Republic of South Africa, on the occasion of the 57th session of the Executive
Committee of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for refugees,
Geneva
4 October 2006
Mr Chairman
South Africa firstly welcomes Jordan and Portugal as new members of the
Executive Committee. Also at the outset, let me congratulate you on your work
as the Chair of this important 57th session of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Executive Committee.
My delegation aligns itself with the statement read by the distinguished
Representative of Algeria on behalf of the Africa group. I would also like to
extend our sincere gratitude to the High Commissioner for his sterling work and
leadership in the past 18 months since he assumed the leadership of the
organisation.
The major cause of movement of people in the developing world and in the
African Continent is poverty and underdevelopment. Conflicts and civil strife
regrettably play a role in the movement of people and South Africa continues to
play a leading role in the resolution of conflicts in Africa, in peace-keeping
and in the search for durable solutions.
In his address at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly this year, the
President of South Africa had this to say about the above, as the growing
divide between rich and poor leads the poor to look for opportunities in the
developed world. I quote: "something is seriously wrong when people risk life
and limb travelling in suffocating containers to Western Europe in search of a
better life. Something is indeed wrong when walls are built to prevent poor
neighbours from entering those countries where they seek better opportunities.
Something is indeed wrong when all these people, whose fault is merely the fact
that their lives are defined by poverty, try desperately to reach countries
where they believe the conditions of their existence would improve, only to
meet hostile and at times, most barbaric and inhuman receptions."
The protection of Internally Displaced People (IDP) remains a challenge in
Africa, as well as elsewhere. Work related to IDP should not prejudice the
UNHCRâs core mandate, which is refugee protection and assistance. A progressive
approach, as indicated in the Africa Group statement, would be more
appropriate, based on additional programmes, which prevent any adverse
implication from taking place on the refugee protection mandate. The IDP
cluster approach, which is being piloted in four African countries, may well
provide guidance for future programmes.
South Africa, however, notes with concern that financial constraints and the
adoption of austerity measures have limited activities in Africa and calls that
UNHCR resource allocation be biased towards Africa. Broader based funding needs
to be found, including the private sector. For its part, South Africa has
contributed R1,6 million to the programmes of the UNHCR in Africa
Burundi has stabilised and after the elections in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC), it is expected that there will be an even greater possibility for
Congolese to return. It will be necessary to allocate more resources to
repatriation programmes.
Regarding UNHCR reform, South Africa welcomes any action that would enhance
the effectiveness of the organisation in performing in its core mandate of
protection. Administration costs should not reach the extent that they
compromise field operations. Reform should be transparent and all stakeholders
consulted and kept informed.
Mr Chairman,
South Africa welcomes the conclusions to be adopted at this yearâs Executive
Committee. Regarding the conclusion on the identification, prevention, and
reduction of statelessness and protection of stateless persons, South Africa is
committed to the principles, purpose and spirit of the conventions and is
considering the possibilities of acceding to these international instruments.
One of the major causes of statelessness is conflict and as indicated above,
South Africa, through the African Union, is playing a role in conflict
resolution.
Regarding women and girls at risk, South Africa is committed to the
empowerment of women, as is evident from our progressive legislation, with
regard to women in general and refugee women in particular. This past year, I
have engaged with refugee women in order to understand their plight and seek
practical solutions. These include expediting the issuance of documentation in
order to enable refugee woman to access services.
Mr. Chairman,
Increasingly, states, including South Africa, face the challenge of mixed
migration. The UNHCR has an important role to play in ensuring that refugees
are protected in mixed migration flows. Although the protection mandate of
UNHCR remains paramount, the involvement of the organisation in migration fora
will ensure policy coherence in this complex debate.
The 10-point plan of action provides a useful starting point for debate on
the asylum-migration nexus. For example, South Africa is already co-operating
with neighbouring states and relevant stakeholders such as the UNHCR and
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) with regard to mixed migration
flows. The Plan of Action emphasises also, the capacity building and
burden-sharing. South Africa is concerned, however, that the current trend by
developed countries towards readmission agreements could well result in
burden-shifting, rather than burden-sharing.
It is trusted that lessons learned from the pilot project on mixed flows in
North Africa and Southern Europe will be applied in Southern Africa and
elsewhere. States require the assistance of the UNHCR in managing the
challenges posed by this nexus, particularly with regard to access to the
asylum process. In South Africa, the increase of mixed flows in placing a
burden on our asylum system, which in turn delays the provision of adequate
protection to those who are genuinely in need of it.
In light of these challenges South Africa will need to streamline its status
determination procedures to enhance efficiency without compromising
administrative justice. This is one of the reasons why we will be amending our
domestic legislation during the next year.
South Africa is host to approximately 140 000 asylum-seekers of whom
approximately 32 000 have refugee status. Although we have made progress in
reducing the backlog, further work is needed in designing systems, including
biometric systems that go a significant way towards ensuring that new backlogs
are not created. The assistance of UNHCR in training the Backlog Project staff
is appreciated.
South Africa continues to integrate refugees and asylum-seekers into society
by giving them enabling documents to access employment and health benefits,
including treatment for those refugees who require treatment for HIV/AIDS.
South Africa welcomes the UN inter-agency co-operation on HIV/AIDS programmes,
which collaborative approach could serve as a model for future UN modus
operandi.
South Africa continues to engage with the problem of xenophobia. We are
committed to the eradication of all forms of discrimination and racial hatred,
and are involved, in partnership with the media and civil society, in
programmes to educate the public regarding the rights of refugees and the
reasons for their seeking refuge away from home.
In conclusion, we thank the UNHCR staff for their work, often in situations
where their own security is at risk. International protection gives hopes to
the millions of refugees worldwide and provides them with a better future. We
look forward to our continued co-operation.
Thank you
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
4 October 2006
