"Introduction" to Amalungelo Oluntu / Human Rights, a 72-page Xhosa-language / English-language handbook published in 1991 by the Community Law Centre, with support from Richards Bay Minerals. © Copyright 1991 Community Law Centre
[The Community Law Centre has since changed its name to Community Law & Rural Development Centre. It is a South African non-governmental organisation affiliated to the University of Natal.]
Introduction
"THIS book was born on the slopes of a Zulu hillside on 9 July 1990. The CLC had been asked by the community of Nqutu, a remote rural village in Kwazulu, to hold a workshop on human rights. CLC staff were accompanied by Professor Edward L O'Brien, an international figure in human rights education and Co-Director of the National Institute for Citizen Education in the Law, based in Washington DC.
Nqutu is one of the areas in the Natal/Kwazulu region where the CLC is involved in providing legal services and education to rural communities. At Nqutu, like many rural communities in South Africa, drought, lack of resources and extreme poverty are a way of life.
Community members were very interested in the idea of a workshop on human rights. They came from far and wide. All types of people were there: tribal authorities and officials, working people, poor peasant farmers and their families, students, unemployed people, community activists and pensioners. Some walked long distances across the harsh, sun-parched landscape, while others too old or too frail to walk, were carried. Some were brought in wheelbarrows.
All of the 300 people who attended the workshop had one thing in common - a burning desire to improve the quality of their lives. Almost all were unaware of the existence of "universal human rights". To them, the important issues were those affecting the quality of their daily lives - the need for education, job opportunities, housing, food and water. When they realised that their needs and wants are actually human rights, a sense of urgency and excitement grew amongst the assembled participants.
At the beginning of the workshop people were asking: "Who needs human rights? We need water, jobs and homes!" By the end of the workshop they were asking: "How will human rights help us fulfill our needs now?" Simplified Zulu translations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were eagerly taken away. CLC staff learnt that these were read out to families by primary school children, who are often the only literate members of a rural family. The CLC members returned from the workshop with a strong sense of the need to quench the people's thirst for more knowledge about human rights.
Knowledge is fundamental to democracy. If people do not know their basic rights, they are unable to react against the abuse of their rights. Nor are they able to achieve their full development as people.
This book is derived from the International Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR was written in 1948 by the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations (UN). It was a response to the atrocities committed against people during the two world wars. It consists of a Preamble and 30 Articles listing rights which should belong to all human beings.
On 10 December 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN. At that time the UN had 56 member countries, of whom 48 voted in favour of the Declaration. None voted against. South Africa was one of the eight member nations which did not vote.
Also in 1948, the National Party came into power in South Africa. The government's policy of apartheid gave rights to some people, and took them away from others, on the basis of colour. This violates the UDHR, which recognises the rights of all people, irrespective of race, sex or culture.
The UDHR is an important document in South Africa today. After more than 40 years of apartheid, during which time human rights have been systematically abused, South Africans are looking forward to participating in a new political system in which there will be a Bill of Rights to protect them.
The UDHR gives people the opportunity to learn what their rights should be, to understand that people across the world are struggling to achieve these same rights for themselves, and to ensure that the wrongs committed against them in the past will not happen in the future.
Illiteracy is common in many parts of South Africa. This book has been designed to include people who are unable to read. It is best used in small groups where at least one person can read. While one person reads the text aloud, others will be able to follow the text, or study the pictures and respond to the issues raised.
Each Article of the UDHR is explained in simple language. After each explanation there are questions which can be used for group discussion. At the end of the book a glossary explains difficult words and concepts. The glossary also explains the different categories of human rights, that is, civil and political, social and cultural, and economic rights. Words that appear in the glossary are printed in italics.
The full text of the UDHR is given at the end of the book.
The first edition of Amalungelo Oluntu/Human Rights was produced in English and Zulu. This is the second in the series of translations into Xhosa and Sotho. The aim of this book is to provide all South Africans with the knowledge to ensure that their rights are protected in a new South Africa."