The Centre for Human Rights at the

University of Pretoria Faculty of Law The University of Pretoria Faculty of Law was established in 1908. It consists of six academic departments, six centres, two law clinics, and the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP). This faculty ranked best in Africa for the fourth year in a r ...

, South Africa, is an organisation dedicated to promoting human rights on the continent of Africa. The centre, founded in 1986, promotes human rights through educational outreach, including multinational conferences, seminars and publications such as ''Human Rights Law in Africa'', ''The African Human Rights Law Journal'', the ''African Human Rights Law Reports'' and ''The Constitutional Law of South Africa''. The centre, which was founded during

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, assisted in adapting a

Bill of Rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pr ...

for South Africa and contributed to creating the

South African Constitution The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Gove ...

. In 2006, the centre received the

UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education The UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights, created in 1978 as the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education to mark the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, serves to honour the ef ...

, particular recognising for the LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa and the

African Human Rights Moot Court Competition The African Human Rights Moot Court Competition is an international moot court competition with a special focus on human rights in Africa. The competition is organised by the Centre for Human Rights, based at the University of Pretoria Faculty of ...

Academic programmes

The centre in conjunction with the

present the following degree courses: * LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa – 30 students from African countries are annually admitted to the programme on a competitive basis. The programme is a joint project of the centre with

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of n ...

(Uganda), the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

, the Catholic University of Central Africa (Cameroon), the

University of the Western Cape The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is a public research university in Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the South African government as a university for Coloured people only. Other un ...

(South Africa), the

American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning progra ...

(Egypt),

Eduardo Mondlane University , image = , image_size = , former_names = , motto = , type = Public , established = 21 August 1962 , rector = Manuel Guilherme Júnior, PhD , students = 39,078 (2015) , undergrad = 35,809 , ...

(Mozambique) and

Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa University (AAU) ( am, አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa ...

(Ethiopia). * LLM in International Trade and Investment Law – presented by the University of Pretoria and the

(South Africa) in partnership with the

Washington College of Law The American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL or WCL) is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of nort ...

(USA) and the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

(Netherlands). * LLM in Multidisciplinary Human Rights * LLM in Socio-economic Rights: Theory and Practice * MPhil in Multidisciplinary Rights * LLD (Human Rights) The Centre for Human Rights was established in 1986 by a group of teachers and local leaders who wanted to use education as a tool to combat violations of human rights. At this time the apartheid system was at its peak and this was one of the ways that the people could "fight" intellectually against things getting worst. Their main concerts were increased education of violations of human rights towards: women, people with HIV, indigenous, sexual minorities, and other Marginalized peoples . Their purpose or core value was to get closer to human rights through education in South Africa and later expanded to Africa. Members are not necessarily selected, but rather have gone through one of the undergraduate, master's or doctorate's degrees. People in the communities that are working for common causes are brought in, there doesn't appear to be a reason to not accept new people unless they are against human right advocacy or have a history of doing so. The members have an impressive background; many have taken part in liberation movements outside of South Africa, been part of constitution drafting and become international leaders and advocates. The Centre for Human Rights is fairly new and so is still gaining experience and knowledge of the proper way to get policies and government set up as well as international support. When most people think of non-governmental institutions, the Red Cross would come to mind. It seems like a monumental institution that was built out of hard times, during the apartheid and helped to end it and draft a constitution and come out to be a rather extraordinary group of people that have been a great asset to Africa. In 2006, the Centre for Human Rights received the UNESCO prize for Human Rights specifically for their democratisation in Africa and the Africa Human Rights Moot Court, which is a huge honour and shows that the international relations community is aware of them. In 2012, the centre was awarded the 2012 African Union Human Rights Prize, in recognition of their contribution to the work of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa.

