United Nations in South Africa

Across South African homes, fathers are doing something easy to miss: showing up. In the school run, the bedtime story and the quiet word of encouragement, fathers are shaping how their children understand fairness, dignity and care for one another.

This Father’s Day, we celebrate every father and father figure - by blood, by choice or by community - who proves that strength looks like patience and that leadership often starts at the kitchen table.

To the fathers raising the next generation of South Africans: thank you for the work that doesn’t make headlines. Happy Father’s Day.

Too often, conflict cuts childhood short. But together we can build a future where every girl and boy grows up in safety and dignity.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, United Nations Chief, Antonio Guterres calls for an end to this abhorrent crime…https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-sexual-violence-in-conflict-day/messages

There is no mystery about how to treat depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress or psychosis. Evidence-based care exists. What sometimes stands between millions of people and recovery is not a lack of scientific understanding — it is a lack of will and funding. The UN family, working alongside governments and partners committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, is calling for mental health to be treated as the health priority it is. Investment in mental health is investment in people's ability to work, to parent, to contribute and to thrive.

The return is enormous. The cost of inaction is far greater. It is time to fund it.

Words matter. Hate speech—whether online or offline—is the first step towards dehumanisation and violence. Across South Africa and globally, vulnerable groups face targeted abuse: women, migrants, refugees, LGBTQIA+ people and people with disabilities.

But practical solutions exist. Education that helps us recognise and reject hate. Support for those targeted. Tech companies and governments taking responsibility for what their platforms amplify. Protection of freedom of expression alongside absolute accountability for harmful messages.

On this International Day for Countering Hate Speech, we’re rejecting prejudice in all its forms and building communities grounded in respect, dignity and human rights.

Child labour violates fundamental rights. It denies young people education, dignity and the chance to develop their potential.

The International Labour Organization’s Red Card to Child Labour campaign is a call to action: we must strengthen labour standards and enforcement to ensure every young person in South Africa is protected. When we uphold the right to education and freedom from child labour, we’re building the foundation for decent work and dignified livelihoods across the country.

ILO Pretoria office
UNDP South Africa
UNFPA in South Africa

50 years on we honour the youth of 1976 and stand with young people advancing dignity, equality and justice today.

📣Act now: amplify youth voices and defend rights

📽️Watch the message from (OHCHR) United Nations Human Rights Southern Africa Representative, Abigail Noko

➡️https://youtu.be/X0Tr_EyNt0g

16 June, Soweto, South Africa - 50 years later 16 June, Soweto, South Africa. 50 years on we honour the youth of ...