Programme News
6 November 2014
(Press release)
LHR is seeking an experienced human rights lawyer to head its Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme, based either in Johannesburg or Pretoria.
4 November 2014
(Press release)
UNHCR is today launching a global “I Belong” campaign aimed at ending within 10 years the problem of statelessness – a devastating legal limbo for the millions of people worldwide who lack any nationality and the human rights protections that go with it. The goal of eradicating statelessness is looking increasingly possible thanks to dramatic recent progress in the number...
22 October 2014
(News)
Following numerous reports of abuse, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has asked the organisation to establish an office at the centre.
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba, under pressure from Parliament to account for reported human rights abuses at Lindela Repatriation Centre, has invited the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to establish an office at the centre.
Last week the...
21 October 2014
(Press release)
Lawyers for Human Rights are concerned by the ongoing practice of police stations being used to detain people for immigration reasons - often in poor and overcrowded conditions and for excessive periods of time.
This was demonstrated by the detention of more than 200 people for over two months at the Benoni Police Station and detention of more than 20 people at the Primrose Police Station on the...
17 October 2014
(News)
Signatory to the UN refugee convention, and boasting arguably the most progressive Constitution in the world, South Africa is often perceived to be a safe-haven for refugees fleeing conflict and persecution in their own countries. This is a misperception. A 2012 report by the African Centre for Migration and Society found that South Africa consistently failed to meet its legal obligations to...
14 October 2014
(News)
When tougher new immigration rules were first announced by the South African government earlier this year they sparked panic and uncertainty among many Zimbabwean expats living and working in the country. Some feared losing their jobs, others believed that it was nothing more than a ploy to force them out.
“It’s like they’re chasing us out, they’re killing us,...
10 October 2014
(News)
The M&G went undercover at the Lindela Repatriation Centre for illegal immigrants to see if some of the detainees would share their grievances.
On the wall at the entrance bold letters proclaim: “Lindela Repatriation Centre” and “Bosasa Operation”. I walk through the gate into the sheltered open space.
Inside, there is a canteen, which doubles as a spaza shop...
10 October 2014
(News)
After nearly two decades of criticism, flouted laws and disturbing reports, there seems to be a promise of change at the infamous Lindela Repatriation Centre.
In September the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) stepped in and said it required a long list of specific actions by the department of home affairs – the department responsible for the deportation of illegal immigrants...
10 October 2014
(News)
A group of 25 Nigerians ended their two-week hunger strike at the Lindela Repatriation Centre after a brutal attack on them allegedly by security guards who were apparently trying to force them to eat. The guards work for Bosasa Operations, the company charged with running the centre.
Five members of the group claimed that 10 guards shot at them with rubber bullets and beat them with batons.
As...
7 October 2014
(News)
Somali and Ethiopian asylum seekers and refugees have scored a longed-for victory against official xenophobia – the Supreme Court of Appeal has thrown out key elements of ‘Operation Hardstick’.
This is a police programme in terms of which, among other strategies, Somali and Ethiopian businesses in Limpopo were shut down regardless of whether or not they had valid licences...