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Commemorating the Day of the African Child Criminal JusticeCriminal Justice NewsCriminal Justice Prison ReformEquality RightsEquality Rights NewsMalawi

Commemorating the Day of the African Child

On the 16th of June every year, Malawi joins Africa in commemorating the Day of the African Child. Key to this day is the reminder that the best interest of…

Staff Writer16 June 2022

A chance for the strengthening of due process of law in Eswatini ArticlesCivic RightsCivic Rights ArticlesCivic Rights Association & AssemblyCivic Rights Association & Assembly ArticlesCivic Rights ExpressionCivic Rights Expression ArticlesCivic Rights NewsEswatini

A chance for the strengthening of due process of law in Eswatini

On the morning of 10 June 2022, the Supreme Court of Eswatini held the hearing of interlocutory questions related to the appeal filed by the State after a 16 September…

Rodrigo Canalli15 June 2022

Malawi: Ending impunity of police officers for rape Criminal JusticeCriminal Justice Completed CasesCriminal Justice Criminal Police Abuse Completed CasesCriminal Justice Police AbuseEquality RightsEquality Rights Completed CasesEquality Rights HealthEquality Rights Health Completed CasesMalawi

Malawi: Ending impunity of police officers for rape

Background Section 153 of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi and Section 4 of the Malawi Police Services Act provide that the Malawi Police Services’ mandate is to provide…

Staff Writer18 May 2022

Malawi: Case concerning malnutrition in prisons Criminal JusticeCriminal Justice Criminal Prison Reform Ongoing CasesCriminal Justice Ongoing CasesCriminal Justice Prison ReformEquality RightsEquality Rights HealthEquality Rights Health Ongoing CasesEquality Rights Ongoing CasesMalawi

Malawi: Case concerning malnutrition in prisons

Background The Constitution of the Republic of Malawi states in Section 42(1)(b) that “every person who is detained, including every sentenced prisoner, shall have the right to be detained under…

Staff Writer13 May 2022

South Africa / Zambia: Amicus in class action on lead poisoning Socio-Economic RightsSocio-economic Rights ExtractivesSocio-Economic Rights Extractives Ongoing CasesSocio-economic Rights Ongoing CasesZambia

South Africa / Zambia: Amicus in class action on lead poisoning

On 9 May 2022, Amnesty International and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) have applied to intervene in an unprecedented class action lawsuit. The case was brought by a group…

Staff Writer10 May 2022

South Africa – Human rights groups intervene in historic class action for lead poisoning launched by Zambian children Socio-Economic RightsSocio-economic Rights ExtractivesSocio-economic Rights NewsZambia

South Africa – Human rights groups intervene in historic class action for lead poisoning launched by Zambian children

Amnesty International and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) have applied to intervene in an unprecedented class action lawsuit in a case brought by a group of Zambian children and…

Staff Writer9 May 2022

Civil Society Organisations Release Joint Statement Against Crackdowns in Freedom of Expression and the Press in Malawi Civic Rights Association & AssemblyCivic Rights ExpressionMalawi

Civil Society Organisations Release Joint Statement Against Crackdowns in Freedom of Expression and the Press in Malawi

On 2 May 2022, and in commemoration of World Freedom Press Day, Civil Society Organisations from Malawi released a joint statement expressing their concerns over rising incidents of police surveillance,…

Staff Writer2 May 2022

Eswatini High Court affirms LGBTIQ+ rights yet denies registration of LGBTIQ+ organisation Equality RightsEquality Rights LGBTIQ+Equality Rights NewsEswatini

Eswatini High Court affirms LGBTIQ+ rights yet denies registration of LGBTIQ+ organisation

29 April 2022, Mbabane - Today, the Eswatini High Court, per Dlamini J and Fakudze J, upheld the decision to refuse registration of Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities (ESGM). In…

Staff Writer29 April 2022

Zambia Court of Appeal affirms displaced community’s customary land rights Socio-Economic RightsSocio-economic Rights ExtractivesSocio-economic Rights Land RightsSocio-economic Rights NewsZambia

Zambia Court of Appeal affirms displaced community’s customary land rights

Lusaka, Zambia, 22 April 2022 - On 21 April 2022, the Court of Appeal of Zambia handed down judgment in the case of Molosoni Chipabwamba and 12 Other displaced village owners…

Staff Writer22 April 2022

Free Press: Cornerstone of Democracy ArticlesCivic RightsCivic Rights ArticlesCivic Rights Association & AssemblyCivic Rights Association & Assembly ArticlesCivic Rights ExpressionCivic Rights Expression ArticlesCivic Rights NewsMalawi

