Mandela Day Seminar - 18 July 2011

In commemoration of the Mandela Day on 18 July 2011, several organisations including the National Welfare Forum (NWF), Global Call to Action against Poverty South Africa (GCAP-SA), Black Sash, Amnesty International South Africa, People's Health Movement - South-Africa (PHMSA) and the Community Law Centre (CLC) at the University of the Western Cape, held a seminar to advocate for the ratification for the ICESCR and its Optional Protocol. It is clear from the discussions that South Africa needs to urgently ratify the ICESCR. The ratification would strengthen the domestic protection of economic, social and cultural rights in South Africa through policy, legislation (laws) and jurisprudence (decisions of court). It was acknowledged that poverty remains a huge challenge in South Africa. The ratification of the ICESCR and its Optional Protocol would contribute substantively to the shifting of poverty and inequality in South Africa