This week – Human Rights Day, Constitution Hill festival and talk on undoing epistemic injustice in health

On Monday, 20 March, Part A of the matter of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) and Others v Eskom and Others was heard in the Pretoria High Court.

Aside from the UDM, applicants in the case include the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), the Health Workers Indaba Trade Union, Build One South Africa, the IFP, the South African Federation of Trade Unions and Democracy In Action, according to a Numsa press release.

“The case is divided into two parts, being Part A – for interim relief – and Part B – for final relief. In Part A, the applicants submit that the manner in which the government has responded to the crisis of load shedding is unconstitutional and breaches several constitutional rights. The applicants argue that load shedding has become a pressing human rights concern. The government’s response has undermined the fundamental rights of citizens,” according to Numsa.

The applicants are seeking an acknowledgement from government of the state’s duty to prevent “the humanitarian catastrophe which has been directly caused by load shedding”, stated the union. They are further demanding a general exemption from rolling blackouts for specific sectors of the economy and social services, such as health, education, police stations, courts, small and medium enterprises, agriculture and food production and telecommunication services.

Tuesday 21 March is national Human Rights Day.

The theme for the day is “Consolidating and Sustaining Human Rights Culture into the Future”, according to a press release by the Presidency.

“Human Rights Day in South Africa is historically linked with 21 March 1960, and the events of Sharpeville. On that day, 69 people died and 180 were wounded when police fired on a peaceful crowd that had gathered in protest against the [apartheid] Pass laws,” states the South African government information page on the event.

“This day marked an affirmation by ordinary people, rising in unison to proclaim their rights. It became an iconic date in our country’s history that today we commemorate as Human Rights Day, as a reminder of our rights and the cost paid for our treasured human rights.”

Tuesday is also the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The 2023 theme of the international day focuses on the urgency of combatting racism and racial discrimination, 75 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

“Seventy-five years ago, for the first time, the international community agreed on a set of common values and acknowledged that rights are inherent to every single human being and not granted by the state. These rights are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a blueprint for international human rights norms,” according to the United Nations (UN) information page on the event.

“The UDHR states that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms, without distinction of any kind, such as race and colour, among others. However, racism and racial discrimination continue to affect people all over the world.”

On Tuesday, 21 March, at 11am, a 2023 Human Rights Day commemoration will be held at the De Aar West Stadium, De Aar, Northern Cape. President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the keynote address at the event.

“As part of the democratic dispensation, South Africa observes March as Human Rights Month to promote respect for basic human rights for all and restore and uphold human dignity in line with the Bill of Rights,” according to a press release by the Presidency.

“This period also honours those who fought for liberation, and celebrates the many rights guaranteed under the Constitution, and which are the basis for building a united and inclusive, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous society.”

For more information, contact Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson to the president, on 082 835 6315. 



On Tuesday at 12pm, a conversation between Advocate Thuli Madonsela, former public protector, and Ndavi Nokeri, the reigning Miss South Africa, will take place at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg. This event will be the first in Constitution Hill’s “We, the People in Conversation” series for 2023.

The theme of the discussion is “On seizing our power to make the Constitution real”.

Register here.

On Tuesday at 2pm, the Justice for Miners Campaign is opening its exhibition, “Mining Bodies”, at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. The opening will involve a dialogue on “The unpaid debt of genocide, why are mining companies still not paying Just Compensation?” 

The exhibition will run until 27 March.

“Commissioned by the [Nelson] Mandela Foundation and created by Breathe Films in 2019, the exhibition utilises audio and video to draw viewers into horrors of gold mining in South Africa. The exhibition draws attention to ongoing large-scale human rights abuses committed by gold mining companies and compensation agencies as a result of their failure to pay for the illnesses and deaths they cause,” according to the event description.

The panel discussion will focus on the contemporary relevance of the key themes of the exhibition. 

“Although the Tshiamiso Trust was set up with R5-billion to pay compensation on behalf of mining companies, its failure to do so effectively produces grave human rights violations in South Africa on a daily basis.  These violations are condoned and enabled by the equally scandalous failures of South Africa’s statutory compensation system for lung diseases,” stated the description.

On Tuesday at 3pm, the Kemp and Sachs families are hosting a memorial for Stephanie Kemp at Trevor Huddleston Memorial Centre, 71 Toby Street, Sophiatown, Johannesburg.

Kemp was an anti-apartheid activist, author and politician. She was married to fellow anti-apartheid activist Albie Sachs from 1966 to 1980. She passed away in March 2023. 

Read in Daily Maverick: “Stephanie Kemp, 1941–2023 – A fierce patriot and warrior of the South African Struggle”

The memorial can be attended virtually here.



On Tuesday at 6pm, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and the Anti-Racism Network South Africa are hosting a panel discussion on “Racism: The Global Threat to Peace and Democracy”. 

Speakers include Kirsten Bokenkamp, communications director at the Global Project against Hate and Extremism; Abigail Noko, regional representative of United Nations Human Rights South Africa; Justin King, regional education coordinator for Show Racism the Red Card; and Breitner Tavares, associate professor at the University of Brasilia.

Register here.

Wednesday 22 March is World Water Day. The 2023 observance is about accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis.

“Dysfunction throughout the water cycle undermines progress on all major global issues, from health to hunger, gender equality to jobs, education to industry, and disasters to peace,” according to the UN information page on the event. 

“Water affects everyone, so we need everyone to take action.”



On Wednesday, 22 March, a three-day national conference on the Constitution, hosted by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, will kick off at the Gallagher Conference Centre, Midrand, Johannesburg.

The conference will run until 24 March.

“The conference will be looking at Constitutional implementation and development while charting the way forward on how to build on the gains of South Africa’s democracy,” according to the event description. 

Topics of discussion will include:

• Land reform: restitution and distribution;


• governance and electoral reform;


• Corruption and its impact on constitutional democracy and human rights;


• Reflections on the state of constitutional democracy;


• Transformation and building of an independent judiciary; and


• Effectiveness of the legislature in advancing constitutional democracy.