Briefing Paper 561 – Mental Health and Well-being by Lois Law
2022 has been the year during which most of the world emerged from the restrictions imposed…
2022 Briefing Papers
Briefing Paper 560 – The 2022 Report on Trafficking in Persons by Peter-John Pearson
This year the US State Department issued the 22nd edition of the Trafficking in Persons Report….
Briefing Paper 559 – The People Shall Govern: The Slow Road to Electoral Reform by Mike Pothier
South Africa’s first democratic national and pro- vincial elections in 1994 were held under a pure…
Briefing Paper 558 – Talking about a Devolution: Getting Passenger Rail Back on Track by Kenny Pasensie
When Statistics South Africa conducted its National Household Travel Survey in 2013,1 more than 10% of…
Briefing Paper 557 – The Paris Agreement: What Has Been Achieved So Far? by Lovedonia Mkansi
The Paris Agreement is a legally-binding interna- tional treaty on climate change. It was adopted by…
BP 556: Xenophobia: An Ever-Present Danger
As part of his Heritage Day speech this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasised that xenophobia has…
BP 555: Safe Relinquishment: Finding Solutions to SA’s Child-Abandonment and Late-Term Abortion Crisis
High levels of crisis pregnancies in South Africa and limited options lead large numbers of desperate…
BP 554: Ecojustice and Voices of Faith by Lovedonia Mkansi
As the world seems to be coming out of the woods with the COVID-19 pandemic, a…
BP 553: Women’s Month 2022
August is Women’s Month in South Africa and 9th August this year marked 66 years since women of all races marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against the pass laws that had been introduced by the apartheid government. They marched for equality, dignity and respect. However, even as we celebrate Women’s Month, women are still being sexually assaulted and abused by men, often the ones they know. Despite the numerous campaigns and interventions by government and civil society organisations around gender-based violence, high levels of sexual assault, rape and femicide still occur.
BP 552: The ANC Policy Conference and Migrants
Over the weekend of 29-31 July, the ANC held its 6th National Policy Conference at Nasrec,…
BP 551: The Rights of Foreign Spouses
Recently the Western Cape High Court handed down what could well turn out to be a landmark decision in refugee jurisprudence. Judge Mark Sher ruled that “parents and care givers of South African children will be allowed to remain in South Africa after their relationships with their South African spouses have expired.” Judge Sher also ruled that certain provisions of the Immigration Act and its regulations were unconstitutional.
BP 550: Giving Up on Governance? by Mike Pothier
At the beginning of this year, a large part of Parliament burnt down. Whether or not…
BP 549: Outliving the High Cost of Living by Kenny Pasensie
The ‘poverty premium’ that flows from price increases of petrol, diesel, illuminating paraffin, electricity, etc., affects…
BP 548: World Refugee Day by Peter-John Pearson
In this comment, Pope Francis touches on the very core of this year’s World Refugee Day…
BP 547: Child Pregnancy by Lois Law
BP547 -Child Pregnancy by Lois LawThe issue of teenage pregnancy has been a matter of concern…
BP 546: Envisioning a Just Transition by Lovedonia Mkansi
As a continent, Africa accounts for the smallest share of global greenhouse gas emissions, in contrast…
BP 545: The KwaZulu-Natal Floods: Lessons to be Learnt by Lois Law
“Floods are ‘acts of God’, but flood losses are largely acts of man.” Gilbert White KZN…
BP 544: The Criminal Law and Perpetrators of Domestic Violence by Lois Law
The South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC)[i] is presently considering submissions as to whether or not…
BP 543: Assessing the Judicial Service Commission by Mike Pothier
During the period of State Capture, roughly coinciding with the Zuma administration’s term of office, it…
BP 542: A Quota System for Migrants: Is this a solution? by Peter-John Pearson
On 19th January this year, Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), visited…