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Joint Press Statement: for Immediate Release | Joint Civil Society Response to President Ramaphosa’s Address on Migration

Date: 15/06/2026

We, the Undersigned Organisations, Individuals, Groups, Movements and Communities welcome President Cyril Ramaphosa’s unequivocal condemnation of xenophobia, and unlawful attempts by private individuals and groups to enforce immigration laws.

The President’s affirmation that immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the state, and not private actors, is an important reaffirmation of the rule of law and South Africa’s constitutional commitment to human dignity, equality, and non-discrimination.

We acknowledge and welcome several important commitments in the President’s address.

  • The unequivocal rejection of unlawfulness attempts by private individuals and groups to enforce immigration. The President stated clearly that only authorised state officials may act against immigration law violations, that no person may confront others in the street to demand proof of nationality, and that the responsibility for immigration enforcement rests with the state and the state alone. We welcome this unambiguously.
  • The events in Durban in May 2026, in which anti-migrant formations surrounded police stations, accompanied enforcement operations, and issued public ultimatums to Migrants to leave by 30 June 2026, represent precisely the kind of parallel enforcement the President has now publicly and explicitly We call on the government to give concrete operational effect to this commitment.
  • The condemnation of xenophobia, Afrophobia, and ethnic. The President stated that there is no space for xenophobia, racism, Afrophobia, or any other form of intolerance in South Africa. We welcome this unequivocally.
  • The acknowledgment that anti-foreigner sentiment has been accompanied by ethnic and tribal attacks on South African. The President is correct that the instrumentalization of migration as a political narrative creates conditions for broader social division and violence. This concern is not limited to migrants.
  • The commitment to South Africa’s constitutional values and international obligations. The President reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to the Constitution, to human  dignity, and  to its  international protection obligations. We note this commitment and will hold government to it in both policy and practice.
  • The acknowledgment that migrants are also exploited, not merely exploiting. The President correctly identified that undocumented migrants are employed precisely because their precarious legal status prevents them from asserting their rights. This is an important and often overlooked dimension of the migration debate: irregular migrants are frequently victims of economic exploitation, not its architects.

Our Concerns

 Alongside these welcome commitments, we wish to place the following concerns on the public record.

The political framing risks validating the narratives that drive xenophobia:

  • The address, while condemning xenophobia, simultaneously accepts the core premise of the anti-migrant mobilisation: that irregular migration is a significant driver of pressure on public services, unemployment, and social instability. The President stated that “illegal migration affects service delivery and places additional burdens on essential services.” He linked undocumented migration to organised crime, illegal mining, drugs, and money laundering. He acknowledged community “anger” about foreign nationals running spaza shops and informal businesses.
  • We do not dispute that the state has a legitimate interest in regulating immigration and enforcing its laws. Our concern is that these assertions — made without the qualification of evidential grounding, and in a political environment already inflamed by coordinated anti-migrant mobilisation — risk lending the authority of the presidency to narratives that, in practice, have produced intimidation, displacement, and violence against people who are in many cases lawfully present in South Africa and entitled to its protection.

A state that simultaneously condemns xenophobic violence and validates the political framing that produces it creates conditions in which the next outbreak of violence occurs without the political legitimacy required to prevent it. – Lawyers for Human Rights

  • We call on the President and the government to ensure that future engagements with migration are explicitly grounded in evidence: evidence about the actual contribution of foreign nationals to the South African economy, evidence about the proportion of service delivery failures attributable to migration versus domestic policy choices, and evidence about the documented role of undocumented migrants as economic victims rather than economic aggressors.

The address does not adequately address the failure to protect those who sought protection — the Durban case:

  • The address makes no reference to the events of 18 to 21 May 2026 in Durban, where hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers — overwhelmingly documented, overwhelmingly lawfully present in South Africa — sought police protection from xenophobic violence and were met with tear gas, rubber bullets, and Those same persons were subsequently transported by buses under police escort to the Durban Refugee Reception Office for collective “status verification”. of the approximately 300 to 460 persons processed, fewer than one percent were found to be undocumented.
  • A state commitment to exclusive state enforcement of immigration law carries credibility only if it is accompanied by a commitment to ensure that state enforcement is not conducted in response to vigilante pressure, in the absence of individualised legal grounds, and without the procedural safeguards required by the Constitution and the Immigration Act. The President’s address does not address this distinction.

