Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Amnesty International –

From 10-21 November, world leaders, scientists, activists, negotiators, diplomats, Indigenous Peoples and other affected communities will gather in Belém, Brazil for COP30, the annual UN climate conference.

COP30 arrives at a critical moment. It’s the first conference since the news that the world passed the 1.5°C threshold of heating above pre-industrial levels, a limit long considered vital to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. This milestone underscores the urgency of bold, coordinated action.

Putting human rights at the heart of climate policy is crucial for achieving climate justice. Leaders can stand up to corporate interests, push for a fast and just phase out of fossil fuels. COP also presents an opportunity to ensure environmental human rights defenders on the frontlines of climate change are protected and are allowed to meaningfully participate in climate decision making.

Leaders also have an opportunity to agree on how to scale up climate finance in the form of grants, not loans, to help those most impacted by climate change, rather than pushing countries the least responsible for climate change further into debt.

The science is undeniable. Climate change is getting worse and human activities, particularly the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, are the main cause. But if we work together, united by our shared humanity, we can create a future that delivers climate justice.

Source: Amnesty International –

• The French short term residency system violates human rights of racialized migrant workers, trapping them in precarious, exploitative and abusive conditions. 
• Human rights abuses against racialized migrant workers are systematic and structural.
• By exposing these workers to abuses through its migration policy, France is discriminating against them, with women disproportionately affected.

New research from Amnesty International exposes how France’s residence permit system for migrant workers is trapping racialized people in administrative limbo and leaving them vulnerable to labour exploitation, homelessness and poverty.

The short-term residence permits system, which allow workers to stay in France for up to 4 years in theory, often less in practice, creates exploitation, instability and insecurity. Amnesty International has documented a wide range of abuses which affect migrant workers, particularly coming from countries such as Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Angola, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India and Sri Lanka, with precarious residence permits.

Abuses included wage theft, extended working hours, dangerous working conditions, and multiple instances of violence perpetrated by employers, particularly on the grounds of race, including physical violence and sexual harassment.

The system’s many failings, including computer bugs and administrative delays, can have devastating consequences, causing people to lose their income and social security benefits, leaving them unable to meet their basic needs and at risk of homelessness.

This situation is as cruel as it is unacceptable. Thousands of migrant workers – primarily racialized individuals employed in key sectors of the French economy – including construction, domestic work, and cleaning – are living permanently under the threat of having their residence permits refused or not renewed.

“This situation is as cruel as it is unacceptable. Thousands of migrant workers – primarily racialized individuals employed in key sectors of the French economy – including construction, domestic work, and cleaning – are living permanently under the threat of having their residence permits refused or not renewed. Many have spent decades in France enduring this constant uncertainty, said Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International.

Amnesty International’s research, At the mercy of a piece of paper: How the French state traps migrant workers in precarity, carried out in France between April 2024 and September 2025, was based on interviews with 27 racialized migrant workers of 16 different nationalities and 39 experts, including sociologists, legal experts, economists, lawyers, heads of charities, trades unions, and journalists.

Successive French governments have created increasingly restrictive and excessively complicated administrative requirements around residence permits and their renewal. To obtain a residence permit, the applicant needs a work permit, applied for by their employer and issued by the local authority. But in order to obtain a work permit, the applicant needs a residence permit.

Unsurprisingly, this vicious circle results in violations of foreign workers’ rights. Many workers have no choice but to endure difficult and dangerous working conditions – particularly in the construction industry- unpaid overtime, and exploitation by unscrupulous employers. They are unable to speak out about their situation for fear of losing their jobs and, therefore, their residence permit.

Annie, a Comorian cleaner for a multinational cleaning company, saw her monthly salary halved by her employer in the summer of 2024. When she demanded the wages due to her, her employer replied that because she hadn’t had a residence permit for two weeks, she should have been suspended. Annie noted that this had not stopped the employer from making her work, only from paying the hours she worked.

Ever-shifting goalposts mean from one day to the next, someone living and working in France entirely regularly can find themselves in an irregular situation due to any number of failings by the residence permit system including administrative errors of failures.

