Human Rights Month Wrap Up - We Are Still Far From The Finish Line
As the latest COVID-19 strain looming over and with oil/gas prices remaining unstable, South Africans have spent the last month commemorating our forefathers whose bodies were sacrificed for our Human Rights. Whether it was the students who fought against Bantu Education in the 1976 Soweto Uprising to the 69 people who died protesting unfair pass laws, South Africa has a long history of civilians standing up to the oppressive systems which shackle them.
As much as we should be taking the time to praise our cadres, universal human rights are not a reality for most people, even if they technically have been implemented and upheld for decades.
To most people, they're just words, not a tangible means for the end of their subjugation.
There is no way of going around it; people are dying because they lack rights. Syria, Palestine, Yemen and Ukraine-Russia are just some of the conflict zones in the world where Human Rights aren't accessible for all, considering the significant effects of war on the globe.
Please read our article here on the economic impacts of war -> https://bit.ly/3JgvRqA
And for South Africa, our set of deep, systemic issues stems from the lack of human rights and the bastardisation of the term Ubuntu -> with many settlers on the African continent slowly but surely chipping away at the meaning.
Yes, we have overcome and shouldn't forget it. There are many instances where the people of this country have shown their value for humanity. From the triumphant end of apartheid to putting our nation on the map, we proudly exclaim that we are making progress. Steps have been taken.
But that is not enough to fix the almost irreparable damage that continues to wreak havoc on society.
Following the 'heinous' and 'barbarian' of World War II, in 1948, the newly-founded United Nations (UN) adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document outlines the fundamental Rights that an individual is due.
But even in 2022, most people cannot say that their basic rights as human beings are met/fulfilled.
Racism, classism, sexism, transphobia, misogyny, ableism, general discrimination, hate, murder, violence, attacks, a lack of service delivery – If your humanity is to be undermined, South Africa can offer you that much when one feels like maybe we have made progress.
It seems like humanity is only valued for some members of our society: those who have been seen as the standard for being human.
If your lights don't turn on at night, and that may somehow land up in your untimely death, how can we so boldly claim to have implemented human rights all those years ago by the UN?
According to the latest report by the World Bank, South Africa still holds tight on the title of "Most Unequal Country in the World", with the Gini Index frightfully exposing the absolute lack of humanity in our nation. Considering the civil unrest in Durban in July 2021 and the continued failure on the part of our currently elected government, it's no wonder that the state of the nation remains in tatters.
We have hope. Every day, young and bright individuals remind us that we have the potential to be a loving and healthy modern society that values human existence. From innovators to thought leaders, we have modern people with modern solutions. But with the current systems of oppression or inequality, we have a difficult path to tough out before we can even say there are Human Rights for most people.