World-famous human-rights activist Mary Burton played host to more than 100 University of Wisconsin students and Madison natives at the Pyle Center Thursday night. Burton is a highly outspoken commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa.

Burton has been involved in the politics of South Africa for more than 30 years. She moved to South Africa in 1961, where she joined the Black Sash, a human-rights group formed in 1955 and made up of white South African women. The group’s primary agenda was to remove the apartheid system of government, a system that created high levels of segregation in the country.

It took several years, but the group finally got its wish in 1994 when apartheid was abolished. This opened the door for South Africa’s first-ever democratic election, in which Nelson Mandela was elected president. He in turn called for the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, an organization with the goal of fostering equality and peace in South Africa. Burton was one of 17 chosen for the commission from a group of thousands through a selection process of live nationally televised interviews.

Burton stressed in her speech that although a lot has changed in South Africa, there is a long way to go.

“There remains a great deal to be done at the level of interpersonal relationships,” she said. “South Africa remains in many ways a deeply divided country.”

She went on to explain the turbulent financial situation of South Africa.

“It is estimated that three out of five South Africans live below the poverty line,” she said.

One student who attended the speech said she found it interesting and enjoyed seeing a speaker who is world-famous.

“I was really excited to see [Burton] was coming to campus,” said UW junior Katie Allen. “I heard about her in my history class last semester.”

Burton was brought to campus by the International Institute, which is a joint effort of the Office of International Studies and Programs and the College of Letters and Science and is funded by the J. Jobe Soffa and Marguerite Soffa Distinguished International Visitor Fund.