refugees

Former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) leaders accused ANC national disciplinary committee chairperson, Derek Hanekom, of having influenced or imposed his nephew Braam on the interim youth wing leadership.
 
Suspended former ANCYL spokesperson, Floyd Shivambu, points out that the youth does not know Braam Hanekom, who is also founder of People Against Suffering Suppression, Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP), a human rights organisation working with refugees.
 

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has welcomed the Western Cape High Court's ruling that a refugee reception office (RRO) be re-opened by the Department of Home Affairs.

The SAHRC says it has been receiving complaints from asylum seekers on this issue and in September 2012 was approached by 80 asylum seekers, including children, seeking relief from actions of department of home affairs.

A 13-year-old Zimbabwean girl has been raped while trying to cross the Beit Bridge border in Limpopo.

Police say the victim, who was walking with her mother who has a passport, was walking under the bridge where she was going to jump the fence with other illegal foreign nationals as she did not have proper documentation.

While walking under the bridge, they were allegedly confronted by members of a crime syndicate known as Maguma-guma and one of the men allegedly raped her before he disappeared into the bush.

Israel has turned back dozens of African asylum-seekers, mostly Eritreans, trying to enter the country from Egypt, according to rights group, Human Rights Watch and two other NGOs.

In a joint press statement, the organisations point out that, "In forcing asylum seekers and refugees to remain in Egypt and in deporting others, Israel is putting them at risk of prolonged detention in Egyptian prisons and police stations where they cannot claim asylum.

South Africa will contribute R2 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), an agency that helps Palestinian refugees.

In a press statement, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ebrahim Ebrahim, points out that, "South Africa contributes annually to the agency and other UN humanitarian agencies in accordance with its commitment to the alleviation of human suffering through international humanitarian assistance."

Human rights organisation, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), says the Department of Home Affairs officials should be held personally responsible for the department's failure to implement court orders.

The organisation’s head of refugee and migrant rights programme, Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, points out that, "The detention of refugees and migrants is carried out in an unlawful manner."

Ramjathan-Keogh argues that despite repeated engagement with the department, the organisation encounters a lot of difficulty in releasing people without resorting to the courts.

A top United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) official opened annual consultations with NGOs by seeking their assistance in developing innovative ways to help refugees and in empowering more of the displaced through self-sufficiency.