March 21 will most likely be a day of celebrations; all in the name of Human Rights Day. These celebrations are perhaps a glimpse of the real events that have resulted in this public holiday. Whether we understand it or not, this day remains a momentous one in our history. In the recent past we have seen top politicians elbowing each other for a platform to engage the masses on the relevance of this day. Mind you, I am inclined to think that this will day marred by election promises.
What will they say this year? Perhaps they will give us a history lesson, or perhaps a monotonous rant as has been customary of politicians. Maybe they will tell the people of Sharpeville and the rest of South Africa what this day means for them. The possibilities of what they could say are endless. I am certain of this one thing though; they will not tell the people of Sharpeville or anywhere else for that matter to embark on mass demonstrations on this day; nor on any other day! The memories of Sharpeville, and more recently those of Bekkersdal, Pimville, and Cape Town, are clear examples that we should not demonstrate.
Many people also forget that on 21 March 1960 it was not just the people of Sharpeville that took to the streets. People of Langa and the Vaal going right up to Van der Bijl Park heeded the call! This could not have been achieved without the organizing and mobilizing of people, from students to workers. It is further testament of the power of standing in solidarity. While the events of this day also mark a fundamental attack on the pass laws of the apartheid system, the public today has a further challenge of devising peaceful yet effective means of demonstration.
What this means for the politics of today remains to be seen; and the extent to which the politicians and the ruling party are prepared to listen is anybody’s guess. From a youth perspective, we also await patiently to see how we will be consulted in contribution towards the National Youth Policy (NYP) 2015-2010, to get progress on the strides taken to implement NYP 2009-2014. As we look ahead we wait patiently for the establishment of a national youth ministry. Maybe it is safe to admit that we as the youth, and as a nation, have been playing a waiting game in many areas pertinent to our rights.
– Nqaba Mpofu
A! Campaign for Action and Accountability 
I absolutely agree! And most importantly, their solidarity pushed the government of the day to declare a state of emergency a week later. For some reason, we seemed to not grasp the fact that even though the present dispensation is legitimate we still have the responsibility and the power to keep it accountable. We need to rediscover the power of the solidarity you speak of.
I absolutle agree MR Mpofu in looking at these issue from an African view not just South African, althought a small number of victories in 2013, we have a long way to go until i truely celebrate human right day, as long as Africa overall, with 88 percent of the population living in countries designated either Not Free or Partly Free. Leaders like Goodluck Jonathan, Uhuru Kenyatta, Rorbet Mugabe and Omar al-Bashir. set us back with regard to human right its hard to belive that they also African’s, what is the AU doing about its? what is our government doing bout its? not so long ago we went exile to same of these countries, yes MR Mpofu we asking for more as youth, we want national youth ministry? the question is do we celebrate the sacrifies made by those who fought and died for us to be free? do we remeber the contribution of our African brothers and sisters who u now call name but gave us shelter when we fought for our freedom, i think our country and the government lack soul, the value of these day has decrease, us as a youth we dont appreciate and we have easly forggotten our past, do we even care about the actual right that we blessed with as African? we complain about goverment yet we dont go out and vote, each year the voters decrease, in some African countries like Suden some people dont even vote becouse they not recognised as Humans, in Sierra Leone you question goverment action you get killed, We can freely make fun of the president, Guinea, Mali and Ethiopia its a cry for help. I for one im thankful im a South African and i appriciate the contribution made by the heroes that died in shapeville 1960, in soweto 76, and all those not mentioned in books and tv series, if i read about the condition our siblings in African are facing. its tells me that i can not celebrate the human right not just yet becouse i voting for the goverment who doesnt care bout our continent. there is still a long way mr Mpofu.
The Humaj Rights Day would never be changed whatever people like or not,this day has been a day wr politicians elbowed each other.
Mr Mpofu, i agree radically with your sentiments and your views. Perhaps let us look at the state of government now, the politics particularly marching head on to the elections, can we safely say that our rights and the rights of our revolutionary leaders who have fallen are being put first? Can we safely say South Africa is better than it was 20 years before? Yes, we can say that because APARTHEID has been buried along with dire impacts. However more needss to be done, refferin to the NDP. We must remember that our government is responsible for implementing the NDP as a vehicle to drive to address the social issues and fulfil the mandate as documented in our constitution. Until there is gender equality,economic transformation and less corruption then it is safe to say that our country has not arrived at point where we can celebrate human rights day yet.
Wow, this is very enlightening. Thank you