Nadia, a domestic worker and single mother, lost her residence rights for a period of three years. Despite submitting her complete application in full and on time, it was not processed. She was then denied the right to work and lost her social security benefits leaving her unable to pay for food, rent or bills for her and her child.

Other people interviewed, like Paul, a painter and decorator, needed to renew his residence permit and to do so he needed a work permit. However, his employer didn’t apply for one. After four months of working without pay, he contacted a lawyer, which culminated in him losing his job. Without a work permit and unable to find more work, he was then issued an expulsion order.

“Lives are being disrupted, devastated, shattered. Imagine following the letter of the law, submitting your application to renew your residence permit on time, and then having no news or access to decision makers in the local authorities. Your previous residence permit expires and, from one day to the next, you find yourself in an irregular situation. A lack of response from the administration can lead to losing everything: your job, your resources, your right to live and work in the country you have called home for years,” said Anne Savinel-Barras, President of Amnesty International France.

Far from being isolated cases committed by unscrupulous employers, Amnesty International found violations of racialized migrant workers’ rights are systemic – rooted in the precariousness of workers’ legal status, aggravated by decades of restrictive French migration policy. Through this system of deliberately precarious residence permits, the French authorities contribute to and facilitate the exploitation and discrimination against racialized foreign workers.

“Action must be taken by the state now to rectify a system that it is not only directly harmful but also enables abuse by unscrupulous employers. People often referred to as ‘essential workers’ are being treated with anything but the respect such a label merits. Only a law and system that fully comply with human rights standards can safeguard everyone’s interest,” said Erika Guevara Rosas.

“Immediate steps must be taken to tackle the racism and precarity at the heart of this cruel system. This includes simplifying administrative procedures, strengthening safeguards against failures, and, crucially, ensuring far greater security of residence status through a single and stable work permit. All reforms to the residence permit law and system must be created in partnership with civil society: trades unions, employers, companies, and associations – and above all, with the racialized migrant workers who are currently suffering most under it.”

For more information, to request the embargoed report or to arrange an interview, please contact [email protected]

Source: Oxfam –

Public services are the foundation of equitable, inclusive, and sustainable development. Universal access to quality education, health, social protection, energy, water, and sanitation builds human capabilities, reduces inequality, and strengthens the social contract between governments and citizens. Conversely, underinvestment or privatization often leads to exclusion, inequality, and erosion of rights. Strong, publicly financed and accountable services are both a moral imperative and a strategic investment – central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), fulfilling human rights, advancing gender and racial equality, and building resilient economies capable of withstanding future shocks.

Yet national and global policies often fail to do justice to the criticality of public services. The wave of youth-led protests sweeping several countries today reflects widespread frustration as citizens challenge austerity-driven under-funding of education, health, utilities and social protection, demanding governments restore and expand publicly financed, quality public service provision. If we want to make progress on ensuring that our future is public, we need to make this case vigorously in the series of global policy processes happening in November 2025 – at the World Social Summit for Development (WSSD2) in Qatar, the UN Tax Convention negotiations in Kenya, the COP30 Climate conference in Brazil and the G20 Leaders’ Summit  in South Africa. 

We need to build on the Seville Commitment – the outcome from the fourth UN Financing for Development Summit in July 2025. This acknowledges the important role of ‘public resources, policies and plans’ but fails to articulate a clear vision of financing universal, gender-responsive, and high quality public services that can respond to the climate challenge. 

The Doha Political Declaration from WSSD2 offers some strong language, including acknowledging the crucial role of public services provision in ‘recognising, reducing and redistributing women’s disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work’. However, much more attention and investment is needed to address the real challenges facing public services and the public sector workforce – and to put public services at the centre of building a just and sustainable future. Privatisation presents clear risks to public services and it is concerning that the Declaration looks uncritically at Public Private partnerships as an instrument of healthcare reform. 

The G20 could and should bring a renewed focus on inequality reduction, push back against the threats posed by financialization of healthcare and help to address some of the finance constraints (through bolder action on tax and debt). Finally, COP30 in Belem, Brazil, could embed public services at the heart of agreements around a ‘just transition’.

