Pretoria: South African Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba, will today, Sunday, 18 October depart for Uganda to lead the South African government delegation to the African Union's Special Summit of Heads of State and Government scheduled for 23 to 24 October in Kampala.
The African Union Special Summit of Heads of State and Government has been convened specifically to discuss the challenge of forced displacement of people in the continent of Africa.
The Summit and will be preceded by a Ministerial meeting of Ministers and/or Deputy Ministers of Home Affairs. In this regard, Deputy Minister Gigaba will represent President Jacob Zuma and Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma at the Summit.
Giving context and meaning to the AU Summit during her address to the 60th Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHRC) held in Geneva, Switzerland recently, Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said: "In the African Union we have expressed our concern at the protracted refugee situations in Africa and the serious challenges faced by refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP)."
"We are also concerned at the negative impact in the host countries, many of which have fragile socio-economic conditions. In this regard, the decision of the EXCOM Member States to discuss this matter at this session is timely and of critical importance. We believe that Member States will continue to work towards a solution so that we can adopt the conclusion" said Minister Dlamini Zuma.
"Whilst globally the number of refugees has decreased, on the other hand the number of IDP has increased and Africa is no exception in that it hosts the largest number of IDP than any other continent. The majority of these refugees and IDP have been in exile and displacement for several years and in some cases even for decades, depriving millions of able and willing citizens the opportunity to build peaceful lives and contribute to the continents development.
"When such a large number of people are forced to live in camps and settlements with very limited rights and opportunities, it could expose them to security threats including possible recruitments into armed groups" continued Minister Dlamini Zuma.
"This has led to the African Union convening a special summit of Heads of State and Government in Kampala hosted by the government of Uganda in October 2009. We are looking forward to working with the UNHCR and other partners to develop sustainable solutions for addressing the challenge of forced displacement in Africa" concluded Minister Dlamini Zuma.
Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Home Affairs
18 October 2009
