Southern Africa

Angola | Namibia | Botswana | South Africa | Lesotho | Swaziland | Mozambique | Malawi | Zimbabwe | Zambia

Southern Africa is dominated by inequality. The majority of people live in extreme poverty, and the region has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the world, a statistic strongly connected to the vulnerability of women to violence and sexual exploitation.

Despite the recent power sharing agreement in Zimbabwe, there is no sign of an end to the country's long-standing culture of impunity, and human rights defenders remain at risk. Meanwhile, Botswana is considered a model of good governance, with a positive human rights record by regional standards, and South Africa is evolving into a stable, multi-party democracy.

People in Zimbabwe and Angola are at risk of large scale forced evictions. There are concerns about the use of force by police in Swaziland, South Africa, Angola and Mozambique. In South Africa, women are discriminated against in accessing adequate treatment for HIV/AIDS, the subject of a major Amnesty campaign in the region.

Read more about the countries in this region in our 2013 Annual Report

Call for violence free elections in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's elections are just days away

When the last elections were held - in 2008 - a wave of politically motivated violence spread across the country after the first round of polling. More than 200 people were killed, 10,000 injured and 28,000 forced to flee their homes. Stop the 2013 election descending into violence

Hidden from view: community carers and HIV in rural South Africa This exhibition celebrates the often hidden work of community-based carers in poor rural communities in South Africa. They provide vital and often unpaid support to people living with HIV, helping them to overcome the barriers they face to making their right to health a reality. Find out more

Further information

• News and reports from our headquaters