The reports of the CoRMSA, Black Sash and Oxfam Monitoring Team in De Doorns are now available on the CoRMSA website. These reports focus on conditions at the De Doorns safety site as well as conditions outside the site. The monitoring team is comprised of independent monitors managed by the Black Sash in partnership with [...]
CoRMSA, Black Sash and Oxfam have put together a team of monitors in De Doorns to assess conditions inside the safety site as well outside of the site. The team will monitor the conditions and processes in the site, the information provided to the displaced, conditions outside of the site relating to the feasibility of [...]
CoRMSA is concerned by the displacement of large numbers of Zimbabwean nationals who sought shelter at the De Doorns police station following threats of violence by some members of the local community. CoRMSA has thus far received information from local civil society organisations and awaits further information arising from the visits of the South African [...]
The African Union has recently passed a new Convention on Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa. This is a ground-breaking piece of legislation as this is the first time international law is recognising the need to assist internally displaced persons (IDPs). In order to be legally binding, the Convention needs to be [...]
Lawyers for Human Rights along with the Legal Resources Centre and AIDS Law Project have launched litigation in the South Gauteng High Court challenging the constitutionality of the City of Joburg’s by-law on loitering. This follows a raid by police on around 350 people in central Johannesburg in July 2009. Those arrested had been sleeping [...]
The South African Human Rights Commission is commencing its investigation into the xenophobic violence of 2008. CoRMSA approached the Commission in December 2008 requesting this investigation after no such investigations were undertaken by government institutions. The Commission’s focus ion the investigation will be on the responses to the violence by government authorities with a mandate [...]
Lawyers for Human Rights have just published their Refugee Information Guide for 2009. This useful guide book provides information such as the process of applying for refugee status; the rights of people arrested on immigration charges; information on how to access education, health and social services; as well as further important information. The guide is [...]