The proposed relocation of refugee reception offices to border posts raises serious protection concerns:

  • The President announced a phased relocation of refugee reception centres to border posts, beginning with the Tshwane centre. We note this proposal with significant concern as LHR has done so previously in their submissions on the White Paper.
  • South Africa’s asylum system is already under severe strain. The Refugee Reception Offices in Pretoria, Cape Town, and Durban operate with enormous backlogs. Persons with valid asylum seeker permits are frequently unable to renew their documentation for months, through no fault of their own. The Constitutional Court and other courts have repeatedly found administrative failures in the asylum system to be constitutionally untenable.
  • We call on the government to engage meaningfully with civil society and affected communities before implementing any relocation of refugee reception infrastructure, and to commission a human rights impact assessment of the proposed model.

Corruption in the asylum system is the state’s own failure, not migrants:

  • The President correctly identified corruption as a significant enabler of irregular migration and committed to stamping it out. LHR strongly supports this commitment. However, we note that corruption in South Africa’s asylum and immigration system is not a peripheral problem: it is documented, systemic, and well-known to the state.
  • LHR has published a comprehensive report on corruption in South Africa’s asylum system, documenting how corruption by Department of Home Affairs officials — demanding bribes for the processing of asylum applications, for documentation renewals, and for access to officials has produced a system in which vulnerable people are forced to pay for rights they are legally entitled to receive for This corruption is not caused by migrants. It is perpetrated against them, by state officials, in a department that has received insufficient oversight, insufficient accountability measures, and insufficient investment in anti-corruption infrastructure.
  • Addressing corruption in the asylum and immigration system is not only a law enforcement It is a human rights protection imperative. We call on the government to acknowledge publicly that corruption in the Department of Home Affairs has been a primary driver of irregular documentation and documentation backlogs, and to invest in the systemic reforms necessary to address it.

The Employment Services Amendment Bill and labour quota proposals require careful human rights scrutiny:

  • The President announced that the Employment Services Amendment Bill — which empowers the Minister of Employment and Labour to set quotas on the employment of foreign nationals in any economic sector or occupational category — has been approved by Cabinet for introduction to Parliament. We note that employment quotas based on nationality raise complex questions of equality law, constitutional rights, and international labour standards that require careful and evidence-based consideration.
  • We will engage with the proposed legislation through the parliamentary process and calls on all relevant portfolio committees and broader stakeholders to ensure that the Bill is subject to rigorous public participation, including by affected migrant communities, labour organisations, employers, and human rights organisations.

What Genuine Protection of South Africa and Migrants Requires: What we ask of the government the following:

  • Act in protection of rights with the same vigour as immigration enforcement. A public ultimatum has been issued to migrants to leave South Africa by 30 June 2026. The government must publicly repudiate this deadline and take active steps to prevent violence and ensure the safety of This must be communicated not only by the President but by the Minister of Police, the National Commissioner of SAPS, and the Executive Mayors of Municipalities across South Africa
  • Ensure that immigration enforcement complies with the Constitution and the law. Collective operations targeting persons based on perceived nationality, conducted without individualised grounds, and without access to legal representation, are not lawful They are unconstitutional profiling. The government must issue clear operational directives to SAPS and the Department of Home Affairs that compliance with sections 9, 10, 12, and 33 of the Constitution and section 34 of the Immigration Act is non-negotiable.
  • Fix the asylum system before further restricting South Africa’s asylum system is failing not because of an absence of legal framework, but because the existing framework is administered corruptly, inefficiently, and with chronic under-resourcing. Before relocating reception infrastructure, before tightening access, before introducing new enforcement mechanisms, the government must address the known structural failures that leave documented refugees and asylum seekers functionally undocumented through no fault of their own.
  • Ground migration policy in evidence, not in political pressure. The government’s response to migration has been visibly accelerated by organised anti-migrant mobilisation. Policy developed in response to public pressure risks incorporating the politics of that pressure into the legal framework. Migration policy must be developed through evidence, constitutional compliance, and engagement with all stakeholders — including migrants and the civil society organisations that serve
  • Invest in access to justice for those subjected to immigration enforcement. Every person subjected to arrest, detention, or deportation under the Immigration Act has constitutional rights. The right to legal representation, the right to procedural fairness, the right not to be arbitrarily detained: these rights must be practically accessible, not merely formally We call on the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development to ensure that legal aid and independent monitoring are available to persons subjected to immigration enforcement operations.

The President has chosen to speak directly to the crisis unfolding in South Africa’s communities. For that, we are grateful. The commitments in his address, that immigration enforcement is a state function, that xenophobia has no place in South Africa, that human dignity and the Constitution must be upheld, are the right affirmations. They must be given operational content.

