Civic Rights

SALC engages in litigation and advocacy to protect civil and political rights.

Through this work, SALC aims to contribute to the following strategic objectives:

Legal reforms to ensure freedom of expression, association and assembly:

• Reform of laws relating to assemblies, associations, media, and cybercrimes, to ensure their compliance with regional and international human rights standards.
• Repeal of the offences of criminal defamation, defamation/insult of the President or public officers, sedition, spreading false news.
• Removal of stigmatising and marginalising laws including those criminalising consensual same-sex sexual acts, and outdated mental health laws.
• Advocacy against the use of national security or public morality arguments to prevent the exercise of the rights to expression, assembly and association.
• Advocacy for the implementation of laws which promote access to information and data protection.
• Improved public participation in the law-making process and increased space for civil society input in the development of laws, including those relating to NGO regulation, assemblies, cybercrimes, media, hate speech, access to information and data protection.

Promotion of an enabling environment for human rights defenders:

• Protect human rights defenders and journalists from attacks, surveillance and hate speech.
• Prosecution of persons who violate the rights of human rights defenders.
• Provide support to human rights defenders and journalists who are persecuted.
• Promote press freedom, by promoting self-regulation of the media and the removal of onerous licensing and fee requirements for journalists, including foreign journalists, bloggers and social media users.
• Ensuring the rights to association, assembly and expression are vigorously and equally protected during election periods.