STATEMENT ON THE CONCOURT ASYLUM RULING

The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) welcomed a July 7, 2026, Constitutional Court ruling regarding the right to seek asylum in South Africa. The Office for Migrants, Refugees and Human Trafficking of the SACBC called on the Department of Home Affairs, the government, and civil society to support the ruling and ensure asylum seekers can fairly present their cases.

The court ruling followed legal action by the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town to address barriers that prevented asylum seekers from accessing the asylum process. While the decision allows people seeking protection to approach the Department of Home Affairs to have their applications processed according to the law, the SACBC noted that implementation has been complicated by limited staff capacity, administrative challenges, poor communication, and misinformation about the order. The conference stated that the Department of Home Affairs must receive the necessary resources to fulfill these requirements.

In the same statement, the SACBC congratulated Judge Navanethem ‘Navi’ Pillay, a recipient of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, for her work prosecuting genocide and war crimes.