No justification for attacks on foreign nationals
The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs joins peace-loving South Africans in condemning the sporadic incidents of violence against foreign nationals that have hit some parts of the country.
These incidents, whether xenophobic or afrophobic in nature, are regrettable and require the nation’s collective condemnation without reservation. This is putting South Africa on a trajectory that will not auger well with the country’s established standing on human rights performance and expectation. South Africa is a signatory and is committed to various African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) Conventions on refugees and immigrants.
Many of the country’s freedom fighters and exiled South Africans were cared for by many of the countries where some of the foreign nationals come from. “We were not tortured or killed. We were received with love and compassion. They supported our stay and supported our struggle, economically and socially. It is important that this historical facts are known by our citizens,” said Mr Lemias Mashile, Committee Chairperson.
With the country’s commitment to AU and UN Conventions, foreign nationals are welcome to the country in line with National Development Plan which envisages them to make an input in South Africa’s economic development. The country is benefiting with a number of professionals like educators, doctors, engineers who are filling in the gaps regarding critical skills that this country requires to progress socially and economically. All of them have documents and are in the country legally and are expected at all times to respect the laws of this country.
The Committee further calls for protection of foreign nationals in the country because of conflict in some of their home countries. These foreign nationals are seeking refuge and they are handled in accordance with the prescripts of the AU and UN Conventions on refugees. These foreign nationals are documented and are in the country legally and therefore require our protection.
The Committee is aware that the Department of Home of Affairs is engaged with securing our borders and the country’s population register to ensure that all persons in the country are known and documented. There are plans to move the refugee reception centres to the country’s borders to ensure that all asylum seekers are documented before moving inland. The department has strengthened the immigration regulations since last year to ensure that unwanted and uninvited persons do not come into the country freely.
The Committee is cognisant of the fact that those plans might take time to give results. The Committee therefore calls upon all foreign nationals to ensure that they are documented to officialise their stay. Those that want to be assisted to go back to their home countries should approach the authorities. It must be emphasised that all legal foreign nationals are welcome in South Africa.
The Committee reiterates its condemnation of the attacks to foreign nationals and the looting of their shops. We are of the view that there is no justification for South Africans to act unlawfully. Majority of these foreign nationals are making a serious contribution to the growth of the country’s economy. If there are any foreign nationals engaged in illegal activities, everyone has a duty to report such illegal activities in the normal course of events. South Africa should play a leading role in unity of the continent.
The Committee commends the deployment of the three Ministers to engage the relevant stakeholders to foster social cohesion and integration of these displaced nationals into the communities. The decision by the Executive to deploy national defence force to assist SAPS is also welcomed and supported. The Committee views these attacks as a threat to national security. The Committee hopes this deployment will bring sanity in the country’s troubled communities. South Africans are known for discussion and debates on issues rather than fights and attacks.
“If there are issues with foreign nationals, let us openly discuss and find resolutions together. Let us accommodate, embrace and ensure that all legal foreign nationals feel safe and comfortable in South Africa,” concluded Mashile.
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