ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa

The Socio-Economic Rights Project of the Dullah Omar Institute hosted two seminars on advancing the socio-economic rights of older persons, one at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Houghton, Johannesburg, on 5 August 2015 and another at the School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, on 11 September 2015.

This is the first decision of the Committee on International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) after the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in May 2013. The Optional Protocol was adopted in 2008 to allow for individual communication to the CESCR. It is believed that individual access to the CESCR will not only strengthen accountability mechanism to realize socio-economic rights, but will also give hope to the hopeless (Chenwi: 2010).

The South Africa Constitution and pertinent legislative frameworks recognise the right of access to housing. This right extends to people who live in informal settlements, where they erect shacks and other structures. These people also include persons that take occupation of places/settlements 'illegally', although they are not expected to resort to illegal means in exercising their right. Due to a lack of access to housing people often erect shacks or other structures on land for which they do not have legal occupation. Such persons occupy lands belonging to private persons or entities, government and local municipalities. As a result, South Africa continues to witness cases and incidents of forced evictions whereby persons who are in illegal occupation of land are forcefully removed from it. In addition, people are evicted for reasons to do with urban development and planning.