The recent IMF and World Bank annual meetings (in October 2025) reveal continuing contradictions. Despite 54 countries being in debt crisis, the IMF refuses to recognise this reality as they will only declare a crisis if creditors do not get paid. People dying for lack of health care or children being denied education owing to underfunded schools do not appear to pose a crisis for the IMF. We need to change this mindset. Doing so is particularly important at this time when the IMF is reviewing its program design and conditionality. We must expose the absurdity of the IMF suggesting that governments must cut public sector wage bills in order to increase social spending on health and education – when the reality is that nothing is more important than spending on the frontline workforce of teachers, nurses, midwives, community care workers and doctors, the majority of whom are women. 

Public services champions need to make some key common demands across these diverse international forums in November 2025, whether in formal or informal negotiation processes, conference panels, side-meetings, blogs or social media communications:

• Transforming public services must be central to building a new social contract and ensuring sustainable development, especially in light of the climate crisis. States and international actors must recognise that comprehensive support for public services is central to economic and social justice and the ‘justice’ involved in a ‘just transition.’
   
• Public services need sustainable public funding and should be at the heart of national budgets. In light of declines in aid and the scale of the debt crisis, every government needs to prioritise public funding from its own tax revenues, boldly increasing tax-to-GDP ratios through progressive and gender responsive tax reforms that address inequalities in income, wealth and time use.
   
• Governments should reject the problematic ‘private finance first’ policies for development finance. Grants and concessional loans should reinforce public systems and public services rather than fund parallel, private, projectized or fragmented provision.
   
• Governments must stop privatization, commercialization and financialization of essential public services, like health including sexual and reproductive health, education, water, care and social protection, energy and transport, particularly pending human rights impact assessments and evidence of public benefit.
   
• Governments should invest in public service workers as a critical investment in citizens’ rights. Sustainable financing of the public sector workforce should be a priority – resisting pressures from the IMF to cut or freeze total wage bills and actively planning to increase the percentage of GDP spent on the public sector wage bill after years of unnecessary and damaging austerity.
   
• National and global action is required to address the debt crisis, which is undermining spending on public services, given that 75% of lower-income countries spend more on debt servicing than on health, and 50% spend more on debt than on education. We need to recognise that the existing debt architecture (including the G20 Common Framework) is unfair and ineffective, serving the interests of wealthy creditors and ignoring the devastating public service impacts on countries that are in debt crisis, often through no fault of their own.
   
• All countries should set measurable targets for inequality reduction and commit to converting the rhetoric of ‘leaving no-one behind’ for those living in poverty, facing exclusion and inter-sectional discrimination, into reality. This involves ensuring that public services and social protection are truly universally available. We need to push back on the financialization of health and other services and challenge targeted rather than universal social protection which continues to be pushed by the G20 and IMF.
   
• Governments should affirm that climate justice depends on strong, publicly funded services and commit to ensuring that climate finance supports the expansion and resilience of publicly delivered essential services, recognizing that universal access to health, education, social protection, energy and water systems is indispensable to achieving a just transition and sustainable development. 
   

Making a breakthrough on public services requires both national and international action. Nationally, those working on education, health, water, energy, care, transport, social protection, housing and agriculture need to come together to demand that governments commit to a comprehensive vision of the role of public services. In the light of global uncertainties, trade tariffs, cuts in aid and unfair interest rates triggering debt crises, and in the face of popular demand to recommit to the idea of welfare state in many countries across the world, now is the moment for uniting struggles to demand that governments are proactive, reclaiming sovereignty over economic decision making and advancing inclusive, democratic processes to rebuild a social contract based on public goods and public services.

Internationally, reforms to the global financial architecture are crucial to unleash sustainable financing for public services. One of the most important breakthroughs lies in the work being done to build a UN Framework Convention on Tax, with negotiations continuing in Nairobi in November 2025 and hopes for a strong final convention to be in place by 2027. This will shift power over the making and enforcing of global rules on tax away from the OECD club of rich nations to a representative and inclusive UN space. Fairer global rules and strengthened international tax coordination are critical for countries to generate higher and predictable domestic tax revenues –  which are central prerequisites for sustainable financing of universal public services. In the meanwhile, the G20 in South Africa can help by delivering progress on effective taxation of High Net Wealth Individuals, initiated last year under a historic deal in G20 Brazil, to tackle extreme wealth inequality, including gendered and racialised inequality.

