Treatment Action Campaign

Violence against immigrants has broken out in Cape Town.

Click here for contact details of organisations and people who have offered assistance and can be called 24 hours a day until Tuesday 27 May.

Click here for the contact numbers for police stations in the Western Cape.

Click here for a joint statement by several organisations.

This memorandum will be handed over today at a march in Cape Town.

The AIDS Law Project (ALP) and the TAC have made a submission to the Department of Health on the Draft Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Bill, 2008. Unless our substantive concerns are addressed, we will take steps to stop this bill from being enacted.

Since Sunday 11 May 2008, xenophobic violence has swept through Gauteng. Beginning in Alexandra, the violence rapidly spread to two dozen communities across the province, including the inner city of Johannesburg. At least 23 people have been confirmed dead, hundreds injured and more than 7000 people dispossessed and displaced. So far the Western Cape has not experienced the levels of violence witnessed in Gauteng. But we have seen isolated attacks against foreign nationals, and have received information on further planned attacks. A meeting of over 20 civil society organizations was held in Cape Town yesterday to discuss a strategy for pre-empting what has happened in Gauteng from spreading to this province.

Dear Journalists: The Treatment Action Campaign and AIDS Law Project have helped to establish an Emergency Civil Society Task Team on Xenophobia and Violence for the Western Cape.

 

JOINT PRESS STATEMENT

 

The Treatment Action Campaign condemns the wave of xenophobic violence sweeping through communities in Gauteng. We call on Government to take action to halt the violence; to put in place a national strategy to protect the safety, health and well being of victims of xenophobic attacks and to take steps to prevent the violence from spreading further.

The 25th issue of Equal Treatment (June 2008) contains a special report on the systematic abuse of the rights of immigrants.

Statement by the AIDS Law Project

The AIDS Law Project (ALP) is pleased to announce the successful conclusion of its litigation against the SANDF's policy of excluding HIV positive people from recruitment, external deployment and promotion. It is a vindication of the Constitution and should be seen as having significance not only for the military in South Africa, but internationally. The order means that:

TAC has a made a submission to the Department of Health (DoH) and the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) on the new draft DoH Guidelines on the Management of HIV in Health Facilities (Guidelines). The submission presented yesterday (16 May) by Zackie Achmat at a meeting of SANAC's Techinal Task Team on HIV Treatment, Care and Support. Later this month the submission will also be presented at the SANAC Plenary.

The AIDS Law Project, acting on behalf of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society, the Rural Doctors Association of Southern Africa and the Treatment Action Campaign has made a submission to the South African Human Rights Commission requesting an investigation into human rights violations committed by the MEC for Health in KwaZulu-Natal, Ms Peggy Nkonyeni. The submission also addresses actions by her staff.