social development agenda. The authors argue that the post-1994 government needs to galvanise the citizenship of the urban poor through development-oriented housing delivery.

COUNTRY DIFFERENCES IN HOUSING RIGHTS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Тамерлан Шайх-Магомедович Едреев
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Housing Rights ◽  
Country Differences ◽  
The Right

Каждый имеет право на жилище. Никто не может быть произвольно лишен жилища. В статье проанализированы особенности реализации универсального права человека на жилище в отдельных странах (на примере Нидерландов и ЮАР), принадлежащих к разным правовым семьям. Everyone has the right to housing. No one can be arbitrarily deprived of their home. The article analyzes the features of the implementation of the universal human right to housing in individual countries (on the example of the Netherlands and South Africa) belonging to different legal families.

scholarly journals Intersectoral (in)activity: towards an understanding of public sector department links between water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and childhood undernutrition in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 829-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Momberg ◽  
P Mahlangu ◽  
B C Ngandu ◽  
J May ◽  
S A Norris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Physical Growth ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Poor Child ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Sanitation And Hygiene ◽  
Nutritional Status Of Children ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Associations between different forms of malnutrition and environmental conditions, including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), contribute to poor child health, nutritional status and physical growth. The primary responsibility for the provision of water and sanitation, as a basic service and human right, lies with the State, as such, a number of stakeholders are involved. Despite relatively high levels of WASH infrastructure coverage in South Africa, enteric infections and stunting remain high for a middle-income country. The aim of this study is to elucidate the landscape of WASH in South Africa in relation to nutritional status of children under the age of 5 years in the South African, Gauteng and City of Johannesburg contexts. The authors detailed the national and provincial public sector departments and through purposive sampling proceeded to map the various departments and associated policies that are responsible for the provision of WASH facilities, as well the nutritional status of children. Of the six policies identified for review, three mentioned WASH, nutrition and children; however, none explicitly linked WASH to nutritional status in children. An in-depth review and analysis of these three crucial policy documents was conducted. Finally, a set of expert interviews were conducted and a consensus development conference convened, with experts at the intersection between WASH and nutritional status. The authors found that the public sector would benefit from better integration of the concept of WASH into their policy, planning and implementation frameworks. The WASH sector should emphasize the role in which WASH plans consider the impact of WASH on the nutritional status of children. The various public sector departments involved in WASH service provision, and other WASH stakeholders, including community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations and intergovernmental organizations, should be involved in the decision-making of the nutrition sector.

scholarly journals The nutritional status of Grade 1 pupils, in Bloemfontein, South Africa and its association with socio-demographic data

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanneke Brits ◽  
Riana Augustyn ◽  
Elzette Bezuidenhout ◽  
Marisa Cillie ◽  
Roelof J.v. Vuuren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Running Water ◽  
Child Deaths ◽  
Growth Reference ◽  
Baseline Characteristics ◽  
Socio Economic Factors

Background: Despite the fact that UNICEF declared freedom from hunger and malnutrition abasic human right in 1948, more than 20 million children were severely malnourished in 2010 and a further 170 million were stunted. Malnutrition attributes to > 50% of child deaths by potentiating infectious diseases.Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the extent of malnutrition in Grade 1 pupils in public sector schools in Bloemfontein. An objective of the study was to identify relationships between socio-economic parameters and malnutrition.Method: Grade 1 pupils from ten public schools in Bloemfontein, selected from a random table, were included in the study. Their parents/caregivers gave informed consent and completed a questionnaire regarding baseline characteristics and feeding practices at home.The children were then weighed and measured, and the 2007 WHO Growth Reference forschool-aged children and adolescents used as reference.Results: A total of 187 children were included in the study. The combination of underweight, wasting and stunting gave an 18% prevalence of malnutrition in this study. A BMI of less than the fifth percentile occurred in 27% of the pupils. Factors positively associated withmalnutrition included: Absence of a fridge and/or running water in the house and loweducation and/or unemployment of parents. Illness in the previous month was reported by 41% of the malnourished children.Conclusion: As socio-economic factors that contribute to malnutrition are now known, teachers will be able to identify and refer children with or at risk of malnutrition and indirectly decrease child mortality.

The Human Right to Water in South Africa and the Mazibuko Decisions

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 521-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Humby ◽  
Maryse Grandbois
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
The South ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Lower Courts ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
South African Constitution ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Of Access

The right of access to sufficient water in the South African Constitution has for long been regarded as progressive in a global context where the human right to water is still a subject of contention. In its recent decision handed down in the Mazibuko matter, the South African Constitutional Court interpreted the right of access to sufficient water for the first time and clarified the nature of the State’s obligations which flow from this right. It also commented upon the role of the courts in adjudicating the human right to water. This article describes the passage of the Mazibuko matter and the manner in which the lower courts interpreted the right of access to “sufficient water” as well as outlining the Constitutional Court’s decision in the context of access to water services provision in South Africa.

scholarly journals The south african environment and the 1996 Constitution

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis J. Kotzé
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
South African ◽  
The South ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Future Developments ◽  
The Republic

This study brings the debate upon environmental protection in the Republic of South Africa since the 1996 Constitution enactment which conformed it as a justifiable human right. The contribution begins with some considerations about (in) the development of the environmental right. The more pertinent constitutional provisions related to the environment are discussed, and there are some remarks about future developments in this field.

THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT: A ONE­ EYED APPROACH TO TRUTH-SEEKING?

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mabona Thomas Mokoena
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Crime Control ◽  
The United States ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Criminal Process ◽  
The Right ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Constitutional Analysis

The right to remain silent is one of the most important symbols of a fair trial in the accusatorial legal systems, to which South Africa also belongs. In certain countries, such as the United States and South Africa, this right is constitutionally entrenched as a fundamental human right, which virtually guarantees that adverse inferences cannot be drawn against an accused who fails to disclose pre-trial information. The accused is thereby excluded as a critical source of information during this stage of the proceedings. In essence, this means that the criminal process is compelled to close one eye to a valuable and crucial source of information. other jurisdictions within the accusatorial family, notably England and  Scotland,  have  introduced legislation aimed  at crime  control which essentially compels the accused to break his or her silence during the pre-trial stage of the criminal process. The very essence of the right to remain silent as a fundamental human right is proving problematic to the South African Constitutional Court when considering it within the context of the  limitation clause. It is argued, in this article, that the solution lies, first, in a substantive constitutional analysis of rights and,  secondly, in interpreting the right as a functional evidentiary principle with the aim of securing procedural fairness.

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