October Press Review
NATIONAL COVERAGE Cape Town refugee crisis far from over amid government squabbles Times Live – 22 October 2020 In October 2019, refugees and asylum seekers started occupying Greenmarket Square in central Cape Town to protest against xenophobia. A year later, the crisis is far from over as neither the city nor the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is taking responsibility to find durable solutions for the protesters. Since the beginning of...
Press Review September 2020
NATIONAL COVERAGE Costly protection: Corruption in South Africa’s asylum-seeking system Lawyers for Human Rights, Scalabrini Centre & Corruption Watch – 17 September 2020 Lawyers for Human Rights, the Scalabrini Centre and Corruption Watch published a report tackling the issue of corruption in South Africa’s asylum system. Their reports, titled “Costly protection: corruption in South Africa’s asylum-seeking system”, highlights systemic governance weaknesses in South African Department of Home Affairs resulting in widespread...
Press Review August 2020
NATIONAL COVERAGE South Africa’s Border Management Authority dream could be a nightmare Institute for Security Studies – 11 August 2020 South Africa passed a new Border Management Authority (BMA) Act, intended to improve efficiencies by providing a single authority to oversee all aspects of the border environment. Border control was previously tasked between seven different government departments. In the effort to centralize responsibility, concerns of poor management, abuse, and...
Press Review June 2020
NATIONAL COVERAGE Refugee Act Amendments increase probability of unlawful detention says report DailyMaverick.co.za - June 11th 2020 Description: Amendments to the Refugee Act which came into effect on the 1st of January increased the probability of asylum seekers and refugees being unlawfully detained and deported. According to a report published on the 11th of June. The inclusion of a new amendment allows for the detention and removal of an asylum seeker or refugee on vague grounds of “threat to...
Press Review May 2020
National Coverage How South Africa is denying refugees their rights: what needs to change The Conversation.com - May 12th 2020 South Africa hosted about 273,488 refugees and asylum seekers, of whom 84% come from sub-Saharan Africa, in 2018 - the latest period for which figures are available… The policy and law applying to refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa is largely progressive, [but] refugees in South Africa… face many challenges in accessing their rights to social protections...
Press Review April 2020
National Coverage Covid-19 is not a reason to hunt down illegal immigrants DailyMaverick.co.za - April 29th 2020 Thousands of people in South Africa are being excluded from government relief programs simply because they lack the legal requirements to be in the country. In the spirit of unity, this has to change. The lockdown in many countries in Africa, including Nigeria and South Africa, risks threatening the livelihoods...
