PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
31 MARCH 2023, PRETORIA
LINGUISTIC HUMAN RIGHTS DIALOGUE: In Conversation with Judge Albie Sachs
The Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), in partnership with the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the Multilingualism Education Project, will today be conducting a linguistic human rights dialogue with retired Constitutional Court Judge Albie Sachs, focused on Linguistic Human Rights in the South African justice system that will be moderated by Power FM Radio Presenter, Thabiso Tema.
Forming part of the panel discussions will be experts from the legal and linguistics field who will be deliberating on the use of language in the justice system and the implications thereof within the country’s multilingual context.
“The use of language in the justice system is an area of particular interest to us as an institution as it speaks directly to the effective protection of linguistic human rights when dealing with complex legal matters which can have dire consequences when misinterpreted” said PanSALB Chief Executive Officer, Mr Lance Schultz. He added that the discussions were a critical step in highlighting the urgent need for implementing the transformational agenda within the South African criminal and justice systems to make justice accessible to speakers of indigenous languages, particularly during the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL 2022-2032).
“We are very pleased for the opportunity to draw from the experience and knowledge of Judge Albie Sachs. We hope the dialogue will lead to a larger conversation around the implementation of language policies and change from unilingual language practices to multilingualism as proclaimed in the framework of the Constitution. The Constitution reflects the linguistically and racially diverse nature of our rainbow nation” he concluded.
ENDS
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Released on behalf of PanSALB: Ntombentle Huluhulu
Head: Marketing and Communication
Mobile: 061 581 5216