Free Press: Cornerstone of Democracy

The Nation 13 April 2022 By Chikondi Chijozi and Ruth Kaima The role of the media in any society is to investigate and share information and ideas, in particular on…

Chikondi Chijozi13 April 2022

Launch of report on LGBTIQ+ lived experiences in Zambia Equality Rights LGBTIQ+Equality Rights ResourcesResearch Reports & Policy BriefsZambia

Launch of report on LGBTIQ+ lived experiences in Zambia

On 5 April 2022, TransBantu Zambia (TBZ) in partnership with Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) launched a research report on lived experiences of LGBTIQ+ persons in Zambia entitled “Key issues…

Staff Writer5 April 2022

Malawi National Assembly to support the decriminalisation of consensual sexual relationships between adolescents Criminal JusticeCriminal Justice Criminal Law ReformCriminal Justice NewsEquality RightsEquality Rights HealthEquality Rights NewsMalawi

Malawi National Assembly to support the decriminalisation of consensual sexual relationships between adolescents

1 April 2022, Malawi  We applaud the parliament for considering the plight of the Malawian boy child. CHREAA has seen a lot of young boys being incarcerated for indulging in…

Staff Writer1 April 2022

Botswana: High Court awards damages against the State for negligence BotswanaEquality RightsEquality Rights HealthEquality Rights News

Botswana: High Court awards damages against the State for negligence

On 29 March 2022, the High Court of Botswana issued a judgment awarding damages in the sum of P400 000 in the case of GMJ v Attorney General, a claim for…

Staff Writer1 April 2022

Botswana: Accountability for violation of rights of woman seeking reproductive healthcare in state institutions BotswanaEquality RightsEquality Rights Completed CasesEquality Rights HealthEquality Rights Health Completed CasesEquality Rights WomenEquality Rights Women Completed Cases

Botswana: Accountability for violation of rights of woman seeking reproductive healthcare in state institutions

SALC supported a case in which the Plaintiff, who had undergone a total abdominal hysterectomy and developed complications, and she was later diagnosed as having a vaginal fistula. She failed…

Staff Writer29 March 2022

SALC celebrates International Women’s Day 2022 ArticlesEquality RightsEquality Rights ArticlesEquality Rights NewsEquality Rights WomenEquality Rights Women ArticlesSADC

SALC celebrates International Women’s Day 2022

Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow - #Break the bias “It is time that we all see gender as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals.” -Emma…

Luntha Chimbwete8 March 2022

SADC LGBTIQ+ activists honour Archbishop Desmond Tutu Equality RightsEquality Rights LGBTIQ+Equality Rights NewsSADC

SADC LGBTIQ+ activists honour Archbishop Desmond Tutu

“I can't for the life of me imagine that God will say, 'I will punish you because you are black, you should have been white; I will punish you because…

Staff Writer2 March 2022

Civil Society Organisations welcome directive to avoid further delays in arms trade case International JusticeInternational Justice Arms TradeInternational Justice NewsSouth Africa

Civil Society Organisations welcome directive to avoid further delays in arms trade case

The High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division: Pretoria has requested the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) to end delays in the review application relating to permits enabling weapons exports…

Staff Writer21 February 2022

Challenge to use of defilement offences against adolescents in consensual sex in Malawi Equality RightsEquality Rights HealthEquality Rights NewsMalawi

Challenge to use of defilement offences against adolescents in consensual sex in Malawi

Blantyre, 14 January 2022 – On 15 January 2022, the Malawi High Court sitting as a Constitutional Court will hear an application made by two minors AJ and TS who…

Staff Writer14 February 2022

Where to for Eswatini as the monarchy continues to stifle dissent? ArticlesCivic RightsCivic Rights ArticlesCivic Rights Association & AssemblyCivic Rights Association & Assembly ArticlesCivic Rights ExpressionCivic Rights Expression ArticlesCivic Rights NewsEswatini

Where to for Eswatini as the monarchy continues to stifle dissent?

The past week saw three developments that epitomise the continued socio-political crisis in Eswatini, a crisis that remains largely ignored outside of the country’s borders. A study released on 25…

Melusi Simelane4 February 2022

Zambia: Illegal dam construction on Munte River: Chisenga Beriat & 8 Others v Serenje Properties Limited Socio-Economic RightsSocio-economic Rights Land RightsSocio-Economic Rights Land Rights Ongoing CasesSocio-economic Rights Ongoing CasesZambia

Zambia: Illegal dam construction on Munte River: Chisenga Beriat & 8 Others v Serenje Properties Limited

The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) is supporting a community that relies on the Munte River in Serenje, Zambia, in challenging the violation of their rights arising from the construction…

Staff Writer1 February 2022