Human rights can be as simple as not going hungry, said a South African lawyer who spoke at the West campus Monday.
The lecture, “The Right to Food in South Africa: Giving Substance to Socioeconomic Rights,” was given by University of KwaZulu-Natal professor Dave Holness.
Holness works at the university as the director of the Campus Law Clinic and also serves as an attorney for the High Court of South Africa. The professor’s seminar focused on giving what he called a bird’s eye view of the struggling socioeconomic situation in South Africa.
“I’m very patriotic about the changes that have come about in South Africa,” he said. “I’m embarrassed to the point of tears in relation to the atrocities of the past. I’ve realized the horrors of the past, but I’m so proud of what we’ve become as a nation.”
Holness opened his lecture by providing a brief background on the political history of South Africa, explaining how the nation has evolved from a very segregated society to one of progressive change.
“Separate [territories] were established for separate ethnic groups, and they were given pseudo-rights,” he said, describing South Africa’s past under the Group Area Act. The act was repealed in 1989, ending racial zoning in the nation.
He added, however, that the country isn’t perfect yet, and widespread hunger is still very much an issue there.
“I don’t understand why the focus has been on other socioeconomic rights,” he said. “To me, food must come before the others. It’s a primal need.”
Holness said South Africa’s response to its people’s food needs is inadequate, citing a distinct gap between the different social classes.
There is still not a system in place to provide food in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency, he said. Although there is plenty of food in the nation, distribution is a major problem that needs to be improved, he said.
“I don’t want to bring the government to its knees,” he said. “I advocate for policies which will better realize the right to freedom.”
Holness’s career as a lawyer has helped him greatly to advocate for human rights, he said. Law provides him with a chance to use his strengths and passions to make society better.
“I had a lot of money, and I hated it,” he said. “It sounds corny to say it, but to me you only live once, and law gives you the opportunity to make big changes.”
History alumnus Ted Novak attended the seminar because of his interest in the political situation in Africa. Novak, who plans on getting his master’s in social justice and human rights at ASU, said he was excited to learn from Holness’ speech.
“It really piqued my interest in South Africa,” he said. “I want to learn more about the country and travel there.”
Novak said he hopes human rights issues will take more prominence than they have in the past.
ASU has done much to support such advocacy, he said.
“I’m very proud that ASU has the farsightedness to invite people like [Holness] and adopt a program this innovative,” Novak said. “It makes me very proud that I was an undergraduate here and that I’ll be going to graduate school here.”
Holness’ lecture is the second in a series of seminars presented by the Master of Arts Program in Social Justice and Human Rights. A third lecturer, rights activist Simon Weldehaimanot, will speak at 12 p.m. on Nov. 10 in the Classroom Laboratory/Computer Classroom building, Room 180.
His topic will be “The Human Rights Situation in Eritrea: The Promise Betrayed.”
Reach the reporter at joshua.snyder@asu.edu.