We also have an urgent need to change the global architecture on debt, moving power away from the IMF and ad hoc, creditor-led processes that drive the imposition of austerity. We need a more representative and inclusive architecture for addressing debt crises, one that systematically safeguards the fiscal space, equity, and policy autonomy that governments need to deliver universal, high-quality public services. The central call of African nations at the UN Financing for Development conference was for a UN Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt. This was blocked by European nations as the FFD4 outcome had to be a consensus document. But there is now momentum to take the case for a UN Debt Convention to a vote at the UN General Assembly in 2026. Those who care about the future of public services must vigorously support such changes to the international architecture, to break the colonial and patriarchal stranglehold that has undermined public services for a generation or more.

In this year, when we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, we need to reassert the centrality of public services to the achievement of human rights and gender equality. It is time to celebrate the inclusive space presented by the UN General Assembly and human rights treaty bodies – whilst challenging the continuing colonial tendencies of global institutions like the IMF and the World Bank. We need representative and inclusive processes nationally and internationally – and we need to build a fairer multilateralism. When people’s voices are properly heard, universal public services are valued and supported. 

SIGN ONS:

1. ActionAid International
2. Amnesty International
3. Public Services International
4. Education International
5. Oxfam
6. Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR)
7. Global Campaign for Education (GCE)
8. Global Social Justice
9. Partners in Health
10. Global Student Forum
11. The People’s Fund for Global Health and Development
12. World Organization for Early Childhood Education (OMEP)
13. Wemos, Netherlands
14. Bretton Woods Project
15. Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP)
16. Right to Education Initiative
17. End Austerity Campaign
18. Financial Transparency Coalition
19. European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad)
20. Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD)
21. Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of Social Solidarity Economy (RIPESS)
22. WEED – World Economy, Ecology & Development
23. Malala Fund
24. Federación Internacional Fe y Alegría
25. International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse
26. Global Surgery Umbrella (GSU)
27. VIVAT International
28. Treatment Action Group (TAG)
29. Campaña Latinoamericana por el Derecho a la Educación- CLADE
30. Arab Campaign for Education
31. RTE Forum, India
32. PeaceCast TV
33. Polifa
34. INESC – Instituto de Estudos Socioeconômicos, Brazil
35. Grupo de Mujeres de la Argentina
36. Portuguese Platform of Development NGOs
37. Biozid Climate Institute, Bangladesh, www.biozid-climate.com
38. Free Trade Union Development Centre, Sri Lanka –ftudc2@gmail.com
39. Sri Lanka Pre School Teachers’ Association –slpstassocation@gmail.com
40. Organisation d’Appui aux Jeunes Opérateurs Economiques pour la Gouvernance Locale (OJEG) , Sénégal
41. Fundación Chiapaneca para Mujeres Migrantes (CHIMUMI) from México.
42. We, The World Botswana
43. Olabode Youth and Women Initiatives (OYAWIN) info@oyawin.org
44. “All for Education!” National Civil Society Coalition, Mongolia
45. Bearing in mind Action to save Life initiative (BAL)
46. Association for Promotion of Sustainable Development, IndiaInstitute for Economic Justice, South Africa
47. Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Loreto Generalate
48. Rezaul K Chowdhury, COAST Foundation Bangladesh
49. JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), info@jmbf.org
50. Confederation of Indonesia People Movement (KPRI)
51. Lutte Nationale Contre la Pauvreté “LUNACOP” lunacopasbl@gmail.com
52. Actions des Femmes Marginalisées pour le développement “AFMD “ afmdactions@gmail.com
53. medicusmundi spain
54. Brazilian Campaign for the Right to Education
55. eduCoop
56. Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD)
57. Red de Justicia Fiscal de América Latina y El Caribe
58. East African Centre for Human Rights (EACH-Rights)
59. Youth and Women for Peace and Sustainable Development (YOWPSUD)
60. Coalición Panameña por el Derecho a la Educación.
61. Association For Promotion Sustainable Development. India apsdhisar@gmail.com
62. Centro de Estudios Sociales y Publicaciones – CESIP, Perú
63. Marcha Global contra el Trabajo Infantil Sudamérica
64. The Alternatives Project (TAP)
65. CADE campaña Argentina por el Derecho a la Educación
66. ICentre for Environment, Human Rights & Development Forum – CEHRDF
67. Ilias Center
68. BFJP
69. Nari O Jibon Foundation
70. Cox’s Bazar Democracy Forum
71. Civil Society Network for Education Reforms (E-Net Philippines)
72. Global Policy Forum Europe e.V.
73. Barwaqa Relief Organization
74. Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary NGO
75. Adéquations
76. Caritas Philippines
77. CBCP Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples National Secretariat
78. Laudato Si Convergence – Philippines
79. Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI)
80. Social Action Center – Caritas Tabuk (Philippines)
81. Archdiocese of Cotabato (Philippines)
82. Alyansa Tigil Mina or ATM (Philippines)
83. Global United Nations Association of the Philippines
84. Diocese of Borongan – Caritas Borongan (Philippines)
85. Fellowship for the Care of Creation Association Inc. (FCCAI)
86. Archdiocese of Manila Integral Ecology Ministry (Philippines)
87. Philippine Advocates for the Care of Our Planet,Inc.
88. Diocese of Novaliches – Caritas Novaliches Ecology Ministry (Philippines)
89. Aniban ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (AMA) (Association of Agricultural Workers) – Philippines
90. Future By Design Pilipinas
91. WeGeneration Initiative (Philippines)
92. 2KK Tulong Sa Kapwa Kapatid (Philippines)
93. Marinduque Council for Environmental Concerns (MACEC – Philippines)
94. Magyar Természetvédők Szövetsége – Friends of the Earth Hungary (Hungary)
95. Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC – Philippines)
96. ESCR-Net
97. Living Laudato Si Philippines
98. Laudato Si Movement Pilipinas
99. Pambansang Kaisahan ng Magbubukid sa Pilipinas (PKMP)
100. Friends of the Disabled Association (FDA Lebanon)
101. Africa Network Campaign on Education For All (ANCEFA)
102. Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE).
103. Asian School of Wisdom
104. Equal Education Law Centre (South Africa)
105. Nigeria Network of NGOs
106. Medical IMPACT (IMPACT OUTREACH, A.C.)
107. MenaFem Movement for Economic, Development And Ecological Justice
108. Pax Romana International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS/MIEC)
109. Debt Justice UK
110. International Federation of Social Workers
111. Plan International

