Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – A Pretoria judge has come under fire for highlighting the deep-seated racial divisions still prevalent in South Africa. Gauteng High Court Judge Madlenkosi Motha said he could not properly assess a Black Economic Empowerment case before him because there was no black advocate represented. Motha took [...]
©- - 23 april 2024 - 08:34:12 - thread Society (278 words)


New York, US (PANA) - Racism is “an evil infecting countries and societies around the world”, the UN chief has said in his message marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, but it impacts communities differently. The international day on Thursday highlights that theme, as well as the importance [...]
©- - 21 march 2024 - 05:27:45 - thread Society (381 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The official South African opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has confirmed that it will file charges against prominent politician Julius Malema and the government at the United Nations Human Rights Council. This is after Malema, the leader of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters, on Sunday urged [...]
©- - 01 august 2023 - 10:45:22 - thread Society (356 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The South African Communist Party (SACP) on Monday pledged to lay criminal charges against activist Nicole Barlow, who posted an inflammatory tweet about former party leader Chris Hani. Hani was the leader of the SACP and chief of staff of the armed wing of the [...]
©- - 27 june 2023 - 08:25:36 - thread Society (246 words)


New York, US (PANA) - Racism is a global problem, and every country must take a stance against it, General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi said on Monday, addressing the latest meeting of a UN platform to improve the safety and quality of life of people of African descent worldwide.  “Racism and [...]
©- - 31 may 2023 - 05:48:23 - thread Society (663 words)


Washington, DC, US (PANA) - The UN International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice in policing ended a 12-day visit to the United States on Friday, calling on Washington to boost efforts to promote accountability for past and future violations. During the visit, the Mechanism visited Washington DC, Atlanta, Los Angeles, [...]
©- - 06 may 2023 - 06:36:06 - thread Society (521 words)


New York, US (PANA) - With xenophobia, prejudice, and hate speech on the rise, the UN community gathered in the General Assembly Hall on Wednesday to call for action to root out racism and discrimination across the world.  The annual ceremony to mark the International day for the Elimination of Racial [...]
©- - 22 march 2023 - 06:05:08 - thread Society (376 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – President Cyril Ramaphosa will Tuesday lead the national commemoration of Human Rights Day under the theme, “Consolidating and Sustaining Human Rights Culture into the Future.” The annual public holiday commemorates the 21 March, 1960 Sharpeville Massacre where police shot dead 69 anti-apartheid protesters. The incident sent [...]
©- - 21 march 2023 - 06:39:46 - thread Society (325 words)


New York, US (PANA) - United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Ms. Mojankunyane Gumbi of South Africa as Special Adviser for Addressing Racism in the Workplace. The Special Adviser will provide strategic advice to the Secretary-General on addressing racism and racial discrimination, a statement by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, [...]
©- - 29 january 2023 - 07:51:51 - thread Society (297 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday condemned a Christmas Day racial incident at a popular resort, which has made headlines around the country. A video showing white men attacking two black teenagers at a swimming pool in Bloemfontein has gone viral. Police are investigating a [...]
©- - 27 december 2022 - 11:33:19 - thread Society (188 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - The South African government has condemned an incident of racism at a Cape Town bar which has made headlines around the world. Thabiso Danca laid a complaint after he was last week barred from entering Hank's Olde Irish pub in the city centre by a [...]
©- - 08 december 2022 - 18:04:48 - thread Society (204 words)


Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - More than two years since the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in the United States sparked the global Black Lives Matter movement, there’s been only “piecemeal progress” in addressing systemic racism, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Friday, in a new [...]
©- - 01 october 2022 - 05:33:34 - thread Society (597 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The High Commission of Nigeria has warned citizens living in South Africa to be vigilant and exercise caution following a surge in xenophobia which has been fuelled by the Operation Dudula movement. “This is to advise Nigerians living in South Africa to be vigilant and [...]
©- - 05 september 2022 - 12:31:12 - thread Society (338 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - Tensions remain high at Stellenbosch University, near Cape Town, following a racist incident a week ago that has sent shockwaves across South Africa. PANA reports that a white student was filmed urinating on a black student’s laptop computer in a dormitory. The incident sparked angry [...]
©- - 23 may 2022 - 13:54:46 - thread Society (269 words)


New York, US (PANA) - Racism continues to poison institutions, social structures, and everyday life across all societies, the UN chief said on Friday at a dedicated meeting against what he referred to as a catalyst that “normalises hate, denies dignity, and spurs violence”. “It continues to be a driver of [...]
©- - 19 march 2022 - 08:37:20 - thread Society (410 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The Desmond Tutu Trust has condemned the “loathsome” desecration of a popular Tutu mural in downtown Cape Town after it was emblazoned with racist graffiti. Trust chairperson Mamphela Ramphele said the incident undermines South Africa's democracy and indicates that work is still needed to restore [...]
©- - 28 september 2021 - 17:18:51 - thread Society (157 words)


Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - UN independent human rights experts on Monday denounced a government-backed report into racism in the United Kingdom, saying that it further distorted and falsified historic facts, and could even fuel racism and racial discrimination. “In 2021, it is stunning to read a report on race and ethnicity [...]
©- - 19 april 2021 - 13:40:24 - thread Society (670 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – Veteran South African political leader Helen Zille has once again been accused of racism over a social media post addressing the Black Lives Matter movement. The former leader of the official opposition Democratic Alliance addressed the carnage in northern Mozambique to discredit the #BlackLivesMatter movement [...]
©- - 13 april 2021 - 12:46:24 - thread Society (361 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – A South African university lecturer is in hot water over remarks he made about Adolf Hitler. University of Cape Town (UCT) lecturer Lwazi Lushaba was recorded saying “Hitler committed no crime. All Hitler did was to do to white people what white people had normally [...]
©- - 09 april 2021 - 12:28:09 - thread Society (233 words)


New York, US (PANA) - Although the past year has seen the world battling the deadly impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scourge of racism has also devastated many lives with tragic consequences, the UN refugee agency said on Sunday. Violent and deadly attacks against Black, Brown, Asian and Indigenous people, [...]
©- - 21 march 2021 - 10:40:00 - thread Society (388 words)


New York, US (PANA) - Much of today’s racism is “deeply entrenched in centuries of colonialism and enslavement," the UN chief said on Friday ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. “Today, apartheid lies dead. But, sadly, racism lives on – in all regions and all societies,” [...]
©- - 20 march 2021 - 11:34:23 - thread Society (450 words)


Brussels, Belgium (PANA) – Systemic racism in Europe runs deep across all strands of society and structures and jeopardises the promotion, protection and realisation of human rights of all persons, the High Representative of the European Union has admitted. In a declaration issued on Friday ahead of the International Day for [...]
©- - 19 march 2021 - 13:48:18 - thread Society (535 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday said South Africa still faces challenges with racism, despite making progress with the scourge. He addressed recent racial clashes in Eldorado Park near Johannesburg and The Cape Town suburb of Brackenfell which indicates the "state of race relations in our [...]
©- - 16 december 2020 - 15:49:55 - thread Society (256 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – Police used stun grenades and water cannons to disperse angry protestors outside a Cape Town school on Friday. For the second time in as many weeks, hundreds of members of the opposition Economic Freedom Front political party gathered outside the Brackenfell High School to protest [...]
©- - 20 november 2020 - 15:15:43 - thread Society (225 words)


Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) – Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights has strongly condemned racist aggression against Sub-Sahara African workers in Sousse region, 140 km southeast of Tunis, and called for sanctions against the perpetrators of the behaviour.   In a statement issued on Sunday, the Forum denounced the recurrence of different [...]
©- - 20 september 2020 - 16:31:36 - thread Society (290 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has joined the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s condemnation of US President Donald Trump’s alleged racial slurs about Africa and its leaders. As previously reported by PANA, the claims were made by Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen who has released [...]
©- - 09 september 2020 - 15:55:50 - thread Society (316 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The Nelson Mandela Foundation on Tuesday slammed disparaging remarks allegedly made by United States President Donald Trump about the world statesman. The claims were made by Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen who has released a book claiming Trump disparaged the Nobel Laureate and other African [...]
©- - 08 september 2020 - 10:41:06 - thread Society (245 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – Football legend Mark Fish is on the ropes following a storm of criticism he received for wading into the Black Lives Matter campaign. The former national defender who also represented Orlando Pirates, Bolton Wanderers and Lazio, came under fire for liking a racist tweet that [...]
©- - 27 july 2020 - 12:38:40 - thread Society (228 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – A Johannesburg lawyer is being investigated by the Legal Practice Council (LPC) over an offensive tweet he sent following the death of Nelson Mandela’s daughter Zindzi Mandela. Marc Aupiais is accused of saying that the former ambassador to Denmark “finally got her plot of land” [...]
©- - 24 july 2020 - 12:45:39 - thread Society (331 words)


Paris, France (PANA) - In the face of growing inequality, racism, violence and intolerance at the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNESCO is organising a special edition of the Master Class against Racism and Discrimination focusing on the global "Black Lives Matter" movement. Developed in partnership with the Musée de l'Homme, [...]
©- - 23 july 2020 - 17:51:40 - thread Society (176 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - A large group of leading African rugby coaches, former players and administrators have joined the Black Lives Matter movement. The group comprises former national stars Ashwin Willemse, Kaya Malotana, Hilton Lobberts, Norman Jordaan, Thando Manana and Adrian Jacobs, as well as former national coach Pieter [...]
©- - 16 july 2020 - 09:38:25 - thread Society (287 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – A famous statue of 19th-century colonialist Cecil John Rhodes has been beheaded in Cape Town. Police say it appears the incident happened over the weekend and a case was opened on Wednesday. In solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, a [...]
©- - 15 july 2020 - 12:36:16 - thread Society (195 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The South African government has issued directives to law enforcement agencies, including the Police Service, to activate their contingency plans in all provinces to ensure that a planned national truck shutdown is policed. This follows a wave of attacks on trucks on various national roads [...]
©- - 08 july 2020 - 18:28:48 - thread Society (207 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – Coca-Cola in South Africa has stopped all advertising on social media as part of a global corporate boycott that is gaining momentum. Camilla Osborne, head of communications in Coca-Cola Southern and East Africa, said the soft drink giant will suspend all advertising on Facebook, Twitter, [...]
©- - 03 july 2020 - 16:51:45 - thread Society (192 words)


