The implementation of socio-economic rights in South Africa : a meta-analysis

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Socio-economic rights are the subject of much debate in South Africa andelsewhere. At first they were simply denied the status of any rights at all. Lately, thereis a fair amount of recognition for them as rights. The tendency is, however, torelegate them to paper rights and invest very little effort in bringing about their actualrealisation.In this thesis I inquire into the question of what a human right, properly socalled, is, and then whether, in the light of that inquiry, there is a basis for thereluctance to embrace socio-economic rights.South Africa is uniquely fortunate in having a constitution that givesrecognition to socio-economic rights and requiring the Human Rights Commission tomonitor their implementation. But again there is a risk that the recognition of socioeconomicrights is left as a constitutional matter, and nothing or little is done for theirpractical implementation.Therefore I inquire into the manner in which the Human Rights Commissionmonitors the implementation of these rights. The inquiry into the Human RightsCommission's monitoring role is largely a question of methodology. Whether, inother words, the methods of the Commission are such as to yield reliable informationon the subject.I also inquire whether the government's budgetary allocations indicate aserious approach to these rights. The budgetary allocations that are brought under themicroscope relate to the seven core rights enshrined in the constitution, namely,housing, health care, food, water, social security, education, and environmental rights.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University