Human Rights Education Projects

* The Advanced Human Rights Courses – series of one-week intensive and advanced short courses covering aspects of human rights * The

is an international moot court competition with a special focus on human rights in Africa. The competition is organised by the Centre for Human Rights. Annually, the competition is hosted by a Law Faculty from a different African country. Since its inception in 1992, the competition has had 845 participant teams originating from 125 universities from 45 African countries. * The Annual African Trade Moot Competition part of the LLM in International Trade and Investment Law in Africa programme. The competition is presented annually alternating between the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...

and the

Current and former staff

Johann van der Westhuizen Johann van der Westhuizen (born 26 May 1952 in Windhoek, South West Africa (now Namibia) is a former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Before his judicial appointment, he was a professor at the University of Pretoria Faculty of ...

is a judge in the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

of South Africa. He was appointed to the bench in 2004 by

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...

. He was previously a professor at the

and the founding director of the Centre for Human Rights. He currently sits on the board of the Centre for Human Rights and the University of Pretoria Council. *

Johann Kriegler Johann Christiaan Kriegler (born 29 November 1932) is a retired justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Early life Born in Pretoria, he matriculated at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg in 1949. He then attended the South Af ...

is a former

and

Appeal Court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

judge from South Africa. He is currently a board member of the University of South Africa Law Faculty, board member of the University of Pretoria Centre for Human Rights. *

Yvonne Mokgoro Yvonne Mokgoro (born 19 October 1950) is a former justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and wife to Job Mokgoro. Career Mokgoro was appointed to the bench in 1994 by Nelson Mandela. Mokgoro is a board member of the Centre for Huma ...

is a judge in the

of South Africa. She was appointed to the bench in 1994 by

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

. She is a board member of the Centre for Human Rights. *

Kader Asmal Abdul Kader Asmal (8 October 1934 – 22 June 2011) was a South African politician. He was a professor of human rights at the University of the Western Cape, chairman of the council of the University of the North and vice-president of the ...

was a South African politician. He was a professor of human rights at the

, chairman of the council of the

University of the North The University of Limpopo is a university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2005, by the merger of the University of the North and the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). These previous institutions form ...

and vice-president of the

African Association of International Law African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

. He was a board member of the Centre for Human Rights. *

Christof Heyns Christoffel Hendrik Heyns (10 January 1959 – 28 March 2021) was a Professor of Human Rights Law, Director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria and a member of the United Nations Human R ...

– Former Director (1999–2006) of the Centre for Human Rights is a professor of human rights law, co-director of the

Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa The University of Pretoria Faculty of Law was established in 1908. It consists of six academic departments, six centres, two law clinics, and the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP). This faculty ranked best in Africa for the fourth year in a r ...

at the

and United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. * Dire Tladi – Principal State Law Adviser for International Law for the South African

Department of International Relations and Cooperation The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) is the foreign ministry of the South African government. It is responsible for South Africa's relationships with foreign countries and international organizations, and runs South ...

and South Africa Mission to the United Nations. Prof Dire Tladi Retrieved 28 November 2011 Member of the

United Nations International Law Commission The International Law Commission (ILC) is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by t ...

Publications

African Human Rights Law Journal The ''African Human Rights Law Journal'' publishes peer-reviewed contributions dealing with human rights related topics of relevance to Africa, Africans, and scholars of Africa. The journal appears twice a year, in March and October. Indexing T ...

publishes

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...

contributions dealing with human rights related topics of relevance to Africa, Africans, and scholars of Africa. The journal appears twice a year, in March and October. *

African Human Rights Law Reports The ''African Human Rights Law Reports'' is an annual law journal published by JUTA Law on behalf of the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria. It contains legal decisions of relevance to human rights law in Africa. These include se ...

is an annual

law journal A law review or law journal is a scholarly journal or publication that focuses on legal issues. A law review is a type of legal periodical. Law reviews are a source of research, imbedded with analyzed and referenced legal topics; they also p ...

published by JUTA Law on behalf of the Centre for Human Rights. It contains legal decisions of relevance to

human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law are primarily made up of treaties, a ...

in Africa.

Notes

References