Venue: Central South AfricaAs freedom of expression is enshrined in the Constitution, and South African not only celebrates Human Rights Day on the 21st of March, but also World Poetry Day, OFM’s inviting you to make your voice heard.
Send your original poem with Human Rights as the topic to poetry@ofm.co.za or Whatsapp your text with the keyword 'poetry' to 084 222 9497 (Data rates apply) and it might be shared on this page in celebration of Human Right Day 2019.
Please keep it clean, no profanity or hate speech allowed. See what this freedom entails according to the Constitution, below. Remember it is not a human right if you infringe upon the rights of others.
Authors retain copyright.
Chapter 2; 16 - Freedom of expression
1) Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes: a) freedom of the press and other media; b) freedom to receive or impart information or ideas; c) freedom of artistic creativity; and d) academic freedom and freedom of scientific research. 2) The right in subsection (1) does not extend to: a) propaganda for war; b) incitement of imminent violence; or c) advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm.
OFM listener, Zanell de Bruin shared this heart-warming poem concerning the Right to Equality and Freedom from Discrimination titled 'Unique Physique':
Another young listener shared this:
Gedig: Sumé Weber
10jaar oud
SUID-AFRIKA IS MY HART SE PUNT
Ou oom meerkat sit en staar voor hom uit
Terwyl hy die voëltjies hoor fluit
Dis hoe dit is in die Krugerwildtuin
Met die diere wit,swart en bruin
Of dit nou is in die besige paaie van die Jakaranda stad,
Of die pragtige plase by die Vrystaatse platteland
Min dinge kom by die mooi Kaapse see
Maar alle plekke in Suid-Afrika se mooiheid voer jou mee
En daardie geurige potjiekos
En op n reënerige dag heerlike melkkos
Ons eet ook graag pannekoek uit ouma se ou resepte boek
Suid-Afrika is n lekker land
Met die diere -soos die groot olifant—
Suid-Afrika is my hart se punt
En—-hier word baie liefde gevind!!!!
Know your human rights
According to government, human rights are rights that everyone should have simply because they are human.
In 1948, ironically the same year that the Nationalist Party came to power in South Africa and formalised segregation, the United Nations defined 30 articles of human rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It established universal human rights on the basis of humanity, freedom, justice, and peace.
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10 December every year.
The date was chosen to honour the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first global enunciation of human rights and one of the first major achievements of the new United Nations.
Since 1995, Human Rights Day has been a public holiday celebrated in South Africa. It shares the day with the anniversary of the infamous Sharpeville Massacre, which occurred in 1960. This gross violation of human life happened when a march by ordinary South Africans protesting the Pass Laws turned into a police-led bloodbath. The day marked a turning point for the future of South Africa and the struggle for liberation, which intensified in its wake.
South Africa has included indivisible human rights in our own Bill of Rights, Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
The articles of our Constitution can only be changed by a two-thirds majority in Parliament, which means it is difficult for anyone, including the government, to take away the basic rights of a citizen.
The Bill of Rights preserved in our Constitution is the cornerstone of our constitutional and representative democracy. The Constitution as our supreme law means that no laws may be passed that goes against it. The Bill of Rights also comprehensively addresses South Africa’s history of oppression, colonialism, slavery, racism and sexism and other forms of human violations. The Bill of Rights embeds the rights of all people in our country in an enduring affirmation of the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom.
The 30 Human Rights
| Article 1 | Right to Equality |
| Article 2 | Freedom from Discrimination |
| Article 3 | Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security |
| Article 4 | Freedom from Slavery |
| Article 5 | Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment |
| Article 6 | Right to Recognition as a Person before the Law |
| Article 7 | Right to Equality before the Law |
| Article 8 | Right to Remedy by Competent Tribunal |
| Article 9 | Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile |
| Article 10 | Right to Fair Public Hearing |
| Article 11 | Right to be Considered Innocent until Proven Guilty |
| Article 12 | Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence |
| Article 13 | Right to Free Movement in and out of the Country |
| Article 14 | Right to Asylum in other Countries from Persecution |
| Article 15 | Right to a Nationality and the Freedom to Change It |
| Article 16 | Right to Marriage and Family |
| Article 17 | Right to Own Property |
| Article 18 | Freedom of Belief and Religion |
| Article 19 | Freedom of Opinion and Information |
| Article 20 | Right of Peaceful Assembly and Association |
| Article 21 | Right to Participate in Government and in Free Elections |
| Article 22 | Right to Social Security |
| Article 23 | Right to Desirable Work and to Join Trade Unions |
| Article 24 | Right to Rest and Leisure |
| Article 25 | Right to Adequate Living Standard |
| Article 26 | Right to Education |
| Article 27 | Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of Community |
| Article 28 | Right to a Social Order that Articulates this Document |
| Article 29 | Community Duties Essential to Free and Full Development |
| Article 30 | Freedom from State or Personal Interference in the above Rights |
Download your own copy of the South African Constitution here
