Human Rights
Egypt’s second revolution
As massive protests swept across Egypt on Sunday, many outside of Egypt were surprised to see the sheer volumes of people that were unhappy with President Mohamed Morsi and his government, so soon after the revolution.
Mary Fawzy
Opinion | 3 July 2013
Dancing and tears greet book treaty for blind
On 22 June a treaty for the blind was heading for disaster as negotiators stalled and refused to budge on hardline positions. Three days later a negotiator stepped out of a boardroom in the Atlas Medina hotel in Marrakesh and announced to a crowd of tense and exhausted observers, "We have a text!" The tears and dancing that followed is hardly what you’d associate with the making of international law.
Marcus Low
Opinion | 3 July 2013
Cameron to African leaders: End stigma against gays
This is an edited transcript of a speech by Judge Edwin Cameron on 28 June at the UNAIDS/LANCET Commissioners Dinner in Malawi. Cameron criticised stigmatising laws that hamper the response to HIV.
Edwin Cameron
Opinion | 2 July 2013
Microchip road to real democracy
The advice of the Italian revolutionary, Antonio Gramsci constantly comes to mind these days: exercise pessimism of the intellect, but optimism of the will. I must admit that it has become a great deal easier over recent months to exercise pessimism of the intellect — and increasingly difficult to exercise optimism of the will to do something about changing things, domestically or globally.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 2 July 2013
Building coalitions against US human rights abuses is hard
On Sunday I helped organise and participated in a small protest against human rights abuses and inadequate action on climate change by the Obama administration during his visit to the University of Cape Town.
Eduard Grebe
Opinion | 2 July 2013
New efforts for a united rural movement
Last Saturday, after three days of discussion, 300 members of multiple social movements marched in Cape Town and delivered a letter to the South African Government about land reform and land tenure.
Camila Osorio
News | 26 June 2013
Sick janitor claims City endangered health
Monica Gotshana, is a single mother of five children from Khayelitsha’s Site B. Today is her last day working as a janitor for the City of Cape Town because her six month contract comes to an end. She talked about her experience working as a toilet cleaner.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 26 June 2013
Petition calls for more time to comment on police green paper
Last Friday, 27 civil society organizations signed a letter directed at Ms Jenni Irish-Qhobosheane, of the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service. The organisations requested more time to comment on the Green Paper on Policing that Ms Irish-Qhobosheane published last week.
Camila Osorio
News | 25 June 2013
Immigrants accuse cops of abuse as their businesses are destroyed
Immigrants who protested outside Kraaifontein Police station on Thursday 20 June claim that police officers assigned to the Wallacedene area yelled offensive statements at them. They also gave harrowing accounts of how they lost their livelihoods.
Tariro Washinyira
News | 25 June 2013