The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has rejected as unfounded suggestions that the unrest that happened in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July is a reflection of the Constitution’s failure to uphold basic human rights.
More than 300 people were killed in the violence and looting in the two provinces.
As the country marks the 25th anniversary of former president Nelson Mandela’s signing of the Constitution in Sharpville, in the Vaal, some people are beginning to question what has been widely acknowledged as one of the most progressive Constitutions in the world.
SAHRC Commissioner Advocate, Jonas Sibanyoni has accused elected representatives of failing to implement the constitution’s requirement that the quality of lives of the country’s citizens be improved.
Sibanyoni says, “The buck stops with the elected representatives, those who are required to see to it that the rights are achieved. We’ve got Chapter nine institutions, which are the state institutions supporting constitutional democracy which are the watchdogs of any violation of the rights that are enshrined in the constitution.”
South Africa’s Constitution: A beacon of hope towards a better life
Powerful document
Meanwhile, anti-apartheid activist and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs has described South Africa’s Constitution as a powerful document whose aim is to heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights.
He says the constitution has withstood the test of time.
“We’ve had Nelson Mandela accepting rulings of the courts, striking some proclamations that he met or Mbeki accepting the rulings of the court on access to antiretroviral. We had President Jacob Zuma accepting the ruling that he must pay back the money following over-spending on his private home. So, that’s another aspect that’s been very strong and has been functioning,” Sachs says.
The supremacy of the Constitution over laws passed by Parliament:
