The Ismail Mahomed Centre for Human and Peoples’ Rights (IMCHPR), established in 2001 at the University of Venda (UNIVEN), is dedicated to advancing social justice and human rights through research, education, and advocacy. The Centre is named in honour of Justice Ismail Mahomed, to recognise his significant contributions to human rights protection and social justice in South Africa. A distinguished South African jurist, Justice Mahomed was a significant figure in the civil rights movement and law during apartheid and was instrumental in shaping South Africa’s post-apartheid legal landscape.
Prof Ademola Oluborode Jegede, Director Ismail Mahomed Centre for Human and Peoples ‘Rights
Initially founded within the School of Law, since its resuscitation in 2022, the IMCHPR is now part of the Faculty of Management, Commerce, and Law following the university’s restructuring. Its core focus remains the fostering a culture of human rights protection and addressing social justice issues, including poverty, discrimination, and environmental injustice.
It conducts interdisciplinary research on key human rights topics such as climate change, biodiver-sity loss, and the rights of vulnerable populations. The IMCHPR engages in community outreach, national and international collaborations, and provides advocacy on pressing social, environmen-tal, and human rights issues.
The IMCHPR’s activities include training and teaching, conducting research on climate justice, and carrying out advocacy in grassroots communities on human rights intersections with environmen-tal and social justice issues. It has established strong local, national, and international partnerships with organisations such as the South Africa Human Rights Commission, Wits University, UFS, JAM-MA International, and the Climate Mobility Africa Research Network. It is a member of the Asso-ciation of Human Rights Institute (AHRI). Its collaborations foster teaching, research development and enhance advocacy efforts, including well received submissions to the United Nations Special Procedures on human rights and social justice issues.
The IMCHPR has made substantial contributions to both academic and community efforts, par-ticularly through its involvement in postgraduate human rights law programs, research outputs, advocacy and partnerships with grassroots communities. It supports the development of future human rights lawyers and actively addresses issues such as migration, gender-based violence, and the environmental challenges faced by underserved communities. Aside from being a research hub of the Faculty of Management, Commerce and Law, its key initiatives include working with local communities to address human rights violations, offering legal resources, and raising awareness through seminars and workshops. Additionally, the IMCHPR’s collaboration with the South Africa Human Rights Commission and other organisations supports its advocacy work, particularly con-cerning resource use, sustainable development, and climate justice.
The IMCHPR’s future goals include expanding its role as a leading human rights institution, devel-oping and offering bespoke training programmes to communities, and fostering continued part-nerships to address emerging challenges such as climate change and technological impacts on human rights. It is also committed and open to collaboration for enhancing its teaching, training and research capabilities as well as increasing its visibility both locally and internationally, thus con-tributing to the broader human rights and social justice agenda at home and beyond.
L-R: Prof Ademola Oluborode Jegede with interns, Reneilwe Thete, Ndzumbululo Mulaudzi and Bennet Netshishivhe
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University of Venda
Tel: 082 868 2218 / 082 868 1811
