Programme News
24 January 2014
(News)
The unrest that flared up in Soweto and other areas this week showed a lack of compassion for foreign nationals trying to make a living in South Africa, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) said on Saturday.
“The LHR is shocked and disappointed by the blatant disregard for human life in these attacks and calls for a swift and efficient end to the violence,” said LHR attorney Patricia...
11 December 2013
(News)
A mental health and HIV pilot project has been launched by the UNHCR in partnership with Lawyers for Human Rights and the Centre for the Study of Violence and Torture to provide a holistic support to refugees and asylum-seekers with mental health illnesses.
The project, aiming to address the needs of people with mental health problems and improve the mental well-being of refugees in Gauteng, will...
11 December 2013
(Press release)
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) have been granted leave to appeal the dismissal of the case that challenged the unlawful closure of refugee and asylum-seeker traders’ informal businesses by the police. The challenge comes in the light of the right to work and trade as refugees and asylum-seekers in South Africa.
In July this year, LHR argued an application in the North Gauteng High...
6 December 2013
(Press release)
It is difficult to come to terms with the news that the world’s most revered statesman and human rights activist is gone. As is so often said, he now belongs to the ages.
Although an old man, he seemed immortal. But Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a man, a man whose dedication to the struggle against Apartheid and injustice, and opposition to oppression moulded him into a beacon and a...
2 December 2013
(Press release)
Refugee and asylum-seeker traders are seeking leave to appeal the dismissal of their case before the North Gauteng High Court where they challenged the unlawful closure of their informal businesses by the police. The challenge comes in the light of their right to work and trade as refugees and asylum-seekers in South Africa.
In September this year, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) brought an...
6 November 2013
(News)
South Africa, soon to celebrate 20 years of freedom, owes much to its African neighbours for political and economic support during our anti-apartheid struggle. However, close historical relations have often not translated into considered bilateral co-operation with regard to our migration policies after 1994.
It is to South Africa’s economic and social detriment that we have not been able...
1 November 2013
(News)
In September, an application was brought against the Limpopo provincial government and several departments, submitting that refugees and asylum seekers legally in the country were "entitled to trade and operate business to earn a living in circumstances where they had no other means of livelihood".
Foreign shopkeepers are taking their battle to run businesses freely in townships...
1 November 2013
(News)
Migrant and refugee experts have warned that xenophobic violence in South Africa appears to be on the increase - this at a time when a high court has declared an Ekurhuleni township a disaster zone.
The Johannesburg High Court ordered in an October 16 ruling that the Ekurhuleni municipality address the plight of victims of xenophobic violence after Somali, Bangladeshi and Ethiopian communities in...
28 October 2013
(News)
An identity document crisis has left the family of a matric pupil in despair.
Amogelang Ngakane, 18, may not be able to begin her final exams on Monday because she does not have a South African ID. Her guardian, Thuli Msingatha, has spent the past year trying to get Home Affairs to issue Amogelang with a birth certificate in order for her to get an ID.
Amogelang was born in South Africa. Her...
28 October 2013
(Press release)
PRESS RELEASE
Of the 353 Home Affairs online birth registration facilities currently available in hospitals across the country, 111 (31.4%) are currently experiencing debilitating "infrastructure or IT related problems", according to a reply to a DA parliamentary question.
Online birth registration facilities play a crucial role in ensuring that birth registrations take place as soon as...