Durban - The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in the province will embarked on a host of activities on Tuesday to commemorate Human Rights Day.
The commission will be doing activations in Newcastle and Charlestown tomorrow, when they will be visiting schools, clinics, police stations, the Department of Social Development and taxi ranks in the Amajuba District.
Pavershree Padayachee, SAHRC’s acting provincial manager, said the commission could not pre-determine how the national shutdown called for tomorrow would impact on its planned activities but they would be proceeding with their activities for the week as planned.
“We do anticipate that there might be certain areas that we may not be able to access, and should this be the case we will rearrange the order of our planned activities to ensure that we achieve what we set out to.
“We have engaged with the relevant stakeholders that we are working and or/partnering with to discuss such measures,” said Padayachee. She said in the event that road access was blocked, the commission had identified measures to shift the dates of their engagements to slightly later in the week, if necessary.
“All stakeholders and service providers have been notified accordingly. We believe that we will be able to continue with our work, despite the threats/allegations being made. In doing so, we will prioritise the safety of all, including our HRC staff and will liaise with the relevant authorities, if and where necessary,” she said.
The provincial government, led by Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, will visit police stations in the Abaqulusi Municipality, on Human Rights Day, to assess human rights standards and practices, and the local farming community, which according to the provincial government, often bears the brunt of human rights violations.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver a keynote address on Tuesday at De Aar in the Northern Cape.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE