"Human Rights Day" Top 5 Page for this destination Johannesburg Local Custom Tip by Moirads

South Africa is very proud of its wonderful new constitution which protects the human rights of all its citizens regardless of sex, colour, creed or orientation. The Bill of Rights is one of the cornerstones of democracy in South Africa.

Our Constitution provided for the establishment of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) which was launched on 21 March 1996, 35 years after the fateful events of 21 March 1960 when demonstrators in Sharpeville were gunned down by police, drawing the attention of the world to the evils of apartheid.

The Native Laws Amendment Act of 1952 extended Government control over the movement of black people to urban areas and abolished the use of the Pass Book (a document which Africans were required to carry on them to ‘prove’ that they were allowed to enter a ‘white area’) in favour of a reference book which had to be carried at all times by all black people. Failure to produce the reference book on demand by the police was a punishable offence. The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) proposed an anti-Pass campaign to start on 21 March 1960. All black men were to take part in the campaign without their passes and present themselves for arrest.

Campaigners gathered at police stations in townships near Johannesburg where they were dispersed by police. At the Sharpeville police station a scuffle broke out. Part of a wire fence was trampled, allowing the crowd to move forward. The police opened fire, apparently without having been given a prior order to do so. Sixty-nine people were killed and 180 wounded. In apartheid South Africa this day became known as Sharpeville Day and although not part of the official calendar of public holidays the event was commemorated among anti-apartheid movements.

In the post 1994 democratic South Africa this day has been declared a public holiday which allows us, as a people, to celebrate our constitution which protects the human rights of all its citizens.

When a public holiday in South Africa falls on a Sunday the following Monday becomes a public holiday, making it a long weekend.