Words spoken from the Union Buildings reach communities in Durban, Johannesburg, Estcourt and beyond. They reach the formations that have driven people from their homes and told them they must leave by 30 June 2026. They reach the police officers who will decide, in the field, whether to open cases for foreign nationals who have been attacked. They reach the officials who will decide whether to conduct immigration operations under vigilante pressure or under constitutional norms.

“The measure of the President’s address will not be its language. It will be what happens on 30 June 2026, and the day after that, and the day after that.” – Lawyers for Human Rights

We remain committed to working constructively with the government toward a migration framework that is lawful, humane, evidence-based, and protective of all persons within South Africa’s borders. We remain equally committed to holding the government to account — through legal proceedings, advocacy, and public engagement — when that framework fails the people it is supposed to serve.

Ends,

For More information or enquiries please contact mpho@lhr.org.za and/ or sharone@lhr.org.za

Undersigned Organizations, Individuals, Groups, Movements and Communities:

  1. Lawyers for Human Rights
  2. Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI)
  3. Section 27
  4. International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
  5. Ubuntu Rural Women and Youth Movement
  6. Collective Voices for Health Access
  7. HIAS South Africa
  8. Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA)
  9. Wits Law Clinic
  10. Save Our Sacred Lands
  11. Neighbours NPO
  12. Ntirhisano Community Centre (NCC)
  13. South African Red Cross
  14. Inner City Resource Centre
  15. Centre for Faith and Community, University of Pretoria
  16. Equal Education Law Centre
  17. Helen Suzman Foundation
  18. Be True 2 Me
  19. Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC)
  20. Sophiatown Community Psychological Services
  21. Foundation for Human Rights
  22. International Labour Research and Information Group
  23. Dr Dale McKinley
  24. Tshwane Leadership Foundation
  25. People’s Health Movement South Africa
  26. Village of Hope
  27. Burundian Community and Diaspora in the Western Cape
  28. Congolese Civil Society of South Africa
  29. Karen Weissensee
  30. Union des Congolais d’Afrique du Sud (U.C.A.S)
  31. Walmer Estate Civic Association
  32. Burundian Women in South Africa for Development Initiate
  33. Orange Farm Human Rights Advice Office
  34. Institute for Justice and Reconciliation
  35. Worker World Media Production
  36. Gaudence Uwizeye
  37. Africa Unite
  38. Refugee Social Services
  39. Defend Our Democracy
  40. Urban Studios

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Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) seeks to appoint a Legal Researcher for its Strategic Litigation Programme, for a period of...

Date: 15/12/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT| Court Grants Leave to Appeal...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) represents a large group of former  mine workers of Anglo-American Platinum Mine from an eviction...

Date: 07/12/2022

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JOINT STATEMENT | Centre for Human Rights...

The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, and the Southern African Nationality Network (SANN) call on African states, including...

Date: 06/12/2022

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JOINT STATEMENT | Dis-informed panic about “unisex”...

It has recently come to the attention of the civil society members of the Social Inclusion in Education Working Group...

Date: 17/11/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | New report on the...

Today, Lawyers for Human Rights together with Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (foundation) launch their research report “The Impact and Assessment of...

Date: 17/11/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | Constitutional Court hands down...

On 14 November 2022, the Constitutional Court handed down its judgment in the matter of Christine Reddell and Others v...

Date: 15/11/2022

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MEDIA ALERT: New report on the state...

Lawyers for Human Rights and Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung invites the media to the report launch on the findings of its...

Date: 15/11/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT: LHR & Open Secrets in...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is in the Johannesburg High Court today, representing Open Secrets in its substitution as a...

Date: 14/11/2022

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JOINT STATEMENT | Civil society group urges...

On 16 November 2022, South Africa’s human rights record will be examined for the fourth time by the United Nations...

Date: 10/11/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | Class action suit against...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will be in the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday, 10 November 2022, on behalf of...

Date: 10/11/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR in the Pretoria...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is in the North Gauteng Division of the High Court today, representing a stateless client...

Date: 27/10/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | African Civil Society Continues...

This week, United Nations member states will gather in Geneva for the 8th negotiating session dedicated to developing a treaty to...

Date: 24/10/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR in court for...

Today, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is in the Labour Court, Braamfontein for the matter of Caroline Sunday & Others...

Date: 20/10/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | Jagersfontein Dam: The tragic...

Lawyers for Human Rights (“LHR”) expresses its sadness and shock at the recent disastrous events that occurred at Jargersfontein. According...

Date: 14/09/2022

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CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST | Regional...

