Issued by: Department: Justice and Constitutional Development
3 March 2002
Human Rights Day in South Africa is celebrated annually on 21 March. During the 90th Anniversary celebrations of the African National Congress, the President, Mr Thabo Mbeki, subsequently declared that March 2002 should be celebrated as Human Rights Month. In view of this statement, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has developed a campaign that will focus on both key and support initiatives. It is an undeniable fact that most public awareness campaigns have focused on only the rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights, while little attention has been given to constitutional duties and responsibilities naturally linked to these rights. The campaign therefore, will be multi-disciplinary and multi-faceted in its approach.
The campaign is underpinned by the following principles:
The following activities are planned for the month:
Vusi goes to court - 5 March 2002
The theme is derived from the Director General, Vusi Pikoli, who will, together with the Minister and Deputy Minister be leading the campaign, where the National and Regional Offices staff will work at a court in their regions on Tuesday, 5 March. Staff will be assisting with a range of actions like cleaning, sweeping, painting, repairs, staffing of advice and information desks and assisting with administrative and professional duties etc.
Workshop for Commissioners of Child Welfare - 6 - 8 March 2002
This workshop will be looking at the issues of children and the law with special focus to HIV/Aids impact on children as well as children's grants and foster care.
International Women's Day - 8 March 2002
An information Session will be held for the Winterveld community with special focus on Maintenance, Domestic Violence and Customary Marriages.
Information Campaign - 13 March 2002
NGO's and Civil Society in general will assist in our Information Campaign. Pamphlets, newsletters and publications on inter alia children's rights, anti corruption, domestic violence, etc. will be distributed.
Adopt a Court Week - 14 March 2002
The Minister will address a luncheon for key business executives to promote the adopt a court project. The Minister will initiate talks with business to adopt courts in need.
Human Rights Day - 21 March 2002
This event, attended by the Presidency, will take place on Thursday 21 March 2002 from 10h00 onwards in the Western Cape. The focus will be on Children's rights, duties and responsibilities with emphasis on the abuse of children.
Official Opening of the Model Court Mitchell's Plain - 27 March 2002
The Minister will officially open the Model Court at Mitchells Plain which was upgraded to a model court status. The objective of the model court project is to provide a fully equipped and functional court facility for the people of Mitchells Plain and to put all facilities under one roof with the view of minimising travelling for the community. This model court has facilities for disabled people, information desks, baby changing facilities and secure witness rooms. It also accommodates the family court centre, to provide civil and family related services, as well as a sexual offences court with an adjacent child witness room.
Also entrenched in the model court is the implementation of the latest state of the art information technology systems in an effort to boost service delivery to all recipients of the judicial process. The provision of proper and sensible training programs to court officials which also forms a complete part of the model court plan, is in an effort to elevate the level of service delivery.
Give a Can Campaign - 28 March 2002
Departmental officials will get actively involved in this campaign under a theme "Give a Can: Show You Care". This campaign will entail donating a can (e.g. canned food like meat, vegetables, condensed milk, etc.) which will be donated to local shelters and/or homes. Local supermarkets and companies will also be approached. On 28 March, in closing the Human Rights Month, a tower of cans will be build in Pretoria where all role-players will participate. Directors of several shelters and homes in and around Pretoria will be invited to come and collect a share for their respective homes and shelters.
The Department will be taking the lead in rendering voluntary service to the people to recapture the spirit of letsema, ilima. Coverage from the media on the various issues will thus be appreciated.