In the first case of its kind in the world, refugees from across Africa have approached the Constitutional Court to help them gain access to the private security industry. But the matter before the court is about more than just refugees who want to be security guards. "To my knowledge, before the court was approached, no other court, either in South Africa or any other jurisdiction in the world, have explicitly recognised refugee status as a prohibited ground of discrimination," Lawyers for Human Rights attorney Fritz Gaerdes said in papers before court. Gaerdes said in court papers the refugees believed the Constitution would allow them to apply to be registered as security providers in a similar way that South African citizens and those who have permanent residence here do. .