On Sunday, while delivering his Human Rights Day speech, President Cyril Ramaphosa reminded the nation that under the South African Constitution, we all have rights and that those rights were hard-fought-for and resulted in the Sharpeville Massacre on 21 March 1960.
To remember the 69 people who lost their lives and the dozens injured in the massacre for our liberation, President Nelson Mandela signed our democratic Constitution into law 25 years ago at Sharpeville.
Ramaphosa said since then, they have strived to meet many obligations under the Constitution and the Bill of Rights “which are the cornerstone of our democracy”.
“The Constitution is a shade and a shelter for all. The Constitution is one law for one nation.
“It commits not just government but every one of us to the values that were disregarded in the past of human rights, of fair and decent treatment, of tolerance of difference, and of appreciation of our common basic humanity.”
Montford mom, Christine Isaac, said that her understanding of Human Rights Day being celebrated comes from the fact that all South Africans can exercise their rights and are entitled to benefit from that freedom, at birth.
“For me, the right to freedom and equality describes the root of this commemoration. I believe that these basic principles offer South Africans the opportunity to ensure that their dignity stays intact, while providing them with the ability to live loud and large as a rainbow nation,” she said.
This year, Human Rights Month is being commemorated under the theme “The Year of Charlotte Maxeke: Promoting Human Rights in the Age of Covid-19”.
The theme pays tribute to the 150th anniversary of the birth of liberation struggle heroine and human rights campaigner, Charlotte Maxeke.
“Through the provision of care to the sick and social support to the vulnerable, we have worked together to give effect to the most important rights of our people which is the right to life, to health and to dignity…As we work to rebuild our economy and our society, we must strive to make this promise a reality in the lives of our people.
Advancing human rights is the responsibility of us all. Above all, we have a common cause: that of a South Africa of equality, prosperity, freedom and human rights for all,” Ramaphosa said.
To celebrate this day people across the nation flew the South African flag high on Sunday, 21 March, as they came together to celebrate Human Rights Day.
Isaac and her girls Priyanka, 14, Adrieanna, 5 and, 16-month-old twins Heavyn and Skai joined the Chatsworth Tabloid in wishing the community a Happy Human Rights Month!
