Security, delivered on behalf of the Minister of Home Affairs on the occasion
of celebration to mark International Youth Day, Pretoria
12 August 2007
Programme Director
Chairperson of the National Youth Commission (NYC)
Colleagues
Friends
I must thank you on behalf of Cabinet to have invited us to be part of this
event to mark International Youth Day. I must also extend the sincerest
apologies for the honourable Minister of Home Affairs, who unfortunately is
unable to join us and in whose place I am addressing you today. It is indeed a
special occasion that we meet as we do today to celebrate International Youth
Day coinciding with the programme of our country's national Women's Month.
This is particularly more significant given the recognition by our
government that women and the youth have largely being excluded and
marginalised from the mainstream activities of the Apartheid economy, and that
today they are part of the primary focus of the programme of government. The
link between youth development and women's empowerment has also existed
historically given the role played by the two sectors in our people's struggle
for freedom. We welcome the foresight of the National Youth Commission to have
identified the trafficking of young women and young women refugees as the theme
for this year's celebrations.
The inhuman practice of trading in other human beings to perpetuate
exploitation has been a problem of our societies dating back millions of years.
Africa's own experiences of this form of exploitation reached its worst peak
during the period of slave trade that whose legacy has continued to affect the
continent's people's to this day. Both the trafficking and displacement of
human beings all over the world have always had their roots in socio-economic
interests and have served to exploit victims, who are mainly poor, for purposes
of labour or sexual abuse.
When the South African Government initiated the development of a policy
regime to outlaw human trafficking, we started to move in strides to ensure the
safety and protection of victims of this vile act against humanity. We wanted
to ensure that trafficking is addressed specifically as a crime, to have
specific remedies and capacity to deal with it and not just rely on legislation
dealing with abductions and kidnapping.
An important part of our strategy to deal with trafficking will include the
building of awareness amongst all our people with the specific aim to give them
better protection. We share the view of the National Youth Commission that the
trafficking in human beings has always affected the youth in the main. During
slavery, young healthy men were specifically targeted as prime commodities to
bolster the labour that built the economy of rich countries of the west. Today,
poor young women all over the world are lured with promises of a better life
into sex trafficking and general abuse and exploitation.
Just as it is the case with refugees, there is also a direct relationship
between trafficking of young women and the problems facing international
migration. Government has been closely monitoring the impact of both the
refugee and human trafficking problems on South Africa and we are of the view
that these two problems manifest themselves differently in our country. With
regard to the trafficking of young women, South Africa is not largely a direct
recipient country, but is used mainly as a transit for young women who are
trafficked from the continent, Eastern Europe and parts of Asia.
Our law enforcement agencies have established various task teams to deal
with this problem as it arises due to the risk it poses on our country. From an
immigration point of view, we have been concerned that most of the perpetrators
of this cruel crime have sought to obtain South African documents such as
passports and IDs to make it easy for their victims to transit to destinations
in Europe as South African citizens. The situation all over the world has again
demonstrated another form of triple exploitation of women who are displaced as
refugees and are victims of cross border human trafficking. First they suffer
the economic hardship in their poor countries, then they are displaced and
removed from the familiarity of their homelands and then they fall prey to
sexual abuse, sometimes at the hands of the very people who are supposed to
protect them.
We have seen a lot of evidence all over the world where women refugees have
been brutalised and abused by police, border officials, the army and other
officials who solicit sexual favours in order to help to gains refugee status
in their countries of destination. Part of problem with regard to law
enforcement is that when we find groups of these women who are victims of
trafficking, the emphasis is normally on deporting them, instead of providing
protection and allows them to help us bring the perpetrators to book. This
something that we need to deal with as Ministers in the Justice, Crime
Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS) to ensure better coordination in the
work of our agencies to achieve more sustainable approaches o the fight against
women trafficking and abuse.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that
almost half of all refugee and displacement cases all over the world are poor
women. Given this reality, therefore, it imperative for world leaders to
seriously engage in strengthen the developmental role of international
migration. We need to recognise that lack of development in many countries has
become the "push factor" that makes people into forced migration and
displacement and that this in the main has affected women and their children.
