By Fred Felton | Apr 28, 2021
Are South Africans okay with having their
human rights restricted during the Covid-19 lockdown?
 |
| Image: Pixabay |
Apparently so according to recent surveys
conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)¹ and the University of
Johannesburg (UJ).
There does also appear to be abuse of
human rights on a global scale while using Covid-19 as the scapegoat. This is
according to a research article by Ben Odigbo, Felix Eze and Rose Odigbo.²
In it the authors go on to explain how
certain countries have committed human rights violations and used Covid-19
rules as the excuse. As a result other human rights have also been abused and
crimes against women have escalated.
The United Nations (UN) has warned that
some countries are ignoring peoples’ human rights under the disguise of
counteracting the coronavirus, and called this ‘’a human rights
disaster’’(OHCHR 2020).³
Michelle Bachelet, the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that such countries should stop
infringing on peoples’ basic rights in the implementation of these emergency
measures.
A UN report gave mention of 15 countries
where allegations of Covid-19 lockdown enforcement gave rise to human rights
abuses. South Africa was listed as one of these 15 countries.
In South African there have been reports
of shootings, beatings, teargassing, and water bombing people, sexual abuse and
exploitation. There has also been reported gender-based violence during
lockdown. Police have used rubber bullets, tear gas, water bombs and whips to
ensure social distancing, especially amongst the poor in South Africa.
Wearing of masks in South Africa is now
mandatory and anyone who does not wear one is liable for a fine or criminal
offence. Certain people have even been arrested for not wearing masks. In
certain places people have been arrested for walking on or near the beach
during lockdown.
So are South Africans really okay with
giving up their human rights if it means benefitting everyone due to the
Covid-19 lockdown. Umhlanga Life took to the streets of Durban to find out and
this is what we discovered:
We asked various residents of Durban if
they felt that their human rights were being restricted by being forced to wear
a mask when in public spaces.
‘’It’s difficult to make everyone happy
especially during a state of emergency such as the Covid-19 lockdown. It’s
better for everyone as a means to combat the virus. I don’t think it’s
unreasonable,’’ remarked Ms Tembe, a Glenwood resident.
Ms Tembe also noted that gender-based
violence has increased during the lockdown as most people are now restricted
from movement and they cannot go to shelters during lockdown.
Other residents also felt the government
was right in making you wear a mask.
‘’I think it’s right to wear the mask to
protect all but not everyone is wearing it. I do think it’s not good to wear
the mask all day. How do people breath like people who work,’’ said Addington
Beach resident Cindy Polydorou.
‘’I think my human rights include being
protected from this virus much as I hate my mask,’’ noted Carol De Wet of
Umbilo.
It seems that most residents are quite
happy to sacrifice certain human rights for the greater good of the country,
especially in times such as this pandemic. Love them or hate them face masks
will be with us for some time to come.
In South Africa your human rights are
protected in the constitution.
South Africa has just celebrated Freedom
Day and it is up to all of us to make sure our human rights are not being
restricted in anyway.
If you feel your human rights are being
abused you do have recourse and you can report such abuses to various places
and institutions such as:
South African Human Rights Commission – www.sahrc.org.za
Lawyers for Human Rights – www.lhr.org.za
Journalists for Human Rights – www.jhr.ca
References:
¹ Bohler-Muller,
N., Roberts, B., Davids, Y.D., Gordon, S. & Majikijela, Y. (2021) COVID-19
and human rights limitations: taking
public opinion into account. (HSRC Policy Brief, March).
²Odigbo B, Eze F and Odigbo R. COVID-19
lockdown controls and human rights abuses: the social marketing implications
[version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 1 approved with reservations] Emerald
Open Research 2020, 2:45 https://doi.org/10.35241/emeraldopenres.13810.1
³https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25722
