In this edition of our Article 40, we begin with a feature on consensual sexual relations among children. Ms Zita Hansungule, Project Coordinator, Monitoring, Evaluation and Communication, at the Centre for Child Law, University of Pretoria, also delivers a case note that reviews the approach taken by the court in the recent case of S v EA 2014 (1) SACR 183 (NCK).
This second issue of the 2014 ESR Review includes two features on the enjoyment of socio-economic rights in Nigeria and South Africa. The first, by Stanley Ibe, examines the possibility of enforcing socio-economic rights in Nigeria. While the Nigerian Constitution does not explicitly guarantee socio-economic rights, Ibe argues that opportunities exist to enforce these rights through national courts, regional and international human rights bodies.
This took place on 29 July 2014, at the Penitenciaria Provincial Sul de Machava, which is the old Central Prison. Officials from the Correctional Services were trained on international law relating to the prevention of torture.
On 16 July, Dr. Ebenezer Durojaye, Head/Senior Researcher Socioeconomic Rights Project at the Community Law Centre delivered a guest lecture titled: ‘The Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women as a tool for advancing Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights’ at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Ondo State, Nigeria.
In July, Professor Nico Steytler, the South African Research Chair in Multilevel Government, Law and Policy, based at the Community Law Centre was appointed by the United Nations Department of Political Affairs as a short term expert to support Yemeni Constitution Drafting Committee.
Researchers at the Community Law Centre’s Children’s Rights Project were part of the experts who presented at the second installment of an advanced short course on Children's Rights in Africa hosted by Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. The course which ran from 21 to 25 July brought together over 50 child rights researchers, practitioners and policy makers from across Africa.
The Batho Pele (people first) principles should form the fundamental elements in the delivery of housing as a public service, said , community members during two roundtable discussions on housing demand and allocation in South Africa held in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
On 8 and 9 July, the Article 5 Initiative (A5I) hosted its fourth consultative workshop on the prevention and eradication of torture in South Africa. CSPRI is one of the four partners of A5I, a four-year project aimed at developing monitoring tools for the domestication of the UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT).
The data in the Auditor-General’s reports on local government can be used, not only as an annual scorecard of how many municipalities complied with their audit obligations, but as a measure of the resilience of local government as a public institution.
The vast majority of the 300 000 officials in local government fall outside the regulations. This is according Prof Jaap de Visser and Phindile Ntliziywana, researchers at the Community Law Centre’s MLGI project in their latest article on Talking Good Governance blog.
African Children’s Charter Project (ACCP) partners (including Community Law Centre) met in Nairobi (Kenya), last week to come up with timelines and agree upon specific activities to be delivered within the remaining time of the implementation of the ACCP. Drs Maria Assim and Aquinaldo Mandlate from the Children’s Rights Project of the Community Law Centre were part of this 3 day workshop for the mid-year review of the ACCP.
Prof Lukas Muntingh, a project head at Community Law Centre’s Civil Society Prison Reform Initiative,has written an interesting opinion article in today’s Mail&Guardian on the assault case against former SAPS warrant officers David Gunn and Gerrit Januarie.
