With the public hearings into the July unrest now concluded, South African Human Rights Commissioner Andre Guam has announced that the Chapter 9 institution is working with the Department of Education to develop a social cohesion curriculum.
This is in a bid to address racial and other social conflicts.
The SAHRC has been holding investigative hearings into the July unrest since November last year.
A number of witnesses have detailed that violence and killings during the unrest were rooted in racial and social divisions.
KwaZulu-Natal was the epicentre of the July 2021 civil unrest, which claimed about 350 lives and caused damage to public and private property amounting to billions of rands.
Violent looting and deaths were also recorded in Gauteng.
Since November last year, the SAHRC has held public investigative hearings in both provinces and has heard testimony from various quarters including civilians, businesspeople, and politicians.
The common theme has been that poverty unemployment and racism were the main forces behind the disruptions.
Guam said that social cohesion and diversity training must become part of the schooling system.
“The commissioner has already been in touch with the National Department of Basic Education and together with them, we are strongly looking at the development of such a programme,” he said.
It’s not yet clear when the commission will release its report on the hearings.
-EWN
In other news – Unathi Nkayi’s post leaves social media fuming
South African media personality, Unathi Nkayi was forced to delete an insensitive post where she was rubbing shoulders with the Queen Mother of Eswatini. Her trip to Swaziland saw her gaining the opportunity to meet and pose next to her. But she had to remove the post after seeing how hurt the majority of her followers were.
In the post, Unathi was seen kneeling down next to the Queen mother and even accompanied the picture with a short caption. Learn More
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
