The Chairperson, Advocate P.G Malindie;

Director of the Lawyers for Human Rights, Advocate Jansen Rudolf;

Advocate of the High Court, Dr Mathole Motshekga;

Cosatu general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi;

First Deputy President of Cosatu Sdumo Dlamini and other Cosatu officials present;

Mr Tokyo Sexwale;

Secretary-general of MKMVA, Ayanda Dlodlo;

Ambassadors, High Commissioners and other members of the diplomatic corps;

Ladies and Gentlemen

Thank you for the invitation to address this public discussion marking an important event on the international calendar. The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations represented a moment in time when the nations of the world jointly recognized the value of human life irrespective of race, gender, nationality or class.

The Universal Declaration entrenched the dignity and rights of every member of the human race and set out to promote respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The adoption of the Declaration of Human Rights became an important tool to those who were fighting for their freedoms and self-determination in the colonies of the world, particularly in Africa.
Sadly, ladies and gentlemen, 59 years since its adoption, we fall short of meeting the call by the Assembly at the time for all member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories".

As remarkable as this document is in spelling out the rights of every member of our human family, it is such a rare commodity even in educational institutions. And thus, our world teems with so many people deprived of their basic human rights simply because they do not know what their rights are. The former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali once noted: "It has long been recognized that an essential element in protecting human rights was a widespread knowledge among the population of what their rights are and how they can be defended".

For this reason, the initiative by the Lawyers for Human Rights to host a public discussion on human and people's rights is commendable. Globally, there are constant attacks on the fundamental rights of others, and public engagements such as these assist in identifying threats to the rights, freedoms and dignity of others and help formulate our responses.

In South Africa, we are fortunate that our political history created a society which is extremely vigilant and outspoken on issues of our rights and freedoms. Because so many of us were robbed and deprived of our rights, as a nation, we appreciate the value the fundamental rights we now enjoy, protected by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, our Constitution recognizes and entrenches that as human beings, we are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

We have traveled a long journey through time to secure these cherished rights, a journey which is important for all South Africans to know.

The formation of the ANC in 1912 was as a result, among other things, of the African people being deprived of all political, economic, land, social and human rights. As an organization of the most oppressed section of the South African population, the ANC from its very inception placed high on its agenda, the question of human rights for all.

The ANC at its conference in 1923 adopted what is termed the African Bill of Rights. The ANC was the first organization to promote the idea of a Bill of Rights for South Africa as early as 1923. Still regarding themselves as the subject of the British Monarchy, the conference declared the adoption of the "democratic principles of equality of treatment and equality of citizenship in the land, irrespective of race, class, creed or origin". The then President of the ANC Rev Z. R. Mahabane stated in 1921 that South Africa "will never attain her noble ideal of peacefulness, happiness, prosperity, greatness and national unity....without the full and free cooperation of all the white and black races of the land and of all classes and conditions of men".

He and other leaders of the ANC believed in the restoration of African Humanity and Dignity as a prerequisite for establishing the human rights for all the peoples of the country.

During the Second World War and in response to Nazism and Fascism, the then US president and the British Prime Minister and the allied forces signed the Atlantic Charter which sought to define a free and peaceful world order post the World War. In response, the ANC drew up and adopted at its annual conference on 16 December 1943, the African Claims in South Africa. The African Claims advocated a Bill of rights which demanded full citizenship rights enjoyed by white South Africans. This Bill of Rights was a development to the 1923 Bill of Rights.

An interesting aspect of the African Claims Bill of Rights is that its demand for human rights included socio-economic rights, land rights and other rights which were far in advance of developments in many parts of the world. They demanded an end to discrimination based on race, the right of equal justice before the courts, freedom of movement and freedom of the press, free and compulsory education for every child, free medical and health services for all among other demands. It also addressed workers rights such as collective bargaining, a minimum wage and equal pay for equal work.

This Bill of Rights laid the basis of future development of the human rights perspectives of the liberation movement in South Africa. It also formed the basis of the liberation struggle in the coming decades. It created the condition for broadening the base of the liberation movement with the signing of a cooperation pact in 1947 between the ANC and the South African Indian Congress known as the Xuma-Dadoo-Naicker Pact which eventually led to the formation of the Congress Alliance in the early 1950's.

The formation of the Congress Alliance was informed by our commitment to freedom and equality and the human dignity of all people irrespective of race, colour or creed. It was the success of the Alliance that translated to the adoption of the Freedom Charter at Kliptown in 1955 at the Congress of the People - the first such fully representative gathering in the history of South Africa.

The Freedom Charter was adopted at the height of the Apartheid regime when the government was busy passing a host of discriminatory laws. The delegates that met at Kliptown responded with the claim that "South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of the people". The Freedom Charter became the corner stone that guided the policy and practices, the strategy and tactics of the ANC for over forty years after its adoption and still forms the core guiding principle of the ANC.

The Women's Charter of 1954 was adopted by the Federation of South African Women, a body in which the ANC Women's League played a leading role in its formation. The Charter became the guiding principle of women's emancipation in our country and firmly established the foundation of a non-sexist society in our country.

It was our commitment to human rights that led our President Oliver Tambo to sign the Geneva Convention of 1949 on behalf of the ANC and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and Protocol 1 of 1977. The ANC declared to abide by "international rules protecting the dignity of human beings...at all times". It declared that in the conduct of the struggle against apartheid it will "respect and be guided by the general principles of international humanitarian law applicable to armed conflict".

