The Dullah Omar Institute meets the South African Human Rights Commission

The Commission was represented by Commissioner Sandra Makoasha and Senior Research Adviser, Mr Kenneth Sithebe while the Institute was represented by Mr Curtly Stevens, Dr Johandri Wright and Prof Tinashe Chigwata. This engagement centred on the intersection between local government and human rights with a particular focus on pro-poor municipal budgeting. The Institute and the Commission explored various areas of collaboration around this theme, including the development of a monitoring tool to assess how municipalities are promoting human rights. Among other things, it was highlighted that it is not useful to point out the shortcomings of municipalities and leave them to their own devices. Instead, what is needed is to build relationships and fortify collaborative efforts to improve the state of local government and make human rights a reality.