The AsyLex Global Project
Since 2020, AsyLex’s Human Rights Litigation project has successfully engaged international human rights mechanisms in the Swiss context.
Building on this experience, we sought to explore how such mechanisms are being utilized in other regions. This led to the launch of the AsyLex Global – Version 1 project in 2022, with the primary goal of raising awareness about the existence and application of international human rights mechanisms within the refugee context globally.
As part of this initial phase, we conducted in-depth research into more than 80 national asylum systems and held individual consultations with over 35 organizations worldwide. Our findings revealed a significant underutilization of international human rights mechanisms in most contexts outside of Switzerland. Among the countries assessed, South Africa emerged as a particularly promising context. The country offers accessible human rights mechanisms, while at the same time many systemic issues affecting refugees and asylum seekers remain unresolved at the national level. Local actors also expressed strong interest in collaborative efforts to explore how international mechanisms could be leveraged more effectively.
In response, AsyLex Global, in collaboration with a trusted local partner organization, began developing a pilot project in South Africa in 2024. The aim was to jointly explore and test strategies for engaging international human rights mechanisms through a shared-learning approach. To lay the groundwork for this initiative, a preliminary field visit was conducted in 2024. During this visit, we engaged with over 20 local organizations to deepen our understanding and learn about the legal and social landscape, as well as the practical challenges faced by refugees and asylum seekers. As of 2025, the project reached a major milestone: we identified our first strategic case to pursue at the international level. This marks a significant step in the implementation of our pilot initiative.
Read below to learn more about the case and the process that led us here.
Our collaborative Pilot Case in South Africa
As part of our 2025 engagements in South Africa, we undertook two field visits with the aim of strengthening collaboration, building capacity, and jointly identifying our first pilot case.
On our second visit, between May and June, we travelled through Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Durban, holding workshops and exchanges with local legal advisors along the way. These sessions were designed as two-way learning spaces: for us, to gain a deeper understanding of the human rights challenges that often remain invisible internationally; and for local practitioners, to access practical knowledge on engaging with UN Treaty Body mechanisms and navigating complex international procedures. What emerged was not only a transfer of expertise, but a genuine exchange of perspectives — a reminder that knowledge flows in both directions.
Throughout our time on the ground, we reviewed numerous cases, assisted with client intakes, held conversations with lawyers and community advocates. The stories we heard were both deeply personal and strikingly systemic: families left in limbo because of missing documents, children unable to attend school, and people turned away from hospitals after their permits had been arbitrarily withdrawn. Several recurring patterns became clear: lack of access to asylum registration; statelessness caused by missing or delayed documentation; systemic discrimination in healthcare and education for people without legal status; the arbitrary withdrawal of asylum-seeker permits; and the absence of accessible or effective remedies at the national level. At every step, we were reminded that behind every legal provision lies a human life placed on hold.
South Africa is among the few countries in the region that has accepted the competence of the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) to hear individual complaints. This unique opportunity—together with the systemic barriers we observed during our visits and through our long-standing partnership with organizations on the ground, led us to select the HRC as the forum for our first pilot case under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The case we selected reflects both the human and systemic dimensions of these challenges. It involves a young person who arrived in South Africa at the age of six as an unaccompanied minor. Despite having a relative with refugee status and a court order mandating his inclusion, the authorities failed to act for over twelve years. By the time he turned eighteen, his request was denied as “too late.” Forced to apply for asylum as an adult, his claim was rejected without explanation, and no meaningful appeal was possible. For this young person, the consequences were devastating. Rendered de facto stateless, he was left without documentation, at constant risk of deportation, and excluded from healthcare, education, and employment. Police harassment was a daily reality, and the absence of legal status meant that even the most basic rights were out of reach.
The complaint raises several fundamental rights under the ICCPR, including the right to life, the right to a nationality, the prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment, and the prohibition of refoulement. In partnership with Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), we submitted the case to the HRC as our first strategic pilot. Within days, the case was successfully registered, and interim measures were granted — preventing deportation while the Committee examines the complaint. This represents a milestone not only for our client but also for advancing international human rights litigation as a pathway to justice in South Africa and beyond. Looking ahead, we continue to work closely with LHR and other local organizations to monitor South Africa’s response to the case, strategize next legal steps, and explore opportunities to support a locally led litigation project to address systemic rights violations.
This pilot case is only the beginning. But it demonstrates what is possible: that through collaboration, persistence, and the courage of individuals willing to come forward, international accountability mechanisms can be made real. We hope this work will serve as a catalyst for broader systemic change — in South Africa, and as part of the global effort to strengthen dignity and justice.