20 June 2006
South Africa will be one of the many countries around the world that will be
commemorating World Refugee Day on 20 June.
A number of cultural activities and media events will highlight the role
that all South Africans can play in providing a welcome to those who are forced
to flee their own countries and seek asylum in our country. These include art
exhibitions and story-telling presentations.
The aim of the campaign undertaken by the Department of Home Affairs is to
condemn xenophobia and promote a spirit of tolerance towards asylum seekers as
well as encourage refugee activism amongst South Africans.
In 2000, the United Nations General Assembly designated 20 June as World
Refugee Day to recognise and celebrate the contribution of refugees throughout
the world. Since then, World Refugee Day has become an annual commemoration
marked by a variety of events in over a 100 countries including South
Africa.
This year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will
commemorate World Refugee Day for the sixth time with the theme Hope, in order
to draw the publicâs attention to the millions of refugees world-wide who are
forced to flee their homes.
The dawn of the new democracy meant South Africaâs acceptance back into the
international community of nations. In 1996, ending its years of international
isolation and status as a refugee producing country, South Africa signed the
United Nation 1951 Convention and 1967 protocol relating to the Status of
Refugee problems in Africa. These international Conventions required South
Africa to formally recognise and provide protection to the people classified as
refugees. This law became effective in 2000 and continues to be the countryâs
primary piece of legislation governing asylum seekers and refugees in the
country.
The increased movement of people to the south with the hope for a better
life has put pressure on our system leaving gaps in allowing some applicants
who would not normally qualify to slip through and achieve refugee status while
also refusing some valid claims.
Lack of capacity and inadequate availability of resources to facilitate the
registration of asylum seekers has created a backlog of asylum applications
that runs over 100 000. This has resulted in unlawful arrests, detention and
deportation of legitimate applicants. As a result of all these challenges, the
Ministry of Home Affairs established a Departmental Steering Committee to come
up with a practical sustainable solution that will ensure that all asylum
applicants dating back to 1994 to July 2005 are immediately dealt with.
This has resulted in the Refugee Backlog Campaign, the departmentâs
humanitarian operation aimed at fast-tracking the processing of applications by
refugees and asylum seekers as well as the determination of their status.
On World Refugee Day, the Department of Home Affairs asks you to remember
the refugees under our care who are trying to pick up the pieces of
once-peaceful lives. As different as they are from each other, one thing
connects them all: hope for a better future and a chance to restore lasting
peace to their lives.
To mark World Refugee Day on Tuesday, 20 June, the Department of Home
Affairs (DHA) will host a number of events at Constitutional Hill in
Braamfontein. An art exhibition depicting works by refugee artists will be on
display. The artists include Idi Manirakiza (Burundi), Fernando Neliozmar
(Angola), Innocent Sibomeni (Rwanda), Proud Maburuse (Zimbabwe), Dickson Ilunga
Ngombe (Democratic Republic of Congo - DRC), Jean-Bruno Kidzimou (DRC), Natalie
Mseya Mbombom (DRC) and Ehmiou Jeimail (DRC). School-children will be bussed to
the event which includes story-telling and music.
There will also be the launch of the Refugee Reception Office in
Johannesburg. A number of special purpose centres, known as Refugee Reception
Offices that are designed to fast track the processing and finalisation of
these applications have been set up across the country. These centres boast
state of the art information systems that will enable the highly trained staff
to deal with the applications efficiently. These offices are located in Gauteng
Crown Mines; KwaZulu-Natal (eThekwini); Western Cape (Cape Town) and the
Eastern Cape (Port Elizabeth).
We trust that this programme will raise a high level of consciousness about
the need to protect the dignity of asylum seekers and refugees in accordance
with our own laws and international that we are signatory to.
Enquiries:
Ministerial Liaison Officer
Cleo Mosana
Cell: 082 902 8796
Head of Communication Services
Nkosana Sibuyi
Cell: 082 886 6708
E-mail: Nkosana.sibuyi@dha.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Home Affairs
20 June 2006
Source: Department of Home Affairs (http://www.home-affairs.gov.za)
