A deeply disturbing trend has developed over the past few years with regard to mobile communities in South Africa, more especially with regard to undocumented people. This manifests itself in officials making decisions that effectively exclude undocumented people or asylum seekers, and oftentimes even refugees with the requisite documentation, from accessing social benefits or legal protection to which they are entitled under either the Constitution or specific legislation.

Paper by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference Parliamentary Liaison Office