The role of the South African Human Rights Commission is to guarantee human dignity, but it is facing certain challenges related to addressing the rights of South African’s living in poverty.

This is according to SAHRC CEO, Tseliso Thipanyane, who spoke at the recent public hearings on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the realisation of economic and social rights in South Africa. Many of the speakers at the hearing agreed with Thipanyane, and the common message was that the MDGs were not just about poverty but also about the realisation of human dignity.

Millennium Development Goal 1 aims to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty. Ratula Beukman of Black Sash argued that South Africa was not meeting this goal, as it had not embraced social security. She said: “Currently people are being excluded from the right to social security as they are not recognised by Government”. Isobel Frye of SPII (Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute) added that the most important rights are those of life, dignity and equality. She added that government has acknowledged that social security operates as one of the most effective poverty alleviation instruments, yet it is not making further progress to roll out social security to people falling through the gaps.

Rajesh Latchman, Coordinator of the National Welfare Forum (NWF) said: “Poverty is not just about people being poor…it’s about the progress we are making to enable people to access and enjoy their inherent human dignity”. He said there is a need to expand social security in a developmental manner to impact the way people engage their human rights.

• The state must provide a clear road map that demonstrates how the right to social security within a genuinely reasonable framework will be realised as guaranteed in S27 of the Constitution.
• Developmental comprehensive social protection must be rolled out in such a way that it acknowledges that poverty has many dimensions beyond income, and entitles recipients to a basket of psychosocial and economic benefits to enable the realisation of the spectrum of human dignity.
• Monitoring of implementation through the activation of the Advisory Board on Social Development in terms of Act No. 3 of 2001
• The South African Human Rights Commission must urgently investigate poverty in South Africa.
• The South African Government must ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

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