One of our first tasks as a new democracy was to formulate a Constitution and a Bill of Rights that protected and underlined the democratic values of non-racialism, equality and freedom which democratic forces led by the ANC championed throughout the decades of our liberation struggle.

It is important that we continue to educate ourselves about the good values of our democratic system and culture. This education must inculcate in us all a sentiment that there is no substitute or alternative to democracy, even in instances where we feel that democratic processes threaten our personal interests.

Most importantly, we must continue to uphold our Constitution and ensure that organs of state operate under the democratic principles enshrined in it. These principles must not be abused in any way by anyone. Our society is defined by a culture where injustice, even on the part of state institutions, is exposed and condemned by ordinary people. We have a society where ordinary citizens are the primary custodians of human rights and democracy.

This vigilance needs to be maintained as there should never be a time when the abuse of authority and state power is tolerated or excused. In the same vein, our citizens need to maintain careful watch to ensure the Separation of Powers such that the executive can never exercise undue influence over the judiciary and parliament. I say this as I believe that turning a blind eye to abuses of state power, no matter how small or insignificant they may appear, will eventually result in the unraveling of our system and the undermining of our rights as equal shareholders in our democracy.

Ladies and gentlemen, the reason we need a Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the kind of Constitution we have in South Africa, is because history has shown that throughout the ages, some human beings have an indeterminate and insatiable tendency to undermine and deprive the rights of others. It is that very tendency to visit injustice on fellow human beings which strips away at the "humaneness" of human beings. That urge to steal the dignity of others, ill-treat someone for selfish gain, or engineer people's suffering is what chips away at the very essence of a civilized human race.

It is these traits which feed the decay of society, the growth of despotic rule and lays the foundation for tyrannies. History is dotted with the legacies of tyrants who abused the rights of their citizens in order to usurp, enforce or hold on to power. It is tragic that many political leaders around the world, and on our continent, still fail to appreciate the values and principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as they preside over repressive regimes.

It is even more tragic that other world leaders who witness the repression pretend that it is not happening or is exaggerated, especially if it does not threaten their strategic interests at a particular time. When history eventually deals with the dictators, those who stood by and watched the deterioration of nations should also bear the consequences.

A shameful quality of the modern world is to turn away from injustice and ignore the hardships of others, to pretend that the oppression of other members of the human family have nothing to do with us. Wishing away human rights abuses in any part of the world do not stop them from occurring.

According to UN statistics, over a billion people live in absolute poverty, on a dollar a day or less, and every night millions go to bed hungry. In our country, pockets of grinding poverty exists just metres away from rolling opulence, and goes unnoticed by the rich. High suburban walls seal off the horror stories of starvation, malnutrition, disease and hopelessness. This cannot be consistent with the human rights culture on which our society is founded.

At the same time, we cannot wish away the fact that so many of us live in fear of violent crime, and therefore hide behind security barriers. This too is a curtailment of our fundamental right to safety and security as fear is not the natural state of a free people. Commemorative days like Human Rights Day provide an opportunity for us to reflect and think deeply about how to respond to these obstacles to a total enjoyment of our rights.

Ladies and gentlemen, empowered by our struggle for liberation, the value system which shapes our society and the guiding principles contained in our Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we should seek to change that which makes us less human.

We are not being called upon to drastically change the world, but rather to be more mindful of the realities of the communities in which we exist. Each member of our community has the right to life, dignity, free speech, just and favourable remuneration for work done and the right to universal suffrage. Poverty has become one of the biggest opponents of human rights, prohibiting the right to education, property, security, employment and even the right to life.

It is therefore an imperative that certain fundamentals are put in place to ensure enjoyment of basic human rights. I believe that the creation of a developmental state in line with the recent ANC Policy Conference resolutions will assist in enhancing our human rights culture and delivering basic rights to those who are currently deprived of them.

Poverty alleviation and eradication and the fight against hunger and starvation should always be a top priority on the national agenda. Widening access to education should also be prioritized in every corner of our country, as it remains the key to socio-economic development. In my view, we should strive for free education for every citizen as I believe education remains a fundamental basic human right. Our responses to HIV and AIDS and crime, which undermine the basic rights to life and security, should be treated as national emergencies.

Workers should be treated fairly and with dignity, and be paid decent wages, in humane working conditions.

The high level of abuse of women and children needs to be curbed, through greater community-based awareness and education programmes, as well as tougher penalties for perpetrators. Women empowerment and gender equity should be recognized as fundamental human rights issues, and not just catch-phrases which are resurrected for political expediency. Attention should be paid in particular to the daily struggles of women in rural areas and shack dwellings. These are women who battle to feed and clothe their children, who need the urgent improvement of their living conditions, and access to development, economic opportunities and various other rights.

All and any forms of injustice should be dealt with harshly through the legal system.

Ladies and gentlemen, none of the 30 Articles contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is more important than the other. Each article provides distinction to the light and shade which constitutes the total picture of our humanity.

The preamble of the Declaration notes that "disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people".

As we mark International Human Rights Day, let us pledge to champion this aspiration to restore the humaneness of human beings and make civilization more civilized. For peace and stability to be realized in the world, we should prioritise the respect and entrenchment of the rights of people so that we do not have citizens who appear to have more rights than others.

There is enough for all of us in this world that we could share and by so doing, guarantee peace, stability and total respect for human rights.

I thank you.