Underdevelopment has also created lack of access to education for many young
people in poor societies making young women vulnerable to deceit due to lack of
information and awareness.
Programme Director
In the recent past, South Africa has been under pressure to respond to the
economic and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe by setting up refugee camps at the
border. I want to take this opportunity to clarify our position as a country in
this regard. As I have said in the beginning that this Government was the one,
in the first place to recognise the obligation of our country to offer
protection to refugees. This is an obligation that we take seriously and unlike
others we cannot afford to use for political expediency and point scoring. We
understand that it is an obligation that affects people's lives, particularly
Africans in the case of Zimbabwe.
It is for this reason that the South African Government has been observing
the developments in the situation in Zimbabwe very closely since the beginning
of the economic crisis in that country. We are of the view that in the main,
migration between Zimbabwe and South Africa is due to economic reasons with
many people crossing the border either for shopping in Musina, Makhado,
Polokwane and the big cities in Gauteng or to seek work in the same towns and
cities.
Statistics at the border in Beit Bridge show that there is almost a balance
between the numbers of people who come into the country and those who depart
back everyday. We have also observed that there also many Zimbabweans who cross
the border illegally everyday as they do not have access to passports or money
to pay the visa repatriation deposits to come into the country legally. We
however know that even those who cross illegally are either coming to shop or
to look for work. Many end up in the farms around the Limpopo northern regions
and others come al the way to Gauteng. Having engaged with the UNHCR and the
International Organisation on Migration working in Zimbabwe we all agree that
these are not refugees.
Because of the apparent economic meltdown in their country majority of
Zimbabweans are coming into our country to shop, trade and look for work. They
will therefore not be willing to be confined to some camp. We are aware that
once they are already here in the country many Zimbabwean nationals try to
regularize their status by trying to obtain citizenship, acquire documents
illegally or claim refugee status. We continue to observe that situation very
closely with a view to respond to it appropriately at all times.
We are however very worried about criminal elements that are preying on the
vulnerability of migrants in our country, including Zimbabweans. The growing
levels of criminality in the border towns have also, in the main affected young
women, who are raped and abused on both sides of the border. Many unscrupulous
officials, including police and immigration officers have also swindled these
young women by taking their money and demanded sexual favours. Both our
Ministry and the Ministry of Home Affairs agree that this is unacceptable and
should be addressed.
The Minister of Home Affairs has also given directives that illegal women
immigrant, even if they not refugees should not be kept at Lindela Repatriation
camp for too long and that those with children and those who are pregnant
should have specialised care and be sent home immediately. In the same vein, we
have also been looking at assisting unaccompanied minors that come into our
country.
We are amending the Refugee Act to make it easier for young children who
arrive at the border unaccompanied to have access to the asylum system if they
qualify.
By law, refugees, including women, should have access to education, ability to
seek employment and to live in our communities under safe and healthy
environments. The most important thing is that they should be granted status
before they can have access to these benefits. In this regard, as part of the
Turn around Programme at Home Affairs, the Refugee system is being overhauled
to ensure efficiency and quick turn around times.
We shall continue to look at the interests of women in particular as we
address the many problems of migration in our country. Government has recently
been taken to court because we refused to issue hundreds of work permits to
women from Thailand who is being recruited into one adult entertainment
establishments to work as belly dancers. We believe that this is part of the
trafficking that come veiled as employment. In any event, we are of the view
that there should be enough belly dancers right here in the country.
Programme Director
Before I sit down, let me re-emphasise that the displacement and
exploitation of women is something that we take seriously. We should however
also remember that this displacement is not only though the borders, but can be
internal in a country as well. We need to protect our young women from abuse
and abduction here at home as well and it is for this reason that we are
calling on parents to take seriously the issue of registering all their
children at birth and to obtain IDs for them when they turn 16. In this way we
are able to have a record of all our children and it makes it easy for the
police to trace them when they are missing. The duty to protect young people
and guarantee our country's future is for us all. Let's not fail.
I thank you
Issued by: Secretariat of Safety and Security
12 August 2007
