American State Department Issues Report on South Africa, concludes Afrikaners are targeted in a “significant worsening” of human rights

Lex Libertas Media Statement 12 August 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

American State Department Issues Report on South Africa, concludes Afrikaners are targeted in a “significant worsening” of human rights

Pretoria - The think tank and advocacy group, Lex Libertas welcomes the report that was just published by the American State Department (link below) in which it finds that the human rights situation in South Africa has “significantly worsened” in the last year. The report describes the Expropriation Act as “substantially worrying”, finds that the Economic Freedom Fighters are encouraging farm attacks and concludes that Afrikaners are being targeted as a result of the deterioration of human rights. The report was published by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor within the State Department.

Dr. Ernst Roets, Executive Director of Lex Libertas visited Washington, D.C. last month on behalf of the advocacy group, during which he conducted several meetings with stakeholders in the U.S. Government, politicians, researchers, media outlets and podcasters.

For the purpose of this trip, Lex Libertas published a report entitled Reclaiming Freedom, in which it is argued that the crisis in South Africa manifests on three levels - a destructive policy framework, general state failure, and the persecution of minorities. Lex Libertas concludes that the underlying crisis in South Africa is that the political system has become disconnected from realities on ground level and that the solution thus lies in a decentralised political system.

Dr. Roets explains:
“We are by no means happy about the crisis in South Africa. In fact we need to do what we can to prevent a worsening of the situation. We are however happy that the American government acknowledges the crisis, because recognition is the first step to finding a solution.”

Read the full report issued by the State Department here.
Read the full report recently published by Lex Libertas here.

Lex Libertas is a think tank and advocacy group working towards a viable political dispensation in South Africa, based on the principles of freedom, decentralisation, and self-governance.

To join the Lex Libertas media mailing list, contact: media@lexlibertas.org.za.