Source: Amnesty International –

Amnesty International urges a prompt, independent, impartial and internationally supervised investigation into the deadliest police operation in the state’s history.

Amnesty International strongly condemns the massacre that occurred during “Operation Containment” carried out on 28 October in the Alemão and Penha favelas in Rio de Janeiro – the deadliest in the state’s history – which left at least 121 people dead, including four police officers, and multiple reports of extrajudicial executions by civilian and military police.

“What took place in Rio de Janeiro was not a security operation, it was a massacre. Over a hundred people, most of them black and living in poverty, were killed in an operation planned and carried out by the state itself. The authorities must urgently conduct a prompt, independent and impartial investigation, and request international oversight to ensure its effectiveness,” said Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International. “The government of Cláudio Castro in Rio de Janeiro has turned its security policy into a policy of death. This must cease immediately,” she added.

What took place in Rio de Janeiro was not a security operation, it was a massacre. Over a hundred people, most of them black and living in poverty, were killed in an operation planned and carried out by the state itself.  

Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International. 

Source: Oxfam –

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

Kinshasa, 4 November 2025 – The second edition of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Conference of the Congo Basin concluded on 31 October in Kinshasa on a note of unity and commitment, with the solemn adoption of the Kinshasa Declaration.

This landmark document paves the way for just, inclusive, and transparent climate governance for the future of the Congo Basin.

The event brought together over 30 representatives from civil society organisations, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, traditional authorities, experts, and public institutions from five Congo Basin countries (DRC, Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, and Central African Republic).
Together, participants strengthened regional cooperation and voiced a unified call ahead of COP30, to be held in Belém, Brazil.

A collective call for genuine climate justice

Held under the theme “From Dialogue to Action: Building a United Regional Front for the Climate, Forests, and Peoples of the Congo Basin,” this edition gave renewed momentum to the efforts initiated during the 2024 Yaoundé Conference.

