Ingrid Daniels | South Africa’s Journey Through Apartheid, Resistance and Its Post-Apartheid Human Rights Imperative – Lessons for our World Today

Das sagt der/die Veranstalter:in:

Vortrag und Gespräch auf Englisch

South Africa’s Apartheid era, prior to the new democracy in 1994, constructed and legalised structural and systemic social, economic, political and a racial exclusion which violated the human rights of the majority of South Africans. A legal system of institutionalised racial segregation and white supremacy in South Africa was enforced by the National Party that came into power in 1948. It separated people into white, black, colored, and Indian groups, restricting black Africans‘ rights, land ownership, and movement while creating „homelands“.

The regime ended following internal resistance and international pressure, resulting in the first democratic election in 1994. Resistance movements and actions surged and grew strong over more than three decades with the formation of the African National Congress (ANC) and Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) led campaigns, transitioning from nonviolent protest to armed struggle after the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre. The new democratic government of South Africa, with its new Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, No.108 of 1996, and Bill of Rights paved the way for the protection of the rights of all persons to afford them dignity, equality and inclusion.

Despite the challenges and the slow implementation of policies, South Africa remains a country which offers a great example in policy development, legal reform, forgiveness, reconciliation and inclusion of the diverse people from different cultures, religions, gender, disability and race to form what is known today as the Rainbow Nation.

The lecture will provide brief vignette of Ingrid Daniel’s personal journey.

Prof. Dr. Ingrid Daniels is CEO at Cape Mental Health, the oldest community-based mental health NPO (1913) in South Africa. She is the Past President of the World Federation for Mental Health, Honorary Professor at Bochum Protestant University of Applied Sciences, Germany and Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Division of Intellectual Disability, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa. She serves on Global Alliance for Mental Health Advocates, Advisory Panel, Singapore and the South African Federation for Mental Health Board. Having grown-up during the Apartheid regime she continues to advocate for the rights of mental health users and those marginalised. She opposes all forms of discrimination and human rights violations.

Eine Veranstaltung des Fritz Bauer Forums.