Improving the protection of refugees in Southern Africa

Leading experts on refugee law and senior officials from 12 SADC (South African Development Community) countries and the South African Department of Home Affairs converged on Cape Town in late November for a conference on international refugee law. Hosted by UCT's Refugee Rights Unit in partnership with the UCT's United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the conference was an opportunity for training and dialogue – particularly around cutting-edge developments in refugee law, such as the international legal framework for refugees' protection; an overview of the 1951 Refugee Convention; asylum and refugee policies in Southern Africa; the right to seek and obtain asylum under the African human rights system; refugee status determination in southern Africa; and strengthening refugee protection.

From left: UNHCR's regional representative for Southern Africa, Clementine Nkweta-Salami; Madagascan delegate Jean Max Rakotomamonjy; and director of the Refugee Rights Unit, Fatima Khan were among the refugee law experts that attended the conference on international refugee law, hosted by UCT and the UNHCR.