Political repression against social movements in South Africa

Abstract

At the heart of advancing human rights, freedom is an important and vital reality that South Africans deserve to experience. However, this is not the reality as numerous forms of human rights violations are rampant in the country. Currently, one of the most common human rights violations is political repression. Numerous human rights defenders, activists and social movements are under attack by the state through its apparatuses and other non-state actors. These two actors intend on sabotaging and destroying courses that advance human rights. The results of this are disastrous and catastrophic as certain activists and social movements are targeted and subjected to numerous human rights violations such as torture, extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, harrasment etc. These illegal actions undermine democracy and weaken the protection of human rights.