New York, US (PANA) - UN’s top rights official, Michelle Bachelet, is to spearhead efforts to address systemic racism against people of African descent by law enforcement agencies, the Human Rights Council decided on Friday. The resolution – decided unanimously without a vote - follows a rare 'Urgent Debate' in the [...]
©- - 20 june 2020 - 07:53:52 - thread Society (1083 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has launched an anti-racism campaign, dubbed “Black Friday”, in solidarity with millions of people around the world who are marching under the banner of “Black Lives Matter”, following the killing of George Floyd in the United States. He urged everyone [...]
©- - 07 june 2020 - 13:49:35 - thread Society (208 words)


Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - Several hundreds of Tunisians and sub-Saharan Africans gathered on Saturday in front of the Tunis Municipal Theatre to denounce racism following the murder of George Floyd, an African-American who was strangled on May 25 by a white police officer in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in [...]
©- - 07 june 2020 - 09:49:30 - thread Society (241 words)


Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - Several youths from about 30 associations and non-governmental organizations in Tunisia gathered on Saturday in front of the municipal theatre on Bourguiba avenue in Tunis to denounce racism suffered for decades by African Americans, whose latest act was the death of George Floyd, killed by a [...]
©- - 06 june 2020 - 17:34:31 - thread Society (149 words)


Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - More than 30 Tunisian associations and NGOs Friday expressed their full solidarity with the millions of Americans who took to the streets about a week ago in different regions of the United-States against “the savage killing on 25 May in Minneapolis by a US police officer [...]
©- - 05 june 2020 - 21:33:06 - thread Society (308 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – A beauty queen’s dream of being selected as Miss South Africa have been shattered after her racist social media posts surfaced.   Johannesburg model Bianca Schoombee on Wednesday confirmed that she has withdrawn from the prestigious competition after it emerged that she sent racist tweets in [...]
©- - 20 may 2020 - 14:52:54 - thread Society (217 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – Police are trying to trace a KwaZulu-Natal woman who took to social media and allegedly defamed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa by referring to him as "an ape trying to act like a First World president".   Ironically, the scandal comes while Ramaphosa is being saluted [...]
©- - 23 april 2020 - 15:58:16 - thread Society (251 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – A Johannesburg businessman who made headlines around the world when he recorded himself making racist comments on Thursday apologised for the incident.   In 2018, Adam Catzavelos took a “selfie” clip of himself on a beach in Greece where he expressed delight that there were no [...]
©- - 13 february 2020 - 12:42:10 - thread Society (291 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday defended his decision to appoint a white male to head the country’s troubled power utility which is billions of dollars in debt. Andre de Ruyter's appointment as the new CEO of Eskom drew criticism last week from some unions, lobby [...]
©- - 25 november 2019 - 10:30:39 - thread Society (349 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – Adam Catzavelos, who sparked a national outcry when he filmed himself making racial comments in Europe, on Tuesday heard that he failed in his bid to have the matter dismissed. His legal team had made representations to the National Director of Public Prosecutions. The Johannesburg resident made [...]
©- - 12 november 2019 - 12:15:40 - thread Society (230 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The Department of Correctional Services of South Africa has confirmed that convicted racist Vicki Momberg has been on the run from the authorities since August after failing in her bid to appeal her sentence. The Johannesburg estate agent was last year convicted on four charges [...]
©- - 06 november 2019 - 09:58:15 - thread Society (233 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – South African retail giant Woolworths on Friday issued an apology after “mistakingly” marketing a gym bag in the colours of the Apartheid-era flag. Shoppers flagged the Country Road bag which was displayed in stores around the country. The company said the bag was designed in Australia [...]
©- - 18 october 2019 - 09:22:47 - thread Society (412 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on Wednesday confirmed that it will institute legal proceedings against top rugby star Eben Etzebeth in the Equality Court on Friday. The towering Springbok forward is representing his country at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan where [...]
©- - 02 october 2019 - 12:32:28 - thread Society (138 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The South African City of Cape Town plans to forge ahead with plans to erect a statue of Mahatma Gandhi despite the fact that the majority of respondents to a poll don’t want it. This was confirmed by the Committee Member for Community Services, Zahid [...]
©- - 27 september 2019 - 17:03:50 - thread Society (338 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on Tuesday ruled that recent comments attributed to firebrand political  leader, Julius Malema, amounted to hate speech.  This comes after the President of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on September 14 shared a video on his Twitter feed in which he [...]
©- - 24 september 2019 - 18:30:46 - thread Society (253 words)


Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – An urgent application by the Nelson Mandela Foundation over South Africa’s apartheid-era flag was dismissed in the Equality Court on Tuesday.  The foundation last month filed its application to declare that Ernst Roets, a senior official with the AfriForum organisation, is in contempt of court. This [...]
©- - 17 september 2019 - 12:23:01 - thread Society (350 words)