Poverty, human rights law and socio-economic realities in South Africa†

Abstract

South Africa is a nation of immense variety. It has rich cultural diversity, an enviable climate and an abundance of natural resources. However, it is also a nation with vast economic disparities and a highly unequal distribution of income. Hence, in spite of abundant resources and a seemingly vibrant economy, South Africa still faces an enormous poverty problem that is fundamentally no different from that of other African countries. As in many other African countries this problem of poverty is compounded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic; by high levels of unemployment; by low levels of education; and by a number of other factors. Today, South Africa has one of the best constitutions in the world and a Bill of Rights that contains an array of justiciable socio-economic rights. The South African government has also attempted to alleviate poverty and mitigate its effects through progressively developing and expanding a social welfare system and other programmes such as the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) strategy. The purpose of this article is to analyse the role of human rights (specifically the Bill of Rights in the Constitution) and government efforts to alleviate poverty (through certain programmes and service delivery) in the face of adverse socio-economic realities in South Africa. † The research findings discussed in this article are part of a larger research project, funded by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF). The aim of the project was to determine the level of public awareness and perceptions regarding human rights protection in South Africa. An earlier version of this article was presented as a paper at the Law and Poverty Workshop organised by the Comparative Research Programme on Poverty (CROP) and the Social Science Academy of Nigeria, held in Abuja, Nigeria, 24–26 November 2003.