Pretoria - South Africans will tomorrow celebrate Humans Right Day - a day to reflect and honour those heroes and heroines who laid a monumental foundation during the liberation struggle for a rights-based, democratic and just society.
The day also celebrates the country's Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Marked on 21 March, Human Rights Day remembers the massacres in Sharpeville and other parts of the country. On that fateful day in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people in Sharpeville at a peaceful demonstration against the apartheid pass laws.
In recognition of the massacre, the United Nations General Assembly in 1966 declared the day as The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - which is observed annually.
This year's commemoration coincides with the 16th anniversary of the Constitution, which gives full expression to South Africa's democratic ideals which is a fundamental vision statement, which guarantees the rights of every South African and guides the policies of government and its actions.
The country is widely acknowledged for having one of the most progressive Constitutions in the world.
President Jacob Zuma will deliver the keynote address at an official event to be held at the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication in Kliptown, Soweto, under the theme: "Working together to promote unity in diversity and human dignity for all".
The theme calls on all South Africans, in the spirit experienced during the drafting of the freedom charter, to rally together and realise goals envisaged in the Constitution.
The President is expected to focus on government's commitment to reinforce, protect and promote the human rights that are enshrined in the Constitution.
