President Jacob Zuma is due to speak at a Human Rights Day commemoration at the Walter Sisulu Hall in Kliptown, Soweto on Wednesday morning.
Human Rights Day, previously known as Sharpeville Day, is celebrated in remembrance of the Sharpeville massacre on March 21, 1960.
The Pan Africanist Congress had called on black men to leave their pass books at home, go to the nearest police station and demand to be arrested for not carrying the documents.
However, at the Sharpeville police station, police opened fire on the advancing crowd, killing 69 people and injuring 180 others who refused to carry the pass books.
The theme of Human Rights Day this year, will be "working together to promote unity in diversity and human dignity for all".
Fifty-two years after the massacre, Zuma will deliver a keynote address to reinforce government's commitment to protect and promote human rights.
