An African Union human rights team ended a six-day visit to South Africa on Friday, 2 October 2026.
The team said South Africa has a strong and complete legal framework to protect human rights, according to SAnews.
The visit was a Promotion Mission by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). The delegation arrived in the country on Sunday, 27 September 2026.
Dr Solomon Ayele Dersso shared the early findings at a media briefing in Pretoria on Friday. He is the commission’s rapporteur on the human rights situation in South Africa.
Dersso said the law protects the rights of non-nationals in South Africa, not only the rights of citizens.
He singled out the way the country treats refugees and asylum seekers. “This is something that sets an example for others on the continent,” Dersso said.
He said South Africa does not keep asylum seekers and refugees in camps outside society. Instead, they are allowed to live as part of society, he said.
The mission also praised the independence of the judiciary. Dersso said court rulings had added to the protection given by the Constitution and other laws.
He said this protection reached refugees and asylum seekers. It also covered access to some social benefits, such as social grants, he said.
Dersso named the Chapter 9 institutions as important parts of the country’s protection system. He listed the gender commission, the Human Rights Commission and the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights Commission.
He said the Public Protector holds government officials accountable for ethics and abuse of power. He said these affect people’s access to their rights and to services.
Dersso said the mission did not only look at refugees and asylum seekers. It also covered the rights of women and girls, older persons and indigenous peoples.
Other areas included human rights in extractive industries, freedom of expression and access to information. The team also looked at conditions in prisons.
The mission also studied economic, social and cultural rights. Dersso said these were critical for most South Africans because of the country’s history.
The mission also found problems. Dersso said the commission understood the social and economic conditions behind them.
He pointed to an unemployment rate of nearly 40%, which he said hits young people the hardest. He said this affects social cohesion and people’s ability to live with dignity.
He also pointed to poverty. Dersso said these conditions were, in many ways, a result of the country’s apartheid history.
He called for stronger steps to remove the barriers that keep people from equality and opportunities.
“These are not the kinds of things South Africa needs to relent on; it should actually persist in order to achieve equality and a better standard of living particularly for the historically marginalised population,” Dersso said.
He said the country had “come a long way” but still had a long way to go.
Dersso said the problems went beyond incidents involving foreign nationals. He named gender-based violence and femicide, as well as crime and its effect on people’s lives.
He said recent incidents of mass killing showed how serious the threat of violence is for South Africans.
Dersso said the commission took note of the efforts being made. He appealed for a stronger response to crime, aimed at both offenders and the system that makes crime possible.
A full report on the mission’s findings is expected to be released soon, according to SAnews.
Source: this article is based on reporting by SAnews.gov.za. Image: GCIS via SAnews.gov.za. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.