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On Human Rights Day South Africans celebrate and re-affirm a commitment to the hard-won human rights that are enshrined in the Constitution.
Political leaders were out across the country, drumming up support, and reminding people how South Africa managed to get to where it is today.
Here’s a round-up of the best quotes from Human Rights Day:
Zuma also touched on returning the land, as the debate around land expropriation without compensation continues.
“As part of our commitment to the restoration of human dignity of our people, we will be taking practical and reasonable measures to return the land to the people. We will use all available instruments necessary in expediting land restitution and respond to land hunger.”
Zuma unveiled a memorial to black consciousness leader Steve Biko before proceeding to a commemoration event in King William’s Town.
“Slavery, forced labour, displacement, violent subjugation, racial classification with its humiliating tests, making people think they were inferior because of the colour of their skin, industrialised exploitation — these things are all, and much else besides, the legacy of those systems of repression and exploitation.” – DA leader Mmusi Maimane, who was speaking at the site of the Sharpeville Massacre, which happened on this day in 1960.
“The message this year must centre around embracing the rich cultural diversity of South Africa – with all its challenges and contradictions. If we do not, we will not be able to have an honest conversation about our divided past, nor will we be in a position to craft our shared future.”
