“The blood we sacrificed was worth it” (South Africa)

Selinah Mnguni, a Sharpeville massacre survivor. © OHCHR

Selinah Mnguni was 23 years old and three months pregnant when she was injured during the Sharpeville massacre on 21 March 1960. Selinah and thousands of other young people were attending a protest in peaceful defiance of the apartheid regime and the pass laws that were adopted to restrict and control the movement and employment of millions of Black South Africans.

Selinah was shot in her leg but survived. Many others were not so lucky. A total of 69 unarmed and non-violent protesters were gunned down by the South African police and nearly 200 more were injured. Protestors as young as 12 and 13 years of age were killed.

The Sharpeville massacre sparked mass protests by Black South Africans across the country, many of which were ruthlessly and violently crushed by the military and South African police. The moral outrage of the international community led the United Nations General Assembly to pronounce 21 March as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The massacre was among a series of events around the world that inspired the development of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which entered into force on 4 January 1969. The Convention reaffirms the dignity and equality of all human beings and obliges States Parties to ensure that all appropriate measures are undertaken, including in policy and practice, to eliminate racial discrimination.

This year, the UN and UN Human Rights joined South Africans to mark the sixty-first anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre. “Youth standing up against racism” was the theme, aiming to foster a global culture of tolerance, equality and non-discrimination that calls on everyone to stand up against racial prejudice and intolerant attitudes. The campaign #FightRacism was launched to promote awareness about these critical issues.

The UN Human Rights Regional Office for Southern Africa produced a series of digital stories on the Sharpeville massacre and young people’s concerns about their human rights. It also contributed to the headline story at the Anti-Racism Live Global Digital Experience, held on 21 March, which featured acclaimed artists, actors and prominent speakers from South Africa, including Thuli Madonsela, Zulaikha Patel and Zwai Bala.

Abigail Noko, the UN Human Rights Regional Representative, used the opportunity to call on decision makers to invite youth to participate in discussions on human rights and eliminating racial discrimination. “We need the voices of young people to break through the silence that locks in discrimination and oppression. We must listen to them, learn from them and work with them to build a better future,” she said.

Perseverance and determination are also needed to build on the lessons learned from the Sharpeville tragedy and to repair the injustices of the past. A robust human rights framework is the only way to provide a remedy for those injustices and to combat inequality and the underlying structural differences that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

At 84 years of age, Selinah is proud of her efforts to end apartheid. “I know that the democracy we have today was achieved in part because of our actions. The blood we sacrificed was worth it,” she says. 

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