Participants raised an alarming assessment: rampant deforestation, persistent inequalities in access to climate finance, marginalization of Indigenous Peoples, and the proliferation of extractive models that threaten ecosystems and livelihoods.

In response, the Kinshasa Declaration calls on governments, donors, and international institutions to:

• End deforestation and unsustainable extractive practices;
• Promote rights-based conservation centered on Indigenous Peoples and local communities;
• Ensure equitable sharing of benefits derived from natural resources;
• Guarantee direct, transparent, and fair access to climate finance;
• Urge Global North countries to recognize and honor their climate debt through sufficient and unconditional financial support.

A decisive turning point ahead of COP30

Adopted just weeks before COP30, the Kinshasa Declaration stands as a shared roadmap through 2030. It reflects the determination of Congo Basin stakeholders to transform the region into a hub of action, leadership, and climate solutions on the global stage.

As a key partner and facilitator of the conference, Greenpeace Africa hailed the historic significance of the declaration.

“This declaration embodies the determination of the Congo Basin to stand as a force for action and influence in global climate governance. Indigenous Peoples and local communities are the true guardians of these forests and must be recognized as such,”
said Bonaventure Bondo, Forest Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa.

He added:

“As COP30 approaches, the world must hear the voice of the Congo Basin. This is not just a region of climate suffering—it is a region of hope, justice, and sustainable solutions.”

Greenpeace Africa reaffirms its commitment

By endorsing the Kinshasa Declaration, Greenpeace Africa and its partners reaffirm their commitment to supporting CSOs, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities in their advocacy for effective climate justice and inclusive environmental governance.

The organisation calls on national and international policymakers to integrate the Declaration’s recommendations into public policies and legal frameworks related to natural resource management.The goal: to ensure a just and equitable ecological transition, serving both people and the planet.

END

Contact:

Raphael Mavambu, Communication and Media, [email protected], +243810679437

Source: Amnesty International –

The government is putting the well-being and in many cases the lives of the more than five million people living in South Africa’s informal settlements at risk by failing to provide them with access to quality housing and essential services, Amnesty International South Africa said in a new report. 

These people, many of them living on flood-prone land, are routinely left to cope on their own especially during severe weather conditions, despite the fact that the main responsibility for preparing for and responding to these disasters lies with the government.

Informal settlements in South Africa along with other underserved areas like temporary relocation areas, are a sore reminder of the racial injustice and disenfranchisement that were hallmarks of the colonial and apartheid regimes preceding 1994. However, this does not mean that we must ignore the fact that the ongoing housing crisis and the failure of successive governments to guarantee the right to access to adequate housing among other human rights

Amnesty International South Africa, Executive Director, Shenilla Mohamed

Amnesty International South Africa’s report Flooded and Forgotten: Informal Settlements and the Right to Housing in South Africa examines the incidence and impact of floods, both large scale and seasonal caused by heavy rain, on residents of informal settlements and underserved areas in South Africa, particularly in Johannesburg, eThekwini, and Cape Town.

“Informal settlements in South Africa along with other underserved areas like temporary relocation areas, are a sore reminder of the racial injustice and disenfranchisement that were hallmarks of the colonial and apartheid regimes preceding 1994. However, this does not mean that we must ignore the fact that the ongoing housing crisis and the failure of successive governments to guarantee the right to access to adequate housing among other human rights,” Amnesty International South Africa Executive Director Shenilla Mohamed said. 

“The government is failing the millions of people trapped in these underserved areas, especially in a time when economic hardships and poverty are rife. People live in informal settlements because there is a lack of affordable and accessible formal housing and sometimes because they are the only affordable means of living close to work or work opportunities. Article 10 of South Africa’s Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights is clear that everyone has inherent dignity and the right to have their dignity respected and protected, no matter who they are.”

More government action urgently needed to deal with increased risk of flooding

The recent floods in June 2025 in the Eastern Cape province, which caused the death of over 100 people and washed away the homes of thousands of people, was a stark reminder that urgent and long-term action by the government is needed. While South Africa’s Disaster Management Act and National Disaster Management Framework aim to reduce the risk of disaster, there is ample evidence that not enough is being done towards this end. 

