human rightslatest news & developments
Palestinian protesters hold posters of Palestinian prisoners demanding a prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel in the West Bank city of Nablus. (Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Legalising murder: Israel’s shift from control to elimination

Israel has passed a law permitting the execution of Palestinian prisoners, codifying practices previously carried out extrajudicially. With conviction rates in military courts exceeding 95%, critics say the measure is a guarantee of death, not justice

Hit: Smoke rising from the Thai bulk carrier, Mayuree Naree, near the Strait of Hormuz after an attack in March 2026. Photo: Royal Thai Navy

Iran war and Greater Israel Project

The US-Israel war on Iran is disrupting oil trade, pushing up petrol prices and raising concerns over the growing use of religion to justify war

Black Sash staff representing four regional offices and National Office

Black Sash: Turning Rights into Real Life Change

For more than seventy years, Black Sash has been part of South Africa’s story. Today, it is focused on one of the most practical and powerful levers for change: making sure the social security system works, and works fairly, for everyone.

President Cyril Ramaphosa lays a wreath at the Sharpeville Memorial in honour of the fallen. Photo GCIS

The Bill of Rights at 30: Turning Human Dignity into Reality

Human Rights Day highlights a widening gap between legal protections and everyday experience, raising urgent questions about dignity, accountability and whether South Africa’s democratic project is delivering on its promises.

Mosiuoa Lekota was remembered as a towering figure of South Africa’s liberation struggle

Mashatile honours Mosiuoa Lekota as a giant who carried the torch of freedom

Known for speaking truth to power, Lekota’s contributions to democracy, education and social development have left an indelible mark on South Africa’s journey toward equality and dignity for all citizens

To maximise AI’s potential in peace, justice and governance, governments, NGOs, multilateral institutions and the private sector must invest in ethical AI research, data-sharing initiatives and regulatory frameworks.  Photo: File

Leveraging AI to achieve peace, justice, good governance

Corruption undermines public trust and hinders social and economic development. AI can combat corruption by increasing transparency, identifying suspicious activities and monitoring financial transactions for illicit practices

Karin Mitchell’s The High Treason Club reconstructs South Africa’s Boeremag trial, revealing extremist plots, ideological fervour and the fragility of democracy

Reckoning with South Africa’s white supremacist threat

Karin Mitchell’s The High Treason Club reconstructs South Africa’s Boeremag trial, revealing extremist plots, ideological fervour and the fragility of democracy

Iran has been under intensified scrutiny over its response to protests. (Screenshot: Al Jazeera)

South Africa urges restraint and dialogue in Iran conflict

The presidency said sustainable peace and stability could only be achieved through solutions that centred on the agency of the Iranian people

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula told journalists on Tuesday that US pressure on Venezuela amounted to a direct assault on democracy and international law. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

ANC denounces US actions against Venezuela as SACP plans a march against Washington

The two parties condemned the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife as a violation of international law

Emre Çınar. Photo: Supplied

Fears grow over disappearance of Turkish lawyer in Mozambique

Emre Çınar has lived in Maputo since 2017 after fleeing Türkiye following the government’s crackdown on alleged critics

What’s driving anti-immigrant healthcare blockades? Sharon Ekambaram from Lawyers for Human Rights says it’s everything from the sky-high cost of Zimbabwean passports and corruption to South Africa’s institutionalised xenophobia — and a growing global intolerance of migrants. (Bhekisisa team)
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Court orders government, police to block vigilantes from two clinics — and put up warnings at entrances

The judgment complements a November ruling meant to stop groups such as Operation Dudula from blocking foreign nationals from entering government hospitals and clinics and denying their constitutional right to healthcare

Human rights defenders have an extraordinary power to drive change.

Human rights defenders play a critical role in driving social change, often working at personal risk to advance justice and accountability. The Human Rights Tulip is an annual award of the Dutch government that recognises and supports individuals who promote and protect human rights around the world. Since 2008, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has […]

Leadership: President Daniel Chapo reinforces the morale of Mozambican and Rwandan troops in the fight against terrorism in Northern Mozambique. Photos: Mozambican Presidency

Mozambique target of debunked narrative

There is no evidence that the Mozambican state committed abuses in Afungi

Francesca Albanese, told an audience at the University of Cape Town on Monday evening that universities, corporations and states have a legal and ethical responsibility to halt what she described as genocide taking place in Gaza. (Nelson Mandela Foundation)

UCT hosts key address as Albanese prepares to present Gaza genocide report to UN

The UN special rapporteur said her report identifies 48 entities linked to ‘displacement and replacement’, a policy she says has taken Palestinians off their land

UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occuopied Territories, Francesca Albanese addressed a packed Groote Kerk in Cape Town om SUnday afternoon, 26 October 2025. Photo: David Harrison

Francesca Albanese to present report on the Gaza genocide

The UN special rapporteur will present her report “Gaza Genocide: Collective Crime” to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, from Cape Town

Plight of children: Human rights lawyer, Francesca Albanese,  Photo: Supplied

UPDATED: Francesca Albanese: The world is watching its conscience collapse

Delivering the annual Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, the UN special rapporteur said the laws created to stop states from destroying each other were now being used to justify that destruction

Law and justice: Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, is in South Africa to deliver the 23rd Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture on Saturday. Photo: Nelson Mandela Foundation

‘I’m not here to make you comfortable’, says UN’s Francesca Albanese

The UN envoy says South Africa is central to the global fight against the genocide in Gaza

The effects of offshore gas projects contribute to a humanitarian crisis, and mainly only the companies and countries of the north benefit from the profits and commodities.

Mozambique: Gas is not part of Africa’s solution to climate change

The effects of offshore gas projects contribute to a humanitarian crisis, and mainly only the companies and countries of the north benefit from the profits and commodities

Support: The principles underlying South Africa’s liberation from oppressive apartheid rule are captured at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. Norway continues to show solidarity  through development aid to those countries in need. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Struggles for freedom still relevant today

Shifting geopolitics is highlighting new and old arenas of conflict and violations of international law

Mxolisi Sibam

Apartheid’s double-edged sword: The story of Mxolisi Sibam

His fair skin did not bring him any benefits during apartheid. He was regarded as too white by black people and too black by white people