This training initiative is open to all paralegals, candidate attorneys, and junior attorneys based in Southern Africa. Get expert training...

Date: 14/09/2022

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CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST: Reporting on...

This training initiative is open to all print, television, online and radio journalists in Southern Africa. Get expert training to...

Date: 12/09/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR in court over...

LHR’s Statelessness Project is in the Pretoria High Court today representing a stateless person who has waited 4 years for...

Date: 06/09/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | Regulatory authority’s bar on...

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are disappointed by the 2 August judgment of...

Date: 03/08/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | Closing arguments in prison...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) and Webber Wentzel will be back in the Johannesburg High Court at 10:00am today, Tuesday...

Date: 02/08/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | Lawyers for Human Rights...

Today Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will be at the Land Claims Court bringing an application to have MAXXLiving, a...

Date: 26/07/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | Rand West City Municipality...

On Tuesday 19 July 2022, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) obtained an order in the case of Thulani Mashibini vs...

Date: 21/07/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR welcomes dismissal of...

On 14 June 2022, the Johannesburg Central Magistrate’s Court dismissed criminal charges of public violence against seven workers represented by...

Date: 14/06/2022

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JOINT STATEMENT | Legal Reform on employment...

Today, the Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) draw...

Date: 01/06/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | Informal Settlement In Laudium...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is in urgent court today, 24 May 2022, defending the Nkandla Informal Settlement from another...

Date: 24/05/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | A new collaboration to...

Established in 2005, Gender Dynamix (GDX) is the first registered Africa-based public benefit organisation to focus solely on the transgender...

Date: 14/04/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | Prison torture in the...

Lawyers for Human Rights (“LHR”) and Webber Wentzel will be in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday 11 April 2022...

Date: 11/04/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT| Madibeng Magistrates’ Court Dismisses an...

On 23 March 2022, the Madibeng Magistrates’ Court handed down a judgment that dismissed an eviction application brought by the...

Date: 04/04/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | Victory for family unit...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) welcomes the order handed down on 18 March 2022 by the Johannesburg Children’s Court recognizing...

Date: 22/03/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | Victory for communities as...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is proud of the outcome of the Deadly Air case, upholding communities’ constitutional right to...

Date: 22/03/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR and partners celebrate...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), in collaboration with local partners, will celebrate Human Rights Day this year with a festival...

Date: 21/03/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | Pretoria Magistrates’ Court awards...

On 11 March 2022, the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court handed down its judgment in the matter of Roy Kamushinda v Minister...

Date: 15/03/2022

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JOB OPPORTUNITY: Grants Liaison Attorney

Lawyers for Human Rights invites applicants to apply for an Attorney post as Grants Liaison for the LHR’s Strategic Litigation...

Date: 07/03/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | International Commission of Jurists...

Today, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, will act as amicus curiae in the...

Date: 24/02/2022

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JOB OPPORTUNITY: Johannesburg Law Clinic Head

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) invites applicants to apply for an Attorney post as Head of the LHR Law Clinic...

Date: 22/02/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | Rights of Black Commercial...

In 2016, ownership of the farms that were leased to different farmers, some of  by the Department of Rural Development...

Date: 21/02/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | Southern Defenders to make...

On Thursday, 17 February 2022, Southern Defenders, represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, will act as amicus curiae in the...

Date: 16/02/2022

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PRESS STATEMENT | High Court Victory for...

Pretoria High Court Orders a Suspension of Execution of an Eviction Order Pending the Outcome of the Leave to Appeal...

Date: 24/01/2022

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JOB OPPORTUNITY: Senior Attorney, Lawyers for Human...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) seeks to appoint a Senior Attorney for its Environmental Rights Programme, based in Johannesburg.

Date: 21/01/2022

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JOB OPPORTUNITY: Maintenance Officer, Pretoria

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) seeks to appoint a Maintenance Officer for its National Office, based in Pretoria. LHR is...

Date: 17/01/2022

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JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT LHR IN JANUARY 2022!

There are several exciting opportunities to join the LHR team! Have a look to see if you qualify, and how...

Date: 07/01/2022

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International Human Rights Day Statement : The...

As we commemorate international Human Rights Day on 10th of December 2021 let us remember the plight of children on...

Date: 10/12/2021

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WHAT HAPPENS UNDERGROUND STAYS UNDERGROUND

A Study of Experiences of Gender-Based Violence and Sexual Harassment of Women Workers in the South African Mining Industry Factfinding...

Date: 03/12/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | World Children’s Day: Rising...

“Children are the soul of our society. If we fail them, then we have failed as a society.” – Judge...

