Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, A/HRC/17/26/Add.1, 18 May 2011: South Africa
South Africa Allegation letter 204. On 14 January 2011, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of...Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, A/HRC/17/33/Add.4, 2 May 2011: South Africa
IV. GOOD PRACTICES A. Constitutional and legal guarantees 22. The Special Rapporteur was informed of the strong constitutional and legal guarantees that protect all persons in South Africa against deprivation of liberty and the progressive enumeration of social and...Concluding Observations, CEDAW/C/ZAF/CO/4, 5 April 2011: South Africa
Sexual orientation 39. The Committee notes that the State party has in its Constitution the prohibition of discrimination based on the sexual orientation of individuals. However, the Committee expresses grave concern about reported sexual offences and murder committed...
Camp : Economic, Social and Cultural Rights advocacy and litigation in Southern Africa
The ICJ has invited to a 4-day Camp around 35 experts from the SADC regions to exchange experience, identify risks, difficulties and opportunities for a better protection and enjoyment of ESC rights.
Although economic, social and cultural rights continue suffering from prejudices against their legal nature and their ability to be enforced by courts, developments in international and national law in the last two decades have reinforced their status as “real” human rights as well as their equal value and importance.
At the regional level, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights particularly emphasizes the interdependence of human rights. Moreover, the Charter does not differentiate between provisions for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights and those for the realization of civil and political rights.
Such equal treatment provides the possibility to challenge states’ reluctance or failure to protect, promote and fulfill socio- economic rights in the South Africa Development Community (SADC).
However, most challenges to human rights violations in the SADC region have tended to focus on violations of civil and political rights even though economic and social rights are daily concerns of the people. This gap is particularly due to a lack of capacity of the lawyers and human rights activists as well as social justice practitioners who are interested in socio-economic rights advocacy and litigation.
In order to contribute to reduce this gap, the Africa regional office of the International Commission of Jurists has invited to a 4-day ESCR Camp around 35 experts from the SADC regions. Together with international experts on economic, social and cultural rights, the participants will, exchange experience, identify risks, difficulties and opportunities for a better protection and enjoyment of these human rights.
South Africa-ESCR advocacy litigation-agenda-2010 (full text in English, PDF)
South Africa-ESCR advocacy litigation-event-2010 (ful text in English, PDF)




