Programme News
27 January 2010
(Press release)
The South Gauteng High Court ruled on Monday that the Department of Home Affairs acted unlawfully in detaining a Burundian national for more than six months at the Lindela Repatriation Centre. Noting that the matter was “inherently urgent” because it involved individual liberty, the Court demanded the applicant’s immediate release. The judge declared that “a...
25 January 2010
(News)
The South African History Archive and the Southern African Centre for the Survivors of Torture will ask the Pretoria High Court to force the government to release an explosive report on post-election violence in Zimbabwe.
The two bodies, with the support of the Southern African Litigation Centre, last week filed papers in court in which they ask that the presidency be compelled to release the...
15 January 2010
(News)
Johannesburg - Thirty-nine foreign nationals, including mothers with young children, were arrested for loitering in the Johannesburg inner city, police said on Thursday. Inspector Gordon Billing said the people, mostly from Malawi and Zimbabwe, were arrested near the Johannesburg Central Methodist Church and the High Court on Wednesday.
"The Johannesburg central crime prevention made...
14 January 2010
(Press release)
Joint Statement on the Principle of Non-Refoulement and the Recent Forced Deportations of the Uighurs from Cambodia and the Lao Hmong from Thailand
We, the undersigned, condemn the actions in the last days of 2009 of some Asian governments in requesting, encouraging and performing the forcible deportation (refoulement) of refugees and asylum seekers from Cambodia and Thailand....
7 January 2010
(News)
The government has agreed to let an independent curator assess the circumstances of each unaccompanied minor at the Central Methodist Church before they can be relocated. Since September, when allegations surfaced about the sexual abuse of children at the church, the government has been trying to have the children removed from the church premises, which housed more than 2,000 mostly...
14 December 2009
(Press release)
We, being civil society organizations and individuals concerned with the advancement of the constitutionally protected right to environment that is not harmful to health or well-being and the right to have the environment protected for present and future generations, state as follows:
1. We are extremely concerned about...
8 December 2009
(Press release)
The following organizations would like to express our grave concerns regarding the humanitarian crisis that faces homeless people, particularly Zimbabwean migrants, who are seeking shelter at the Central Methodist Church (CMC) in downtown Johannesburg.
We commend the selfless intervention of Bishop Paul Verryn and his colleagues at the CMC who, for several years, have responded to the...
1 December 2009
(Press release)
The residents of the Mamelodi hostel won a victory in the North Gauteng High Court today where the court confirmed the interim order issued on 18 November 2009 and found that the attempted demolition and the removal of the roof from the Mamelodi Hostel unlawful and ordered the Tshwane municipality to resurrect the roof.
On 15 and 16 November 2009, the municipality began to demolish...
26 November 2009
(Press release)
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will appear today in the North Gauteng High Court to seek an order of contempt of court against officials from the Tshwane municipality who inhumanely and with a wanton disregard for the law, allowed the destruction of the hostel in Mamelodi.
Over the weekend of 14 and 15 November 2009, municipal officials began the destruction of the Mamelodi hostel...
25 November 2009
(News)
The level of crime in South Africa has evidently sent government into emotional bewilderment. This is more so as a result of the violent crimes whose perpetrators are apparently merciless and recognise no boundary. Everyone, excluding the perpetrators and those with whom they act in cahoots, is under siege. Obviously any responsible government would want to do something to curb or rid its...