President Jacob Zuma will lead the national Human Rights Day commemoration on 21 March 2013, at Mbekweni Township in Paarl, Cape Town. He will later attend the memorial service in remembrance of the late Members of the Twelve Apostles’ Church in Christ who perished in the bus crash in De Doorns in the Western Cape.
The Department of Arts and Culture in partnership with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development will host the event, under the theme "United in advancing socio-economic freedom for all”.
The objectives of Human Rights Day are the following:
- To advance the idea of socio-economic freedom for all South Africans.
- To use the Human Rights month as a vehicle to foster social cohesion, nation building, national identity, socio-economic development as well as to eradicate all forms of discrimination including xenophobia and homophobia.
- To promote unity in diversity among all sectors of the South African society.
- To create awareness through educational programmes, dialogues and public engagements on the importance of Human Rights.
The origin of Human Rights Day is the Sharpeville Massacre that took place on 21 March 1960, in which more than 60 people were tragically killed by the apartheid state. The democratic state designated the day as the national day for affirming the human rights culture enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic, and to ensure that the country never again experiences gross human rights violations by a government, as happened in Sharpeville and other areas.
The United Nations later designated the day as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
The commemoration this year emphasises the need to move beyond the political gains of freedom and promotes the socio-economic rights or second generation rights in the Constitution such as rights to basic services and others.
The details of the event are as follows:
Venue: Embekweni Indoor sport complex in Paarl, Western Cape
Time: 09h00
Date: 21 March 2013
The memorial service of the late TACC members
Time: 14h00
Venue: Mandela Park Stadium, Khayelitsha, Western Cape
Enquiries:
Zanele Mngadi
Cell: 082 330 1148
E-mail: zanele@po.gov.za
Bongani Majola
Cell: 082 339 1993
E-mail: bonganim@po.gov.za or mediaenquiries@po.gov.za
