[PRESS RELASE] LHR IN COURT TO CHALLENGE SYSTEMIC FAILURE OF ASYLUM SYSTEM

From 26 November to 28 November 2019, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will appear in the Pretoria High Court in the matter of KN & Others v The Standing Committee For Refugee Affairs & Others case number 50342/16, which seeks to address systemic failures within the asylum seeker application system.

LHR will make submissions to a full bench highlighting that through their application for asylum, the applicants’ experienced woefully inadequate decision-making which was tainted by many of the same errors that have been previously condemned by the courts.

The applicants seek an order directing the Minister of Home Affairs, the Director-General, and the Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs to investigate the pattern of errors that are raised in this application, to formulate plans to address these problems, and to tell the court of their plans.
Through LHR’s work in its law clinics, LHR has identified that the applicants’ experiences are not unique but rather reoccurring and are experienced by many asylum seekers across South Africa. The court will hear argument about how these systemic flaws in the adjudication process of asylum applications and the lack of procedural safeguards have led to a collapsed asylum system.

We hope the outcome of this matter will have a significant impact on the asylum seeker system, as it aims to foster accountability, transparency and good faith.

Support for this case is generously provided by Legal Aid South Africa.

For more information contact:
Jessica Lawrence
Phone: 011 339 1960 / 082 772 9857
E-mail: jessical [at] lhr [dot] org [dot] za
Website: www.lhr.org.za