Human Rights Watch is raising the alarm over South Africa’s response to the recent surge in xenophobic violence aimed at people from other African nations and Asia.
According to HRW’s latest findings, self-styled vigilante groups have been carrying out brutal assaults while law enforcement has largely failed to step in.
The group acknowledged that South Africa’s constitution does guarantee the right to demonstrate. However, they made it clear that protests should never be an excuse for intimidation, violence, or targeted attacks on foreign nationals.
HRW also pointed out that this isn’t new. For years, refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and shops owned by foreigners have repeatedly faced xenophobic violence with little protection.
The hard truth: When anger and fear go unchecked and authorities don’t act fast enough, innocent civilians end up paying the price