1) South Africa is a Party to the 1980 Hague Convention.

The 1980 Hague Convention: a multilateral treaty which provides procedural guidelines on the return of children and their protection in cases of international parental child abduction.

Contact the Central Authority established in South Africa for cases of child abduction (operational language: English).

2) South Africa is not a Party to the 1996 Hague Convention.

The 1996 Hague Convention: a multilateral treaty which determines jurisdiction, applicable law, co-operation in respect of parental responsibility and access rights, as well as civil and public measures for the protection or care of children.

You can determine whether all countries relevant to your case are Parties, or not, to the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction and/or the 1996 Hague Convention on Child Protection in order to locate the appropriate central authority. As for the 1980 Hague Convention, you can check whether the Convention is in force between two specific States in the Spreadsheet showing acceptances of accessions to the Child Abduction Convention.

Legal Aid South Africa is an independent statutory body providing legal aid to those who cannot afford their own legal representation. This includes poor people and vulnerable groups such as women, children and the rural poor. You can find out on legal aid in family matters here.

Within the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Office of the Family Advocate deals with disputes between parents or parties over access to, and care of, their children. The Family Advocate is a legal officer whose services are free-of-charge, but he/she is a neutral institution that cannot act as the legal representative. He/she can also conduct mediation to reach an agreement between parents. If the parties are unable to reach an agreement, the Family Advocate evaluates the parties’ circumstances in light of the best interests of the child and makes a recommendation to the Court with regard to custody, access or guardianship. You can find a Family Advocate in your town here.

The Department of Social Development provides funding and support to organisations that work with women and gender issues. These organisations offer a range of services including shelters for abused women, victim empowerment, counselling to abused women and their children/families and referrals to legal and medical services. You can contact the provincial offices of the Department of Social Development to get further information directly here.

ProBono.Org is a non-governmental organisation that works to provide free legal services for the poor by volunteer private lawyers. ProBono.Org also draws on a team of voluntary mediators in family matters. You can contact their offices in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town here.

Lawyers of Human Rights (LHR) is an independent human rights organisation that provides free legal services to vulnerable, marginalised and indigent individuals and communities, both non-national and South African, who are victims of unlawful infringements of their constitutional rights. Find their office in your region here.

The Legal Resource Centre (LRC) is human rights law clinic having four regional offices that offer front-desk legal services and assistance to all people living in South Africa. They provide legal services for the vulnerable and marginalised, including the poor, homeless, and landless people and communities who suffer discrimination by reason of race, class, gender, disability or by reason of social, economic, and historical circumstances. You can find their office in your region directly here.

Families South Africa (FAMSA) is a non-profit organisation that provides family, relationship and divorce counselling, educational and preventive services for children, youth and parents as well as legal information and family mediation. Its network has 28 affiliate offices in all 9 provinces of South Africa that you can find here.

Home-Start South Africa is a non-profit organisation providing home-visiting and practical assistance to young families experiencing difficulties. Its volunteers offer free-of-charge and confidential support to parents. Home-Start South Africa also runs Parenting Programmes which helps parents that are struggling to discipline their children.

Shukumisa is a coalition of organisations which advocates and actions against sexual violence towards women and children across the country. You can find its members directly here.

The Department of Social Development provides child protection services to children at risk as well as some youth services directly to young persons between the ages of 13 and 25. It also funds non-governmental organisations, community-based organisations and faith-based organisations who offers a range of services to youth, including: treatment of substance abuse, counselling, legal and court services. You can contact its provincial offices to get information on these organisations directly here.

CWSA (Child Welfare South Africa) is an umbrella body advocating for the protection of the children in country from all kinds of abuse. It represents 164 child welfare affiliates, 30 developing organisations, 25 outreach projects and 206 communities. You can contact CWSA directly here.

SOS Children’s Villages in South Africa offers Family Strengthening Programmes that focus community-based work. In addition, they run Community Social Centres in Qwa Qwa, Sekhukhune and Mathanjana. These centres offer care, assistance, skills development and a safe environment to children. The SOS community social centres aim to provide family capacity building, child education support, child growth and development. You can contact SOS Children’s Villages in South Africa directly here.

Save the Children South Africa provides support and mentoring in parenting skills in the framework of prevention of child abuse and violence. They advocates for access to equal education opportunities for all children in the country and works with parents, caregivers and communities to provide opportunities for reading, learning and studying. You can contact them directly here.

Ububele is a non-profit organisation focusing on preventative strategies for children under the age of seven, their parents, families and other caregivers and providing mental health support through its training programmes in Johannesburg. You can contact them directly here.

The Refugee Children's Project works to facilitate the integration of refugee children and their families into local community by removing some of the barriers to the local integration. You can visit their Facebook page or contact them directly:
111 Corner Kerk and Mooi Street, 5th floor, Suite 510-513,
Johannesburg 2001, South Africa
Postal Address:
P.O. Box 15744
Dornfontein 2028,
Johannesburg, South Africa
Telephone: (+27) 11 33 39 266
Fax: (+27) 11 33 38 757

The Adonis Musati Project provides assistance to asylum seekers and refugees in Cape Town. The project runs a centre which provides lay counselling, advice and referral, as well as welfare/food support. The main aim is to facilitate access to basic services such as healthcare, legal representation, education, training, shelter, trauma counselling, services for minors, etc. They also offer support groups for single mothers with health problems and also run youth support groups. You can contact them directly here.

Lawyers of Human Rights (LHR) is an independent human rights organisation that provides free legal services to vulnerable, marginalised and indigent individuals and communities, both non-national and South African, who are victims of unlawful infringements of their rights. The organisation has Refugee and Migrant Rights Project providing free legal services to indigent asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. Legal assistance is also given to those who have been unlawfully arrested and who are at risk of deportation. Find their office in your region here.

The Legal Resource Centre (LRC) is human rights law clinic having four regional offices that offer front-desk legal services and assistance to all people living in South Africa. Their work includes providing legal advice and assistance to refugees and asylum seekers or offering referral services when necessary. You can find their office in your region directly here.

PASSOP (People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty) is a community-based non-profit human rights organisation, based in Cape Town, devoted to protecting and fighting for the rights of asylum-seekers, refugees and immigrants in South Africa. PASSOP offers free paralegal advice and assistance with all documentation and work-related claims. The organisation also works with LGBTI refugee advocacy and fighting xenophobia throughout all of South Africa. You can contact them directly here.