AfriForum investigated the state of civil rights in 2017 and concluded that there has been little improvement in the realisation of first-generation rights for South Africans. These findings are outlined in the organisation’s annual civil rights index that was released today.
The index focuses specifically on 17 first-generation rights. “One of the main concerns is the decline in language and cultural rights during the past year due to language policies at South African universities rejecting Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. Furthermore, Government’s intervention tends to prevent the realisation of rights such as property rights, whilst failing to protect and safeguard the citizens of the country against violent crime,” says Johan Nortjé, Researcher at the AfriForum Research Institute (ANI).
According to Nortjé, this is particularly evident in the high murder rate which continues to infringe upon the right to life. “There was an increase in murders from 18 673 in 2015/2016 to 19 016 during the 2016/2017 fiscal year.”
On the positive side, however, Nortjé mentions that South Africans generally still enjoy freedom of religion, belief and opinion, as well as freedom of movement and residence, citizenship and political rights.