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Report: Legal gender recognition in Zimbabwe Equality RightsEquality Rights ResourcesResearch Reports & Policy BriefsResourcesZimbabwe

Report: Legal gender recognition in Zimbabwe

This brief is written to support engagements around legal gender recognition between the Government of Zimbabwe and organisations advocating for the rights of transgender, gender diverse and intersex individuals in…

Staff Writer21 November 2024

Malawi: Challenging the constitutionality of criminal defamation Civic RightsCivic Rights Completed CasesCivic Rights ExpressionCivic Rights Expression Completed CasesMalawi

Malawi: Challenging the constitutionality of criminal defamation

On 17 December 2024, the Malawi High Court, sitting as a Constitutional Court, heard a constitutional challenge to the offence of criminal defamation under section 200 of Malawi’s Penal Code.…

Staff Writer17 November 2024

ECOWAS Court orders Sierra Leone to repeal loitering laws Criminal JusticeCriminal Justice Criminal Law ReformCriminal Justice News

ECOWAS Court orders Sierra Leone to repeal loitering laws

On 7 November 2024, the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the case of AdvocAid Limited v Republic of Sierra Leone has…

Staff Writer11 November 2024

Reflections on magistrates and police engagements in Malawi ArticlesCivic RightsCivic Rights ArticlesCivic Rights Democratic GovernanceCivic Rights NewsMalawi

Reflections on magistrates and police engagements in Malawi

To bridge the gap between vulnerable and marginalised groups and the justice system, ArtGlo, designed and implemented the Umunthu inclusive project... taking a leaf from the golden African philosophy, Ubuntu,…

Bradley Fortuin31 October 2024

Swiping left for leaders who disregard the people ArticlesBotswanaCivic Rights ArticlesCivic Rights Democratic GovernanceCivic Rights Democratic Governance ArticlesCivic Rights News

Swiping left for leaders who disregard the people

Botswana Guardian (23 October 2024) Midweek Sun (23 October 2024) By Bradley Fortuin In today’s world, we use online applications for everything – to order food, pay our bills, send…

Bradley Fortuin23 October 2024

Elections: A critical juncture in Botswana’s democratic evolution BotswanaCivic Rights Democratic GovernanceCivic Rights Democratic Governance ArticlesCivic Rights News

Elections: A critical juncture in Botswana’s democratic evolution

The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) is closely monitoring civic rights, human rights, and the application of the rule of law in Botswana as the nation, home to one of…

Melusi Simelane16 October 2024

Mental health: Decriminalising attempted suicide offence ArticlesCriminal JusticeCriminal Justice Criminal Law Reform ArticlesCriminal Justice NewsEquality RightsEquality Rights Health ArticlesEquality Rights NewsMalawi

Mental health: Decriminalising attempted suicide offence

The Nation 10 October 2024 By Violet Kanyimbiri and Vivian Kasunda Today as we commemorate World Mental Health Day, we reflect on the offence of attempted suicide and its impact…

Vivian Kasunda10 October 2024

Restrictions on press freedoms threatens credibility of elections ArticlesCivic Rights ArticlesCivic Rights Democratic GovernanceCivic Rights Democratic Governance ArticlesCivic Rights Expression ArticlesTanzania

Restrictions on press freedoms threatens credibility of elections

The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) is deeply concerned by the Tanzanian authorities’ escalating crackdown on freedom of expression and political dissent as the country approaches its 2025 general elections.…

Melusi Simelane8 October 2024

MALAWI GOVERNMENT COMPLIES WITH THE HIGH COURT ORDERS ON DETENTION OF MIGRANTS Criminal Justice NewsCriminal Justice Police Abuse ArticlesMalawi

MALAWI GOVERNMENT COMPLIES WITH THE HIGH COURT ORDERS ON DETENTION OF MIGRANTS

On 2 September 2024, the Regional Immigration Officer in Mzuzu reported back to the High Court on the progress made regarding the ruling of the High Court of 29 July…

Staff Writer12 September 2024

Parliament adopts report to review vagrancy offences in Penal Code Criminal Justice Criminal Law ReformCriminal Justice Criminal Law Reform ArticlesCriminal Justice Criminal Law Reform Completed CasesCriminal Justice NewsMalawi

Parliament adopts report to review vagrancy offences in Penal Code

On 4 September 2024, the Parliament of Malawi adopted the report by the legal affairs committee to review vagrancy offences in the Penal Code. This follows a 2017 judgement by…

Staff Writer5 September 2024

SUPREME COURT IGNORES RIGHTS VIOLATIONS: UPHOLDS SEDITION ArticlesCivic Rights Expression ArticlesCivic Rights Expression Completed CasesEswatini

