Today the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services was briefed by the Department on an amendment bill to the Sexual Offences Act, which deals with the issues of consenting sexual activity between adolescents and with the placing of the names of child offenders on the National Register for Sex Offenders.
Children’s Rights Project head at the Community Law Centre, Prof Benyam Dawit Mezmur, is one of the 18 independent experts that took part in the 68th Session of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child held in Geneva in January 2015, where he serves as a Vice-Chairperson.
South Africa’s Ratification Campaign of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and its Optional Protocol welcomes South Africa’s ratification of the ICESCR on 12 January 2015. As stipulated in section 27(2) of the ICESCR, it will come into force for South Africa on 12 April 2015, which is three months after the deposit of the instrument of ratification.
Constitutional amendments of 1990 and 2004 meant that the Criminal Code of 1886 no longer was in line with the political, social, cultural and economic reality of Mozambique. This revision of the of Criminal Code is intended to ensure the enjoyment of rights and freedoms of citizens.
The Parliamentary Programme at the Community Law Centre hosted a civil society meeting to discuss the state reporting process of the South African Government and civil society before the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
The Children’s Rights Project is happy to announce that the last issue of Article 40 in 2014, is now available.
This third and last edition of the ESR Review this year (Volume 15, No 3 2014) includes two feature articles on the enjoyment of socioeconomic rights.
An exciting opportunity has opened up at the Community Law Centre, the Law Faculty’s research and advocacy unit. We are offering a bursary to study towards an LLM or an MPhil in Law, State and Multilevel Government.
Last week, the Community Law Centre hosted this Colloquium on Poverty and Human Rights in Africa to share evidence-based knowledge and experience on how human rights violations drive and deepen poverty in Africa.
Community Law Centre’s Civil Society Prison Reform Initiative in partnership with the Centre for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) which promotes civil society participation at the UN Human Rights Committee hosted a one day workshop to prepare a consolidated report prior to the adoption of the List of Issues.
Last week, the Community Law Centre hosted a lunch-time seminar where the role of electoral commissions in developing countries was unpacked. The key speakers at this event where Rev Courtney Sampson Provincial Electoral Officer of the Electoral Commission in the Western Cape and Prof Henk Kummeling the Chair of the Dutch Electoral Commission and a visiting professor at the Community Law Centre.
Maternal death remains a great challenge in many developing countries including South Africa. Despite the fact that South Africa is one of the most industrialised and prosperous countries in Africa, the government has been unable to address the high maternal and infant mortality rates in the country. In line with this, Community Law Centre, Department of public health of the University of the Western Cape and Amnesty International held a two day workshop on maternal health.
