Interviewed by TJI Director Prof Siobhán Wills March 2022
Speaking on the impact of colonialism and racism on the right to health, and in particular on the impact of police violence on the right to mental health.
Dr Mofokeng is a medical doctor from South Africa who was appointed Special Rapporteur in July 2020. In her first report, A/HRC/47/28, Dr. Mofokeng stressed that the right to health includes 'the psychosocial elements that promote individual and social well-being,' noting that 'adverse health outcomes are not only about individual predisposition or genetics, but also about oppressive systems that established racial hierarchies, which enable enduring social discrimination beyond formal colonial structures and continue to perpetuate health inequalities.' In her most recent report A/HRC/50/28: Violence and its impact on the right to health she stressed the importance of adopting 'a substantive equality approach.' In that light, she has 'prioritized the analysis of violence and its impact on the right of everyone to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, within intersectional, anti-racism and anti-coloniality frameworks.'
The video is available at https://vimeo.com/708337248