SUPREME COURT IGNORES RIGHTS VIOLATIONS: UPHOLDS SEDITION

15 August 2024 – On 13 August 2024, the Eswatini Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited judgement in the case of Prime Minister of Eswatini and Another v Thulani Maseko…

Melusi Simelane14 August 2024

Landmark ruling on Rastafarian children ArticlesCivic RightsCivic Rights ArticlesCivic Rights ExpressionCivic Rights Expression ArticlesCivic Rights NewsMalawiSocio-Economic RightsSocio-Economic Rights ArticlesSocio-economic Rights EducationSocio-Economic Rights Education ArticlesSocio-economic Rights News

Landmark ruling on Rastafarian children

The Weekend Nation 3 August 2024 By Michaela Drucker In a landmark ruling, the high court in Zomba delivered a verdict marking a significant shift in Malawian education. The decision,…

Staff Writer3 August 2024

Amendment decriminalises consensual sex between adolescents ArticlesEquality RightsEquality Rights ArticlesEquality Rights HealthEquality Rights Health ArticlesEquality Rights NewsMalawi

Amendment decriminalises consensual sex between adolescents

The Weekend Nation 3 August 2024 By Joelle Besch The Penal code (Amendment) Act of 2023 has decriminalised consensual sexual relations between children, provided that their age difference is two…

Staff Writer3 August 2024

Activists welcome court ruling on undocumented immigrants ArticlesCriminal JusticeCriminal Justice ArticlesCriminal Justice NewsCriminal Justice Police AbuseCriminal Justice Police Abuse ArticlesMalawi

Activists welcome court ruling on undocumented immigrants

The Nation 2 August 2024 By Zororai Nkomo Human rights activists have welcomed the High Court ruling that 30 days should be reasonable time envisaged under the Immigration Act within…

Staff Writer2 August 2024

A Blow to Freedom of Expression in Eswatini ArticlesCivic Rights Expression ArticlesCivic Rights NewsEswatini

A Blow to Freedom of Expression in Eswatini

The Court devoted well over 100 pages of its 148-page ruling to analysing the content of the six speeches compared to only nine pages dedicated to whether they could be…

Staff Writer2 August 2024

NEWS RELEASE: Malawi High Court upholds protection of undocumented immigrants from arbitrary and indefinite detention. Criminal Justice Criminal Prison Reform Ongoing CasesCriminal Justice NewsCriminal Justice Police AbuseMalawi

NEWS RELEASE: Malawi High Court upholds protection of undocumented immigrants from arbitrary and indefinite detention.

30 July 2024, Blantyre – Yesterday,  the Mzuzu High Court ordered that 30 days should be the reasonable time envisaged under the Immigration Act within which deportation of undocumented immigrants…

Staff Writer30 July 2024

SA High Court requires State to suspend arms exports to countries engaged in coups, war crimes and genocide ArticlesInternational JusticeInternational Justice Arms TradeInternational Justice Arms Trade ArticlesInternational Justice ArticlesInternational Justice NewsSouth Africa

SA High Court requires State to suspend arms exports to countries engaged in coups, war crimes and genocide

Pretoria, 19 July 2024 – Today, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), represented by Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), was granted an order by the Gauteng Division of the High…

Staff Writer19 July 2024

Know Your Rights (Eswatini) EswatiniPlain Language PublicationsResourcesTraining Tools

Know Your Rights (Eswatini)

We are thrilled to announce that the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), in collaboration with the International Human Rights Advocacy Clinic (IHRAC) at Florida State University, is creating a series…

Staff Writer16 July 2024

Right to access information back in the spotlight in Botswana ArticlesBotswanaCivic Rights ArticlesCivic Rights Expression ArticlesCivic Rights News

Right to access information back in the spotlight in Botswana

9 July 2024; Gaborone, Botswana: The Botswana Gazette is returning to the Court of Appeal on Thursday, 11 July 2024. This is to appeal a 2023 High Court ruling that…

Melusi Simelane9 July 2024

Prisons malnutrition persists ArticlesCriminal JusticeCriminal Justice ArticlesCriminal Justice NewsCriminal Justice Prison ReformCriminal Justice Prison Reform ArticlesEquality RightsEquality Rights ArticlesEquality Rights HealthEquality Rights Health ArticlesEquality Rights NewsMalawi

Prisons malnutrition persists

7 June 2024 The Nation By Zororai Nkomo Human rights defenders have raised concern over the deplorable and incessant food insecurity in Malawi prisons, which they say is a flagrant…

Staff Writer5 July 2024