Date: 20/11/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Former mine workers face...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is in the Middelburg High Court today, representing a largely retired or otherwise unemployed former...

Date: 26/10/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | African Civil Society Reiterates...

This week, United Nations member states will gather in Geneva for the 7th negotiating session dedicated to developing a treaty...

Date: 26/10/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Misinterpretation of Constitutional Court...

On 22 September 2021, the Constitutional Court handed down a judgment in which is declared section 10 of the Births...

Date: 29/09/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Victory in the Supreme...

On 19 August 2021, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) heard arguments from Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) on behalf...

Date: 28/09/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Supreme Court of Appeal...

On 22 September 2021, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) handed down two judgments in the matter Kouwenhoven v Minister...

Date: 22/09/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Constitutional Court affirms the...

“A surname connects us to our heritage and roots us in history and family tradition. In many African cultures, names...

Date: 22/09/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR goes to court...

LHR’s Land and Housing Programme is in court again for the fourteenth time this year for the case of Ventersdorp...

Date: 17/09/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Pretoria High Court Awards...

The Pretoria High Court has awarded refugee status to JN and KHG, represented by LHR, in two separate matters. In...

Date: 16/09/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Pretoria High Court Grants...

On Tuesday, 14 September 2021 the Pretoria High Court granted citizenship to Mr. Emmanuel Bukweya Ngenani, after a long battle...

Date: 15/09/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR at the Supreme...

Today, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will appear in the Supreme Court of Appeal in the matter of The Somali...

Date: 19/08/2021

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STATEMENT BY THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN NATIONALITY NETWORK...

Statelessness is a preventable but growing phenomenon globally and in the SADC region. Statelessness across the region is primarily linked...

Date: 18/08/2021

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JOINT STATEMENT | Scrapping of provisions discriminating...

Today the Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), applauded...

Date: 12/08/2021

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JOB OPPORTUNITY | Head of Law Clinic...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) seeks to appoint a Manager of its Law Clinic for its Refugee and Migrant Rights...

Date: 04/08/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Constitutional Court confirms that...

On 30 July 2021, the Constitutional Court handed down its judgment in the matter of Jonathan Dubula Qwelane v South...

Date: 30/07/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR speaks out about...

As a non-profit organisation dedicated to making rights real, especially for our country’s most marginalized and vulnerable communities, Lawyers for...

Date: 19/07/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Land Claims Court Grants...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) has successfully represented twelve families comprising of former farmworkers in the Land Claims Court (LCC),...

Date: 15/07/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Supreme Court of Appeal...

On 21 June 2021, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) handed down judgment in the matter Joao Rodrigues v National...

Date: 23/06/2021

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WORLD REFUGEE DAY STATEMENT | This is...

To mark World Refugee Day and Youth Month, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), The Jesuit Institute of...

Date: 20/06/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Department of Health and...

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), SECTION27 and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), organisations working and advocating the rights of refugees, asylum...

Date: 17/06/2021

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YOUTH DAY STATEMENT | Let us reach...

Youth Day commemorates the uprising of the youth in South Africa as they led a revolution to end apartheid and...

Date: 16/06/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR stands with LGBTIQ+...

As we mark the half-way point in Global Pride Month, LHR calls for an end to the prejudice and discrimination...

Date: 15/06/2021

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JOINT STATEMENT | ‘We stand with the...

On 3 June 2021, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) and Open Secrets launched an urgent two-part application in the...

Date: 07/06/2021

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JOINT STATEMENT | Child Protection Week 2021:...

As we commemorate Child Protection Week (30 May – 6 June 2021), an umbrella body comprising eight humanitarian organisations, the...

Date: 03/06/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR to Challenge Eviction...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is in the Middleburg High Court today, defending a group of retired mineworkers who previously...

Date: 25/05/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | 195 former Ekurhuleni Metro...

Following a brief postponement, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is back in the Labour Appeal Court today representing dismissed workers...

Date: 25/05/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Western Cape High Court...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) welcomes the recent order granted by the Western Cape High Court as a positive step in...

Date: 19/05/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | DHA announces online renewal...

Lawyers for Human Rights welcomes recent information released by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), announcing an online renewal process...

Date: 18/05/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR Represents UN Special...

Beginning today, the Pretoria High Court will hear a challenge to government’s longstanding failure to take meaningful steps to combat...

Date: 17/05/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR and Sonke Gender...

On 12 May 2021, the Western Cape High Court will hear the matter of Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town (Scalabrini)...

Date: 11/05/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Mining Host Communities in...

