We distributed sandwiches, fruits & meat at a primary school in Mamelodi
Thanks to our volunteers, students, UNHCR Southern Africa, 702, SABC News, Uzalo, SABC 1, SABC Iindaba UkhoziFM, Sowetan LIVE, DA Gauteng, ANC Gauteng & Outreach Foundation
April 2020 Womans Rights Invitation
April 2020 URA Exhibition
20 February World Day of Social Justice
An Open Letter to All Human Rights Institutions and Organizations, and to Everyone Who Declares: “I am Human”
We present the full prison letter of Former Supreme Court Judge Husamettin Uğur, who has been imprisoned in Turkey since 2016 for political reasons.
From within prison walls, Judge Uğur courageously shares his testimony — revealing the torture, injustices, and inhumane treatment he has endured. His words stand as a powerful indictment of systemic human rights violations.
This letter is a call to conscience — to all who value justice, dignity, and human rights.
Dr. Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu is a Turkish medical doctor and renowned human rights activist. Elected to the Turkish Parliament in 2018 as a member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), he has devoted his political life to exposing human rights violations and bringing cases of torture and ill-treatment in Turkey to public attention.
In February 2018, Dr. Gergerlioğlu was convicted of “spreading terrorist propaganda” over a 2016 social media post that did not advocate violence. On February 19, 2021, Turkey’s Court of Cassation upheld his conviction and sentenced him to two years and six months in prison.
On March 17, 2021, the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament stripped Dr. Gergerlioğlu of his parliamentary seat by reading the notification of his conviction in the General Assembly.
We will be engaging in a critical discussion on the parallels between the Apartheid regime in South Africa and present-day Turkey, featuring prominent South African human rights lawyers Adv. Krish Govender and Adv. Mfana Gwala, alongside Dr. Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu himself.
Mother’s Day Message by Ela Gandhi
Delivered on May 9, 2020
Hosted by the Universal Rights Association (URA)
March 20, 2021
INEQUALITY remains one of the greatest enemies of humanity.
According to the World Bank, South Africa is the most unequal country in the world.
In response, we have launched “The Act of Goodness: The Right to Food” sandwich project.
The initiative is simple yet impactful:
We collect extra sandwiches from schools where students can afford to bring more than one, and we distribute them to schools where many students arrive with no lunch at all.
Together, we aim to bridge the gap—one sandwich at a time.
South Africa | August 10, 2020
Universal Rights Association (URA) and the African Diaspora Forum (ADF)
cordially invite you to an online panel discussion on:
“Gender-Based Violence from the Human Rights Perspective”
Facilitator:
Atilla Dağ – Founder & Director General, Universal Rights Association (URA)
Panelists:
Ela Gandhi – Founder, Gandhi Development Trust
Fatima Chohan – Former Deputy Minister of Home Affairs
Abdul Elgoni – Chairperson, African Diaspora Forum (ADF)
Rehana Khan Parker – Founder, WOZA (Women of Zero Abuse)
Discussion Points:
To what extent does culture influence gender-based violence?
What is the role of civil society in combating gender-based violence?
What responsibilities does the state have in preventing gender-based violence?
How can we educate the broader public on the inclusive nature of universal human rights?
Join us as we explore solutions and strategies through the lens of human rights.
We had an amazing discussion on
WOMAN AS A Defender of Human Rights
WOMAN AS A Victim of Human Rights Abuse
Commissioner Angie Makwetla
She worked for many years with the late Dr Aggrey Klaaste, managing the Sowetan Nation Building Programs. Angie was appointed as a Commissioner for Human Rights in 2017. She is responsible for children’s rights within the commission. She is a past member of the Board of Trustees of the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) where she was chairperson of the Social and Ethics Committee. She is also a trustee of the Dr Thandi Ndlovu Children’s Foundation. She has received various awards and recognitions, including Shoprite/Checkers Woman of the Year Award (Media & Communications category), Visionary Leadership Award by the Soweto branch of the BWA.
Sharone Akambaram
Sharon is an activist. In the 1980s she was involved in education for liberation struggles working with young people who were forced to flee from their communities due to apartheid state repression and violence by the IFP. She was a party observer for the 1994 democratic elections as a representative of the ANC in Hillbrow. She also worked with the Treatment Action Campaign at its inception in the struggle for access to treatment for people living with HIV and AIDS, and later worked for the AIDS Consortium. Before joining LHR as the Head of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Project, Sharon worked for the international medical humanitarian organization –Doctors Wit out Borders as the founding Director.