Welcome to the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC)
SALC promotes and advances human rights and the rule of law in Southern Africa, primarily through strategic litigation and capacity-strengthening support to lawyers and grassroots organisations.
SALC works in the following countries: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In addition, SALC supports litigation in South African courts that advances human rights in the southern African region.
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SALC’s work is streamlined into five thematic clusters:
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
We take power to court – using the law to challenge injustice, expose abuse, and demand accountability where it matters most. SALC’s International Justice Cluster breaks the silence of impunity and creates binding jurisprudence that changes the rules, not just the conversation.
South Africa: Challenging the export of weapons to the US
The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) has initiated a landmark legal challenge in the North Gauteng High Court to halt all South African weapon exports to the United States. This…
Press release: SALC challenges arms trades from SA to US in court
SALC OPENS CASE CHALLENGING ARMS TRADES FROM SOUTH AFRICA TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CITING THE UNITED STATES AS A THREAT TO INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY Johannesburg, 3 June…
SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS
Challenging large-scale agricultural and extractive land use that results in customary land dispossession without adequate consent, consultation and compensation, and increases poverty, environmental degradation and social inequality.
Mining requires accountability
The Nation 12 June 2026 As global demand for minerals used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and other clean energy technologies continues to grow, Malawi is increasingly attracting attention from…
Mining company takes Zambia pollution case to Supreme Court in bid to avoid trial
MINING COMPANY TAKES ZAMBIA POLLUTION CASE TO SUPREME COURT IN BID TO AVOID TRIAL Sino Metals appeals High Court ruling that cleared the way for 176 community members to have…
Landmark human rights and environmental case trial on 10 December 2025
Case proceeds after High Court dismisses mining company’s bid to throw out the case Lusaka/Johannesburg – The High Court of Zambia has dismissed the application by Sino Metals Leach Zambia…
EQUALITY RIGHTS
Challenging lack of bodily autonomy, discrimination, unequal access and legal barriers to enjoyment of rights. Support and empower communities to assert their rights and obtain redress for rights violations.
Xenophobia and the Africa we want
The Nation (19 June 2026) Recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa have once again forced Africa to confront a painful question about who we are and how we treat one…
Exploring human rights, digital minefields and intersectionality in cyber politics
26 November 2025 By Bradley Fortuin The Midweek Sun In an era when digital infrastructures have a strong hold on everything from civic participation to surveillance, human rights interventions must…
The first courageous annual Palapye Pride in Botswana
By Seipone Boitshwarelo and Bradley Fortuin. Washington Blade, 4 November 2025 The Midweek Sun, 5 November 2025 MambaOnline, 8 November 2025 A beginning rooted in courage, community and love! "When…
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Challenging the use of the criminal justice system in a manner that targets poor and marginalised persons, wide-scale impunity for abusive policing practices, over-criminalisation and overcrowding in prisons.
Xenophobia and the Africa we want
The Nation (19 June 2026) Recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa have once again forced Africa to confront a painful question about who we are and how we treat one…
Mining requires accountability
The Nation 12 June 2026 As global demand for minerals used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and other clean energy technologies continues to grow, Malawi is increasingly attracting attention from…
CIVIC RIGHTS
Challenging lack of bodily autonomy, discrimination, unequal access and legal barriers to enjoyment of rights. Support and empower communities to assert their rights and obtain redress for rights violations.
The cage, the bullet and the border: How Southern Africa punishes dissent and why our region must reclaim its institutions
Polity (4 June 2026) From Harare to Dar es Salaam to Mbabane to Lusaka, governments have learned they no longer need a guilty verdict to silence critics. They need a…
I live under Africa’s last absolute monarchy. Here’s what 40 years of total power looks like
Minority Africa King Mswati III of Eswatini just spent millions celebrating his ruby jubilee. Most of his people live below the poverty line, and a lawyer who wrote critically of…
