The South African Human Rights Commissions (SAHRC) is set to investigate the reason why some households have fully stocked cupboards while others are unable to have a decent meal even once a day. The commission this week announced national hearings into South Africa’s food industry, which it aims to begin by March next year. Broad themes the commission intends to probe were announced on Wednesday, and additional details will be released in 2026.
TheSAHRCstated that South Africa had abundant food production capacity, but that millions were struggling with malnutrition. “This profound contradiction represents a malfunction in the food systems of South Africa and a grave violation of the constitutional right of everyone to have access to sufficient food,” the commission stated. It added that it had an obligation to investigate the possibility of human rights abuses wherever they may occur in the republic.
“In fulfilment of its constitutional mandate, the commission will convene a national investigative hearing into the food systems of South Africa,” the SAHRC confirmed this week. Set to be held in March 2026, and will focus on seven broader topics. The topics include the corporate capture of food in South Africa, the power of civic mobilisation and systemic failures of government.
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The commission will also focus on the “indivisibility of rights”, as well as land reform and indigenous knowledge relating to agroecology. In the last of the seven topics, the SAHRC wishes to determine whether hunger is “a crisis of historical justice, not scarcity”.
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