Amnesty International South Africa on Thursday said there is an urgent need for specific legislation to protect those advocating for human rights, urging President Cyril Ramaphosa to acknowledge “human rights defenders” in addition to whistleblowers.

Amnesty Internal executive director Shenilla Mohamed said the protection of those who advocate for human rights should be paramount, particularly in a society that values justice and equality.

South Africa celebrates Human Rights Day on March 21.

Mohamed noted the murders of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, activist Imam Muhsin Hendricks, gender activist Pamela Mabini and medical doctor and activist Dr Gomolemo Mokae.

She noted that while the motives for the killings were not yet known, the murders must be met with a “prompt and thorough investigation that identifies and considers human rights works as a possible motive, holds perpetrators accountable and leads to justice”.

She highlighted that while Ramaphosa and the government had acknowledged the deaths and called for justice, it was important that he proactively advocated for the protection of human rights defenders.

“Importantly, the government must realise that the protection for human rights defenders is broader than the protection for whistleblowers, who are a subgroup of human rights defenders.

“The ultimate duty to protect them lies with the State. The South African government needs to develop and adopt domestic legislation for the protection of human rights defenders in the country, to ensure that systems are put in place to deal with the specific challenges faced by human rights defenders,” she said.