Refugee rights protection in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa became party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in 1995. These instruments are the core international human rights laws that promote and protect the rights of refugees. To make these instruments enforceable at the national level, in 1998 South Africa adopted the Refugees Act 130 of 1998, which was later amended by the Refugees Amendment Act (33 of 2008).