21 May 2021 - Bertha Justice Network
Members of the Bertha Justice Network speak out about the current humanitarian crisis in Palestine
We, the members of the Bertha Justice Network, a global network of human rights and movement lawyering organisations working in pursuit of social justice, are observing with the greatest concern the situation in Palestine.
The world is witnessing the forced expulsion of Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem by settlers supported by Israeli armed forces, indiscriminate violence against Palestinian protestors, attacks on Palestinian holy sites, and indiscriminate bombing of Gaza which has been under blockade for 15 years. As of May 19, Palestinian human rights organisations have documented the deaths of 219 Palestinians in Gaza, including 63 children. In the same period, 10 deaths have been recorded in Israel, including 2 children. The United Nations states nearly 75,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had been displaced from
No serious conversation can be had about South Africa’s Constitution if it is divorced from the history of how it came to be, the process through which it was drafted, and by whom. By avoiding history, we are avoiding complexity and by avoiding complexity we are avoiding reality.
13 May 2021 - Lee-Anne Bruce
CALS, Black Sash and Freedom Under Law note that former Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini has paid the costs awarded against her personally
The Black Sash Trust, the Centre for Applied Legal Studies and Freedom Under Law note that Bathabile Dlamini has paid the costs awarded against her personally by the Constitutional Court for her role in the social grants crisis almost three years ago. The former Minister of Social Development was ordered to pay a portion of the costs of litigation brought by civil society organisations in an effort to protect the social grants system.
In another victory for civil society and accountability, former Minister of Social Development, head of the ANC Women’s League and currently MP, Bathabile Dlamini, has finally coughed up R650,000 in legal costs owed due to her “reckless and grossly negligent” conduct as a Minister.
After three years of giving the Black Sash Trust, represented by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (Cals) and Freedom Under Law (FUL), the runaround Cals announced on 13 May that “we have been gratified to note that in the past two weeks the order has now been complied with and Ms Dlamini has paid our costs”.