By Kouthar Sambo
Lawyers For Human Rights (LHR) filed a court challenge against Home Affairs for blocking people’s identity documents. This comes after numerous people’s births are not registered or is registered too late.
Speaking on VOC’s Drive Time show earlier today, Stateless Project Head Thandeka Chauke said the LHR had launched a campaign: “My ID, Unlock My Life” to raise awareness around ID blocking.
“Tomorrow, the LHR will represent 134 of our clients who have been directly impacted by ID blocking. We have launched this court application to challenge this practice by the Department of Home Affairs,” said Chauke.
Chauke went on to say that no policy explained the criteria that they use to block an ID.
“From the cases we have assessed, they are either blocked due to an error in the name of the person in the gender marker on their ID or an error in their Date of Birth (DOB),” added Chauke.
However, there are cases related to suspected fraud, explained Chauke, or misrepresentation by the person who has obtained the ID.
“While it might be a useful tool to monitor or curb issues of identity fraud, there needs to be a consideration to the innocent third parties who are involved in this process because if their identity gets blocked, they do not have access to their citizenship or basic rights to services that are connected to a valid identity document,” reiterated Chauke.
Photo: Department of Home Affairs/Facebook
