This joint statement of the South African Civil Society Organisations (SA CSOs) – Human Rights Institute of South Africa, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, and the Association for Progressive Communications - welcomes the recommendations passed on South Africa by the Human Rights Council (HRC) in May 2017.
The aforementioned organisations together with the Khulumani Support Group, CIVICUS and World Alliance for Citizen Participation, submitted a joint stakeholder report for the third cycle of South Africa’s Universal Periodic Review, which this statement reflects. In particular, South Africa collected 243 recommendations, to which South Africa is required to respond on or before the Thirty Sixth Session of the Human Rights Council in September 2017.
We urge the government of South Africa to accept all the recommendations received during the review and to take all necessary steps towards the full realisation of the concerns which were raised during its review, through adoption of a plan of action in consultation with CSOs and its national human rights institutions. The recommendations address a range of human rights violations and gaps that still exist in South Africa’s promotion and protection of human rights of all individuals in South Africa.