The executive director of Amnesty International South Africa, Shenilla Mohamed, says despite the fact that South Africa gained its freedom 31 years ago, its people are not free.

Mohamed says the majority in the country are shackled by the lack of access to their basic rights and services.

She was commenting after the global organisation released its annual report on the state of the world’s human rights. The report shows that the global anti-rights campaign, which is now being turbocharged by the Trump administration, is gutting international human rights protections and endangering billions across the globe.

“Every year, Amnesty International condemns the persistently high levels of gender-based violence and widespread crime in South Africa, urging authorities to take decisive action. Yet, year after year, little to no meaningful progress is made, and perpetrators continue to operate with impunity. This continues despite clear evidence that the criminal justice system is failing victims,” Mohamed said.

Mahomed also said it has become exhausting to raise issues of gender based violence, service delivery, and the government does nothing about them.

“We are exhausted by the cycle of raising these issues and seeing no real change. We highlight them year after year in our The State of the World’s Human Rights report, yet the government remains unresponsive in practically tackling these issues. The report once again exposes the South African government’s ongoing failure to deliver essential services to its people,” she added.

She reiterated that many communities still endure chronic water shortages, children are forced to use unsafe, illegal plain pit toilets in schools, and while the government proclaims a strong commitment to addressing climate change, tangible progress remains painfully slow.