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South Africa: UN Experts Urge Govt to Comply With Torture Prevention Measures
allAfrica, 15 March 2023
United Nations torture prevention experts have called on South Africa to speed up the establishment of a national torture prevention watchdog to regularly examine prisons,… Read more »
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South Africa: South Africa's Prisons Are a Breeding Ground for the Spread of TB. Our Model Shows How
The Conversation Africa, 29 November 2022
South African prisons are famously overcrowded. Prison populations are believed to exceed capacity by an overall 33%, although that number jumps to over 200% at some facilities,… Read more »
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South Africa: Peter Hain - Neil Aggett Died Fighting Apartheid - South Africa's Rulers Have Betrayed the Struggle
The Conversation Africa, 10 March 2023
Neil Aggett, the trade unionist and anti-apartheid activist who died in detention at the hands of police 41 years ago, was one of very few white South Africans who actively fought… Read more »
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South Africa: UN Experts Call On South Africa to Create Torture Prevention Body
UN News, 13 March 2023
South Africa must swiftly set up a watchdog mechanism to examine prisons, detention centres, and other facilities, UN independent experts on torture prevention said on Monday,… Read more »
South Africa Urged to Establish Torture Prevention Body
South Africa must swiftly set up a watchdog mechanism to examine prisons, detention centres, and other facilities, United Nations independent experts on torture prevention said on Monday, March 13, 2023, citing "entrenched" ill treatment.
The recommendations follows a range of concerns - from poor detention conditions to allegations of corruption. The findings follow on the heels of the first visit of the UN subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to South Africa, which took place from February 26 to March 9, 2023.
The cycle of torture, humiliating treatment, overcrowding, inadequate food, sleep deprivation, and lack of health care in Jail Ogaden is consistent with the government's long-standing collective punishment of people who are perceived to support the ONLF. Human Rights Watch has previously documented how the Ethiopian army committed crimes against humanity and war crimes during counter insurgency operations against the ONLF in 2007 and 2008, including extrajudicial executions, torture and rape.
