In this week’s contribution, Yvonne reflects on the gap between the constitutional right to food and the lived realities of hunger and food insecurity in South Africa. Drawing on submissions made to the National Inquiry into the Food Systems of South Africa conducted by the South African Human Rights Commission, the article explores the structural causes of food insecurity, including inadequate wages, corporate concentration in the food system, unequal land ownership, and weaknesses in social protection. The piece also considers the legal and policy gaps that continue to undermine the realisation of the right to food, and calls for stronger accountability, improved enforcement, and more coordinated governance responses. 

In this week’s post, Thato Gaffane reflects on the Stilfontein tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of more than 80 miners, as well as the deliberate starvation and dehydration of many others at Buffelsfontein Gold Mine (BGM) in Stilfontein, North West. Gaffane highlights that this unfortunate incident was caused by improper mine closure, despite the existence of a legal framework that imposes clear and enforceable duties to plan, fund, and implement mine closure.

In this week’s post Amy Raymond examines Egypt’s Asylum Law No. 164/2024. She argues that, despite being the country’s first domestic asylum law, it falls short of international refugee and human rights standards. The article explores the law’s failure to guarantee non-refoulement, its restrictions on fundamental rights, and the criminalisation of assistance to asylum seekers. Amy further analyses how the law’s structural weaknesses have contributed to an escalating crackdown on refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt.

In this post, Sky Kruger examines how amendments to South Africa’s refugee framework have introduced prohibitions on the political activities of refugees and asylum seekers. While these measures are framed as necessary to safeguard national security, preserve the integrity of an already strained asylum system, and maintain diplomatic relations, the post interrogates the broader implications of restricting political expression within a constitutional democracy.