The FW de Klerk Foundation has identified the country’s economic state as the most significant factor contributing to the decline in human rights. This follows the foundation’s release of its annual report card for 2024, which revealed a concerning deterioration in human rights.

The report evaluated 27 rights protected under the Constitution’s Bill of Rights and found that 11 rights have worsened, 10 have remained unchanged, and only 4 have shown improvement.

The Foundation’s Executive Director, Christo van der Rheede says, “Our economy is not growing, it’s stagnating, now a lot of people are unemployed. If you’re unemployed then your dignity is infringed upon because you live in poverty.”

‘We’ve also seen the state’s inability because of a lack of funding to really grow the educational sector in terms of ensuring that teachers’ posts are not being cut. But also we’ve seen a deterioration in the state of many of our health facilities and it can all be traced back to the state of our economy and the fact that fiscus is under severe pressure.”

PODCAST | FW de Klerk Foundation’s Executive Director Christo van der Rheede’s interview on First Take SA: