For Human Rights Day the FW de Klerk Foundation has released its new Human Rights Report Card. The Report assesses how well South Africans practically enjoyed the rights in the Bill of Rights over the past year, and how well the State respected, protected, promoted and fulfilled those rights. The report notes improvements in areas such as electricity supply, alongside serious and urgent threats to life, safety, basic services, education and accountability nationwide. Load‑shedding fell by 97% and Eskom returned to profit for the first time in eight years, yet murders still averaged 65 per day and youth unemployment remained dire.

Key Developments

• Politics & Governance: The Government of National Unity held but was tested by internal tensions, including a dispute over a proposed VAT increase that delayed the National Budget and preceded warnings of R75 billion in spending cuts affecting core services. Cabinet performance remained mixed across parties.
• Economy: Markets rallied after the GNU’s formation (JSE near record highs; firmer rand). Structural constraints persisted: youth unemployment at 58,5%, a shrinking tax base (≈ 28 million grant recipients vs 7,8 million taxpayers), and tariff headwinds from the United States, with a one‑year AGOA reprieve providing temporary relief.
• Crime & Corruption: Murders fell nearly 10% but the country still experienced an average of 65 murders daily. An estimated 2 million illegal firearms fuel violence. 670 deaths resulted from police action (the highest since 1997), with IPID sitting on a 15 000‑case State capture accountability was limited, with one conviction and ~2% of stolen funds recovered.
• International Relations: Trade tensions and tariff risks with the USA weighed on growth, although a short AGOA extension provided breathing room for exporters.

Ten Rights Most Under Threat include Life; Freedom and Security of the Person; Health Care, Food, Water & Social Security; Children; Equality; Education; Arrested, Detained & Accused Persons; Environment; Freedom of Trade; and Property, with specific concerns over unsafe water, cancer‑treatment backlogs, prison overcrowding and learning outcomes.

Key Recommendations to Strengthen Human Rights

1. Protect Life, Safety and Accountability

• Create a single, real‑time crime data platform linking SAPS, the NPA, forensics and intelligence, with weekly leadership reviews.
• Target murder hotspots and align deployments to intelligence.
• Declare gang violence a national disaster to unlock emergency, coordinated responses.

2. Jobs, Youth and Opportunity

• Shift from rigid numerical targets to removing structural barriers (notably spatial segregation and safety);
• Expand TVET tied to paid apprenticeships/internships; offer tax credits for firms hiring under‑30s; merge fragmented youth programmes into one vehicle with clear targets.
• Roll out rental subsidies/low‑deposit guarantees to help young workers move to jobs.
• Deregulate township micro‑enterprise zones to ease start‑ups and encourage formalisation.
• Invest in long‑term career pathways (technology, green energy, innovation) and align education to economic demands.

3. Homes, Land and Capable Government

• Reject nil‑compensation and state custodianship; expand ownership via title deeds; shift to individual ownership and an aggregator model with an urbanisation plan and land release that matches demand.
• Address spatial segregation by focusing on urban affordable housing.
• Pilot a targeted affordable‑rental tax credit tied to location and duration.
• Stabilise coalition governments through public, binding and enforceable coalition agreements.

“Human rights are the water from our taps, the ambulance that arrives on time, the street that is safe to walk at night, and the school where a child learns to read. That’s why this Report Card is a daily test of our democracy. We need immediate, practical steps to protect life and dignity – starting with a single, real‑time crime data platform that drives hotspot deployments, and a time‑bound plan to clear IPID’s backlog with accountability up and down the chain,” said Daniela Ellerbeck, an attorney and the Foundation’s Constitutional Rights Programme Manager.

“Our goal is constructive: these are doable fixes – from mixed‑income affordable housing on public land, to expanding TVET with paid apprenticeships, and binding coalition agreements – that can be implemented to turn constitutional promises into lived reality,” Ellerbeck added.

Call to Action

Read the full Human Rights Report Card and the Summary to see the grades, analysis and full list of recommendations, and follow coverage of the launch event.