Implementing human rights principles: does post-apartheid South Africa measure up?

Abstract

Fifty years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the universality and validity of human rights principles are still called into question by persistent and gross violations of fundamental human rights in most parts of the world. Some anti-human rights activists are of the opinion that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a 'successful' failure while human rights advocates are of the view that the declaration has achieved some level of success. The reasons advanced as evidence of the failure of the Declaration revolve around the global increase in human rights violations and the degrading treatment of human beings in our society. These violations are attributed to a wide and complex variety of factors and forces, which include, among others, economic conditions, structural social factors and political expediency.