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

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.