Examining the Health of Human Rights in South Africa
21 March 2024
This Human Rights Day, the FW de Klerk Foundation invites you to examine the degree to which rights and freedoms in the Bill of Rights are being enjoyed in practice.
“Every year, the Foundation assesses the degree to which rights and freedoms are being enjoyed as a lived reality by South Africans through its annual Human Rights Report Card,” says Daniela Ellerbeck, Constitutional Programmes Manager at the FW de Klerk Foundation.
The Report identifies the 10 constitutional rights most at risk. It also includes a dashboard that provides an overview of the grades awarded to rights. Overall, 2023 saw a deterioration in 16/27 rights, no change in 5/27 rights and improvements in 6/27 rights.
“The Report looks at macro and micro factors that pose increasing risks to the Constitution’s founding values - such as the rule of law - and fundamental rights,” says Shaun Kinnes, an intern at the Foundation.
“We are also heading towards the seventh general election. This makes the Report’s assessment of the health of political rights and its examination of the developments that took place during 2023 and that affected these rights (and related rights) all the more important,” adds Siyakudumisa Zicina, also an intern at the Foundation.
READ THE FULL HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT CARD 2023
Issued by FW de Klerk Foundation, 21 March 2024