This week, the Pretoria High Court is hearing a review of the 2018 Mining Charter, to which a number of...

Date: 04/05/2021

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JOINT STATEMENT | Hate Crime Murders –...

South Africa, it is enough. Over the past two and half months, South Africa’s LGBTIQ+ community has been rocked by...

Date: 22/04/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR briefs Portfolio Committee...

Ms. Primrose Modisane is a South African citizen by birth, however, for the past 16 years she has struggled to...

Date: 15/03/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR briefs Portfolio Committee...

Date:

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PRESS STATEMENT | Lawyers for Human Rights...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) has received several reports from student activists regarding the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) use...

Date: 10/03/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR Launches Universal Birth...

“Universal birth registration is impossible to ignore and entirely possible to achieve.” – Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, 2009 Universal birth...

Date: 05/03/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | 195 former employees of...

Today, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is in the Labour Appeal Court representing dismissed workers of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality...

Date: 23/02/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Wayne Ncube Appointed as...

Lawyers for Human Rights is delighted to announce the appointment of Wayne Ncube to the role of National Director of...

Date: 17/02/2021

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Statement by the Southern African Nationality Network...

As the Covid-19 virus has spread across the world, we were all beset with fear and uncertainty that has now...

Date: 16/02/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | New LHR report looks...

Today Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) released a new report on gender and migration. The report, titled “Paper Promises”, is...

Date: 08/02/2021

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PRESS STATEMENT | Constitutional Court confirms unconstitutionality...

On 4 December the Constitutional Court handed down judgment in the confirmation proceedings relating to Sonke Gender Justice / President...

Date: 07/12/2020

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PRESS STATEMENT | High Court Grants interim...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) welcomes the judgment handed down in the Western Cape High Court interdicting and restraining the...

Date: 04/12/2020

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PRESS STATEMENT | Community journalists pledge their...

On the 26th and 27th November 2020, journalists working in community radio and community print media from around South Africa...

Date: 03/12/2020

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PRESS STATEMENT | South Africa’s Department of...

In 2019 the Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) launched an application in the Western Cape High Court challenging the decision...

Date: 16/11/2020

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PRESS STATEMENT | “South Africa belongs to...

Elizabeth was born in Lesotho to a Basotho mother and a South African father. She moved to South Africa when...

Date: 13/11/2020

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PRESS STATEMENT | UN Special Rapporteur for...

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean,...

Date: 13/11/2020

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PRESS STATEMENT | LHR and Sonke Gender...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will be representing Sonke Gender Justice (Sonke) who have brought an application to the Court...

Date: 10/11/2020

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PRESS STATEMENT | Ahmed Timol murder-accused to...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will be representing the Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) who will be appearing as amicus...

Date: 05/11/2020

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PRESS STATEMENT | African organisations push for...

In June 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted resolution 26/9, by which it agreed to establish an open-ended...

Date: 20/10/2020

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PRESS STATEMENT | QWELANE VS SOUTH AFRICAN...

On 22 September 2020, the Constitutional Court will hear the case of Jonathan Dubula Qwelane v South African Human Rights...

Date: 21/09/2020

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[PRESS STATEMENT] Lawyers for Human Rights to...

On Tuesday, 15 September 2020, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), in collaboration with Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town and Corruption...

Date: 15/09/2020

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[PRESS STATEMENT] Constitutional Court asked to protect...

Date:

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Statelessness in a global pandemic: an old...

A statement by the Southern African Nationality Network (SANN) to the 16th Southern African Civil Society Forum.  

Date: 21/08/2020

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[VACANCY] LHR seeks Candidate Attorney for eThekwini...

LHR is inviting applications from law graduates with an interest in human rights law and public interest litigation to join...

Date: 31/07/2020

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[PRESS STATEMENT] Constitutional Court settles 7-year battle...

The Constitutional Court yesterday handed down judgment in a case launched by Lawyers for Human Rights in 2016, but which...

Date: 23/07/2020

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[VACANCY] LHR seeks National Director

LHR is a vibrant, 40-year old non-profit organisation offering specialist public interest legal services in key programme areas such as...

Date: 08/07/2020

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[PRESS STATEMENT] Residents of Industry House &...

On 29 June 2020, the High Court in Johannesburg declared section 13 (7) (c) of the South African Police Services...

Date: 01/07/2020

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[PRESS STATEMENT] On World Refugee Day, LHR...

As we commemorate world refugee day it is important to uphold the fundamental rights of foreign nationals as equal to...

