The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) assistant high commissioner for protection has appealed to South Africa to uphold and preserve an asylum system for refugees and asylum-seekers.
This week, Ruven Menikdiwela concluded a five-day visit to South Africa, following a visit to Beit Bridge, one of the country’s busiest ports of entry between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
She met the commissioner of the border management authority, Dr Mike Masiapato, and his team. Menikdiwela assured them of UNHCR’s readiness to support their efforts to manage their borders in a way that took into consideration the specific needs and rights of people seeking asylum.
South Africa hosts about 154 000 refugees and asylum-seekers, representing 0.2 % of the country’s population of 60.6 million people.
While acknowledging the country’s concerns about perceived challenges around irregular migration and people entering the country without authorisation or valid documentation – issues shared by many countries across the world – the UNHCR said people had the right to seek asylum and be protected from expulsion from the country.
Masiapato agreed and noted that “migration is to be managed but not to be stopped”.
Earlier this week, Menikdiwela, who is in South Africa on her first visit since her appointment as assistant high commissioner for protection in January, met Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi for a high-level bilateral meeting in Pretoria.
The discussions focused on reviewing the various migration routes to South Africa as well as on how best to strengthen the protection space for asylum-seekers and refugees in the country.
Menikdiwela referred to the government’s White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection. The document was made public in November, with an invitation for comments by the end of January.
The public and stakeholders were asked to comment on, among others, the proposal by South Africa to withdraw from the 1951 Refugee Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol.
Menikdiwela had reservations about the White Paper and its possible consequences on refugees and asylum seekers.
She said: “South Africa has attempted to respond to the arrivals of foreign nationals on its territory through the White Paper, but withdrawing from the Refugee Convention and re-acceding with reservations will not provide the immediate, practical solutions that the government is seeking.
“As the UNHCR, we suggest concrete solutions, such as the route-based approach, where we are not looking at countries of destination in isolation but at the entire migratory route – from the countries of origin to the countries of transit and to the countries of destination.”
She said the UNHCR was ready to work with the government and other humanitarian agencies to look at how to provide effective responses to migratory and refugee movements along the routes.
The UN refugee agency appealed to South Africa to maintain its commitment to upholding human rights by remaining a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention.
The agency also called on the government to lead the promotion of tolerance and social cohesion towards refugees and migrants, as the country approached the national presidential elections.
It said it was ready to continue supporting the implementation of the National Action Plan to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
The UNHCR was also investing in a project with the government, one that was co-funded by the EU, to reduce the backlog of asylum appeals to make decision-making on them more efficient. To date, 131 282 asylum claims are waiting to be processed by the Refugee Appeals Authority of South Africa.
“This week, we’ve discussed important ways to make progress towards making South Africa’s asylum system fairer and faster,” said Menikdiwela.
She appealed to the government to continue to regard refugee protection as essential to upholding fundamental rights.