Based on the experiences of people living in informal settlements documented in Amnesty International’s report, interviews with experts and practitioners in the field and a review of reports, laws and policies, evidence shows that South Africa’s response to flooding disasters – whether major or seasonal– is patchy and piecemeal, with not enough done to prepare for such events. 

For example, people displaced by KwaZulu-Natal floods in 2022 are still in temporary emergency accommodation in poor conditions nearly three years later, indicating a lack of preparedness for recovery efforts. Some of those displaced died after they were relocated to an area that was severely flooded in 2025, highlighting a serious failure to ensure that flood victims are relocated to safety. In the case of seasonal flooding, the support and assistance that many residents of informal settlements experience is alarmingly poor or absent. 

Although the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements, in their response to Amnesty International, dated 30 October 2025, asserted that “informal settlements are not planned settlements and inherently their establishment would not be preceded by the availability of basic services”, South Africa remains bound by constitutional and international obligations to provide essential services to all residents, including those living in informal settlements. 

“The reality, as documented in Amnesty International’s report, is that millions of South Africans living in informal settlements are deprived of these rights due to central government neglect, under-resourced municipalities, and poor urban governance, not simply because their settlements are unplanned,” Shenilla Mohamed said.

“The lack of access to adequate, well-located affordable housing in South Africa has also led to the growth of informal settlements in floodplains and low-lying areas which means that people living there are increasingly impacted by flooding.”

The climate crisis is making the situation far worse

Human-induced climate change has also exacerbated the risks of flooding, already a seasonal problem in South Africa’s informal settlements and underserved areas. As elsewhere in the world, this means that people who have contributed the least to climate change due to their low consumption patterns and are least able to cope with flooding are the worst affected by the impacts of climate change. 

We have no help from anyone, we have to stay and fix it, we can’t run away… where will we go?

Victim from Freedom Park

One of the main concerns expressed to Amnesty International in all three metropolitan areas was that the regular seasonal flooding of informal settlements and underserved areas was rarely seen as warranting a disaster response by the municipalities. The residents were simply left to fend for themselves and rely on charitable organisations. 

A woman from Freedom Park in Johannesburg said: “We have no help from anyone, we have to stay and fix it, we can’t run away… where will we go?”

South Africa must meet its human rights obligations

South Africa has a plethora of laws and policies on issues around access to housing, provision of essential services such as  water and sanitation, upgrading of informal settlements, a healthy environment, and preparing for and responding to disasters. It is also a state party to all the major international and regional human rights instruments including the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which guarantees the rights to access adequate housing, water and sanitation. 

“Despite South Africa having strong legislation and policy and clear international commitments as with so many other things in this country, implementation remains the issue. The reality points to obvious failures of the government to adequately and thoroughly realise these obligations and this comes at a huge cost to the human rights, lives and livelihoods of millions of people,” Shenilla Mohamed said. 

The South African government must provide access to adequate housing for people living in the country and commit to upgrading informal settlements with access to essential services in a manner that complies with human rights law and standards, including through budgetary and policy commitments.

It must also mobilise all the necessary human, financial and technical resources to ensure that disaster risk reduction is fully integrated into urban planning processes and these are implemented with a view to protecting residents of informal settlements from disasters, climate change related or otherwise, and protecting their human rights.

Background

This report documents the experiences of people living in informal settlements and other underserved areas in South Africa. It is based on qualitative research carried out between February and September 2025. These experiences are presented within the framework of key laws, policies and practices related to access to adequate housing, access to essential services, and disaster preparedness and response.

Source: Oxfam –

In reaction to the Stiglitz G20 Extraordinary Committee Report on Inequality published today, Amitabh Behar, Executive Director of Oxfam International, said:

“This historic report could not be timelier. It is a high-water mark in international recognition of the inequality crisis. The Inequality Emergency is destroying our democracies, corroding our societies and undermining our economies. An Independent Panel on Inequality is an excellent proposal and long overdue. It will bring the same scientific seriousness and purpose to tackling the inequality crisis as the IPCC does to stopping climate breakdown.

“South Africa has shown great bravery in putting the fight for a more equal world at the heart of their G20 agenda. They are giving a voice to people crushed by inequality. They are showing that another world is possible: ruled not by and for billionaires, but by and for the rest of us instead.

