HSF is pleased to announce that Dr Lirette Bezuidenhout has joined the team as a research consultant. Lirette has a strong legal academic background with a particular focus on human rights in the African regional human rights system. She completed her LLB cum laude at the University of the Free State, whereafter she enrolled at the University of Pretoria to complete a LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa. During this time, she also spent a few months at the law faculty at Makerere University in Uganda. In 2005, she obtained an LLD at the University of Pretoria with a thesis entitled "An Analysis of State Compliance with the Recommendations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights". In 2016, she completed an LLM in Shipping Law with distinction from the University of Cape Town.
For the past 20 years, Lirette has served as legal researcher and legal adviser in the executive and legislative branches of government. She has worked in the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Department of Correctional Services, the Department of Defence as well as the Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly. Lirette has vast experience and valuable skills in policy development, legislative drafting and processing of legislation through Parliament as well as drafting legal opinions and memorandums of understanding.