Date: 20/06/2020

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[PRESS STATEMENT] Urgent Litigation on Covid-19 Social...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) supports the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Towns’ urgent litigation to include asylum seekers and special...

Date: 17/06/2020

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[PRESS STATEMENT] UN Special Rapporteur Applies to...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is representing the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating...

Date: 15/06/2020

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[PRESS STATEMENT] Agreement reached between the Lesetlheng...

This agreement is a significant milestone following protracted litigation and ongoing negotiations between the Lesetlheng community and Pilanesberg Platinum Mine.

Date: 11/06/2020

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[PRESS STATEMENT] Fighting For Fatherhood In South...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), representing the Centre for Child Law (CCL), yesterday filed an application with the Constitutional Court...

Date: 10/06/2020

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[PRESS STATEMENT] Lawyers for Human Rights Releases...

On Friday, 12 June 2020, via webinar, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will launch its report, “Monitoring Policy, Litigious and...

Date: 09/06/2020

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Joint Statement on Child Protection Week: Protecting...

The World Health Organisation describes COVID-19 pandemic as having a devastating impact across the world. Although governments are commended for...

Date: 03/06/2020

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[PRESS STATEMENT] Supreme Court of Appeal upholds...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) welcomes the judgment handed down in the Supreme Court of Appeal on 29 May 2019,...

Date: 01/06/2020

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[PRESS STATEMENT] TERS extended to workers not...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) welcome the amendments to the Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) which extend the definition...

Date: 27/05/2020

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Joint Statement: In Solidarity with the Stateless

An urgent call to states, donors and other stakeholders to promote and protect the rights of stateless persons in their...

Date: 27/05/2020

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LHR Launches Constitutional Challenge on Behalf of...

Lawyers for Human Rights has launched an urgent application on behalf of informal waste reclaimers in Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, seeking...

Date: 26/05/2020

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Lawyers for Human Rights Celebrates Africa Day:...

Today, the 25th of May 2020, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) celebrates Africa Day. Africa Day is an annual commemoration...

Date: 25/05/2020

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High Court rules unmarried fathers can register...

Lawyers for Human Rights (“LHR”) welcomes the judgment handed on 19 May 2020 by Rugunanan J of the Makhanda High...

Date: 24/05/2020

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Marievale Community Successfully Fights Illegal Eviction by...

In an urgent court hearing yesterday night, Lawyers for Human Rights again successfully defended the Marievale community, a small village...

Date: 22/05/2020

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Strandfontein Homeless Action Committee v City of...

It is with regret that Lawyers for Human Rights announces that it has withdrawn as the attorneys of record for...

Date: 21/05/2020

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Strandfontein Homeless Committee Takes on City of...

On Monday 18 May 2020, the Strandfontein Homeless Action Committee (SHAC), represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, initiated legal proceedings...

Date: 19/05/2020

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Joint Statement on Workers Day 2020

A joint statement by the Universal Rights Association, Africa Diaspora Forum, the Consortium for Refugees & Migrants in South Africa,...

Date: 01/05/2020

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High Court declares parts of the new...

In the matter of Lawyers for Human Rights and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and others, LHR acting in...

Date: 01/01/2003

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Lawyers for Human Rights wins landmark decision...

Lawyers for Human Rights won a landmark case against the Department of Home Affairs and the Airports Company of South...

Date: 01/01/2002

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Refugee rights dropped from world racism conference

Following the controversial debate surrounding reparations, the Geneva preparatory meeting of the UN World Conference Against Racism has recently decided...

Date: 01/01/2001

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Human rights group plan court action over...

HUMAN rights lawyers are threatening legal action against the home affairs department for ordering border posts to turn back asylum-seekers...

Date: 01/01/2001

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Die Okkupeerder: a Resource Manual for Eviction...

At the end of May 1999, the Security of Farm Workers Project launched a booklet called “Die Okkupeerder: A resource...

Date: 31/05/1999

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LHR to Challenge Discriminatory Impact of COVID-19...

Lawyers for Human Rights will appear before the Pretoria High Court today on behalf of five groups of informal waste...

Date: 07/04/2020

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NIAWG Advocacy Statement on COVID-19 and vulnerable...

The NIAWG calls on all concerned stakeholders and authorities to make every effort to prevent any form of harm and...

Date: 08/04/2020

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LEGAL SUPPORT HOTLINE DURING #LOCKDOWNSA

Public Interest Law organisations working together, to make sure human rights are respected and protected during the COVID19 lock-down in...

Date: 31/03/2020

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LHR’s Human Rights Day Statement

On this Human Rights Day, amidst the growing COVID-19 threat, Lawyers for Human Rights calls on all in South Africa...

