Johannesburg - The right to life and security of the person is still violated daily in South Africa, 29 years after the fall of the apartheid regime.
This is according to Amnesty International as one of the key findings of the Amnesty International Report 2022/23: The State of the World’s Human Rights published on Tuesday.
“Violent crime continues to plague South Africa, and the right to life and security of the person, enshrined in the Constitution as well as in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), is violated daily with murder rates soaring, mass shootings, femicides, and assassinations continuing unabated,” said Shenilla Mohamed, Executive Director, Amnesty International South Africa.
The report highlighted that murder rates continue to soar, as shown in the October to December 2022 crime statistics, which revealed that murders increased by 10.1%, the murders of children went down by 9.4%, but attempted murder of children rocketed by 23.9%.
“No one is safe in South Africa, and the impunity with which killings are carried out is fuelling the flames. Urgent action is needed from the government, including the South African Police Service (SAPS), who have a duty to protect everyone who lives in this country,” said Mohamed.
“They must work to reduce persistently high levels of violence in communities by taking measures to ensure public safety through effective, human rights compliant, and accountable law enforcement.”
The report further showed that many people were killed in mass shootings.
“South Africa is clearly extremely dangerous for anyone, especially women and girls,” Amnesty International said.
The most recent quarterly crime statistics showed a 22.1% increase in murders of women, with 1101 women murdered between October and December 2022. Sexual offences increased by 9.6% and reported rape cases by 9.8%.
This is despite the adoption of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NSP-GBVF) in 2019
“No more time can be lost to protect women and girls,” said Mohamed.
Amnesty International said another concerning finding in the report is that cases of abductions increased by 58.3% between October and December 2022, with ransom demands making up most of the cases.
The protection of human rights defenders and whistle-blowers is also a matter of concern in the report.
“Human rights defenders (HRDs) and whistle-blowers continued to be targeted in 2022, with Abahlali baseMjondolo, a movement advocating for basic services for poor communities, losing four activists to unlawful killings in KZN, allegedly in connection with their work. Twenty-four of the movement’s activists have been killed over the last few years, and its activists remain under threat,” Amnesty International said.
“The recent murders of State Capture liquidators Cloete and Thomas Murray have demonstrated once again the disturbing increase in extra-judicial killings and high levels of crime in South Africa.”
Mohamed said every single life lost has value, and the government must fulfil its mandate to protect the human rights of all.
“Preventing further deaths, and allowing all people in South Africa to live their lives fully, freely and without fear of losing their lives. South Africa, too can rise from the ashes,” she said.
The Star