Tour Guide: Welcome to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights tour.  During this tour you will learn about some of the laws of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (U.D.O.H.R.) and how many of these rights were abused during the time of apartheid.  

Many human rights from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were violated during the time of apartheid.  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a proclamation stating the rights of each human being, and the declaration is used to help provide fair laws. It assists in ensuring freedom, and has been signed by many countries since its creation in 1948.

First of all, Article 1 states that, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." During apartheid, the colored, black, and later the Pakistan and Indian immigrants did not have the same rights as the white people did.  This was because, in 1910, when South Africa was given independence, the British gave power only to the whites instead of equal power to all races. (This was the unofficial beginning of apartheid.) Also, the first article says, "They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." The laws created by the government affected the many of the people of South Africa very harshly.

Secondly, Article #2 states, "that all people are free from discrimination." Many of the races were being discriminated and segregated. They were mistreated and they were forced to hold passes that stated their address, job, age, name, etc., If the people did not have their passes on them, they were beaten or punished.

Article #3 says, "All people have the right to life, liberty and social security." Many civilians were killed even though they had the right to live. According to this article, the people of South Africa also have liberty and freedom. Many people were put in jail, due to their connection to the ANC and other groups.

Next, Article #5 states, "Nobody has the right to torture you." During the time of apartheid the people were segregated into groups, and then the blacks were separated into their "homelands" or what their ethnic background was. Due to this, many friends and families were separated and few possessions were allowed to be transported. This caused mental anguish to many people, and since many people were shot, or killed, this also caused much torture.

Finally, Article #30 states that, "In all parts of the world, no society, no human being should take it upon her or himself to act in such a way as to destroy the rights which you have been reading about." The government violated the rights of the blacks and the other groups during apartheid, therefore also violating this article.

I think you would agree that this has been a very exhausting tour on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The good thing is, that in South Africa, there was a document that was similar to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was created to help ensure peace. This document was called the Freedom Charter and was used to ensure peace and happiness. To learn more about the Freedom Charter, please join our next tour. It has been my pleasure talking with you today, and I hope to be your tour guide again soon.