Date: 21/03/2020

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LHR Responds to COVID-19

On Sunday, 15 March 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak....

Date: 16/03/2020

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Constitutional Court rules president’s suspension of SADC...

Lawyers for Human Rights welcomes the Constitutional Court’s judgement, handed down yesterday, 11 December 2018,  in the matter of Law Society...

Date: 12/12/2018

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Urgent appeal to support LHR client after...

Lawyers for Human Rights is making an urgent appeal for assistance after a recent judgement by the Johannesburg High Court,...

Date: 21/10/2019

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Supreme Court of Appeal secures the right...

LHR welcomes the judgment handed down by Maya P in the Supreme Court of Appeal on Monday, 8 July 2019,...

Date: 08/07/2019

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Sexual offences courts critical in the fight...

Organisations in the gender-based violence sector were shocked to learn that the Department of Justice intends to investigate the possibility...

Date: 15/05/2017

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Police failure to assist complainants in terms...

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is deeply unsatisfied with the South African Police Service (SAPS)  and Civilian Secretariat for Police...

Date: 30/09/2017

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LHR rejects normalisation of violence against women

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is shocked to learn that Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Mduduzi Manana, allegedly assaulted two...

Date: 07/08/2017

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#NotOurLeaders campaign launched during 16 days of...

#NotOurLeaders Campaing launched by Women and Democracy Initiative, Lawyers for Human Rights and gender violence specialist during 16 Days of...

Date: 24/11/2017

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No more time limit to prosecute sexual...

On Thursday 14 June 2018, the South African Constitutional Court (Court) issued an unanimous judgment confirming that there will be...

Date: 15/06/2018

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LHR supports #TheTotalShutDown

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) supports #TheTotalShutDown, the national intersectional womxn’s march against gender based violence. All LHR women and...

Date: 01/08/2018

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#NotOurLeaders

Unbothered, unresponsive: where is your sexual harassment policy?

Date: 08/08/2018

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Equality Court to hear case on the...

On 26 November 2018, the Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will appear in the Cape High Court, sitting as an...

Date: 25/11/2018

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LHR on announcement that there is no...

On Monday, 2 September, the South African government on Twitter called on women to “speak out”, and “not allow themselves...

Date: 03/09/2019

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Victory for Jade September and the transgender...

On Monday 23 September 2019, the Equality Court in the Western Cape handed down judgment in the matter of September...

Date: 23/09/2019

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Judgment in the case of J September

Lawyers for Human Rights, the Legal Resources Centre, and Gender Dynamix cordially invite you to a press conference, on judgment...

Date: 16/09/2019

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African organisations push for binding treaty on...

As part of the latest round of negotiations on the U.N. Binding Treaty on transnational corporations and other business enterprises...

Date: 01/10/2019

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Marievale Community in court today to fight...

In November and December 2017 members of the SANDF stormed into the homes of about 150 families residing in a...

Date: 17/04/2018

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Mayor of Lusikisiki for contempt of a...

15 April 2018 — On Friday, 13 April 2018, the New Rest community witnessed justice in action when the Mayor...

Date: 15/04/2018

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Victory for the homeless

LHR represents a group of homeless people who reside at Prince’s Park, on the corner of Prince’s Park Road and...

Date: 03/04/2018

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Mr Godfrey Mtenje and his family fight...

The matter of Mr Godfrey Mtenje will continue be heard in the Land Claims Court of South Africa on the...

Date: 19/03/2018

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Victory for mining host communities in 2017...

This morning, the Pretoria High Court postponed the judicial review of the Mining Charter published last year by Minister of...

Date: 19/02/2018

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LHR notes the statements released by the...

LHR notes the statements released by the Chamber of Mines and the Department of Mineral Resources regarding postponement of the...

Date: 19/02/2018

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Mining host communities in court to challenge...

Beginning tomorrow, four mining affected communities represented by Lawyers for Human Rights will be in the Pretoria High Court to...

Date: 18/02/2018

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In memory of Rudolph Jansen

Long-time human rights lawyer, Rudolph Jansen, who fought against injustice on behalf of the poor and marginalized for over three...

Date: 27/11/2017

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LHR is delighted that the Pretoria High...

LHR is delighted that the Pretoria High Court today ruled that four of its clients, should be allowed to intervene...

Date: 14/11/2017

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Mary Rahube // Hedsrine Rahube & others...

Today, the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria handed down judgment in the case of Mary Rahube, a...

Date: 26/09/2017

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