“Governments have a sensible, practical and science-based step they can take to redress inequality – one that will help them too. We believe that a number of G20 governments who recognize the crisis of inequality will support the establishment of the new International Panel on Inequality and get behind South Africa in making this happen.

“There is no escaping that the G20 is taking place in the backdrop of unprecedented geopolitical upheaval – as the US is readily fuelling inequality at home and around the world, from reckless tariffs to regressive tax breaks. But it clarifies the clear choice for governments – between an international order set up to serve ordinary people in every country, or one owned by oligarchs.”

Source: Amnesty International –

As the Supreme Court of Appeal starts hearing the appeal in Various Parties obo Minors and Another v Anglo American South Africa today, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) and Amnesty International have submitted a joint amicus curiae submission urging the Court to consider international law relating to the right to an effective remedy and corporate accountability for transnational conduct in the certifications test of a class action.

This case is about more than one class action or one community in Zambia. It is about whether South African corporations can operate abroad without being held to the same human-rights standards we demand at home. South African courts have the power to close this accountability gap and to ensure that victims, wherever they are, can access remedies when abuses are linked to South African companies

Dr Atilla Kisla, International Justice Cluster Lead at SALC

The appeal concerns the certification of a class action by residents of Kabwe (Zambia) against the mining company Anglo American in South Africa. The claimants allege severe lead poisoning caused by mining operations in Kabwe. SALC and Amnesty International submit that the case represents a pivotal moment for corporate accountability and the rights of communities affected by transnational and transgenerational harm.

“This case is about more than one class action or one community in Zambia. It is about whether South African corporations can operate abroad without being held to the same human-rights standards we demand at home. South African courts have the power to close this accountability gap and to ensure that victims, wherever they are, can access remedies when abuses are linked to South African companies,” said Dr Atilla Kisla, International Justice Cluster Lead at SALC.

In their submission, SALC and Amnesty International emphasise that South Africa’s Constitution requires courts to consider international law, such as the global consensus on the corporate responsibility to respect human rights and  the duty to provide effective remedies to victims  even when abuses occur beyond national borders by multinational corporations. SALC and Amnesty Internaitonal point to principles established under international law that have to be taken into account when Courts conduct an assessment of the interests of justice test relevant to the certification of the class action.

Mandi Mudarikwa, Head of Strategic Litigation, at Amnesty International highlighted that:

“This class action lawsuit stands as a quintessential David versus Goliath confrontation, marking a long-awaited step toward justice for the residents of Kabwe, who have suffered the devastating effects of lead poisoning for generations as a result of multinational mining operations. The certification of this class action could set a transformative precedent for corporate accountability, compelling powerful corporations to answer for their environmental and human rights abuses and inspiring similar movements for justice across jurisdictions.”

As the Court considers whether to certify the Kabwe community class action, SALC and Amnesty International underscore that the decision will resonate far beyond this case, setting an important precedent for how South African courts address corporate accountability and international law and transnational human-rights abuses within the framework of class actions.

This class action lawsuit stands as a quintessential David versus Goliath confrontation, marking a long-awaited step toward justice for the residents of Kabwe, who have suffered the devastating effects of lead poisoning for generations as a result of multinational mining operations. The certification of this class action could set a transformative precedent for corporate accountability, compelling powerful corporations to answer for their environmental and human rights abuses and inspiring similar movements for justice across jurisdictions

Mandi Mudarikwa, Head of Strategic Litigation, at Amnesty International

SALC and Amnesty International are represented by Lawyers for Human Rights.

Background

The Kabwe lead mine, once known as the “Broken Hill” mine, was allegedly operated and managed by Anglo American between 1925 and 1974 and reportedly contributed to extensive environmental pollution in towns and communities living in the vicinity of the mining site.

Today, experts describe Kabwe as one of the most lead-polluted places on earth. Medical studies have shown that children from Kabwe have record-high levels of lead in their blood. Children and pregnant women are at particular risk from lead toxicity, which is known to cause permanent damage to internal organs, including the brain.

The High Court in Johannesburg dismissed the application to certify the class action on 14 December 2023.