Chairperson,
Honourable Rosalia Nghidinwa, Minister of Home Affairs, Namibia,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Your Excellencies Ambassadors and High Commissioners,
Senior Officials and distinguished delegates,
It is indeed my singular honour to address you at this inaugural Ministerial conference that seeks to develop common solutions towards resolving shared challenges posed by migration.
I take this opportunity to extend my sincere apologies on behalf of our Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, for not being here today. Minister Dlamini Zuma conveys her best wishes to the conference and is looking forward to its final report.
I’ve been requested to address this plenary session on the topic “Future of the Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA).” We understand MIDSA to be a forum for dialogue and not an organisation itself.
At the outset, let me categorically say that the work of MIDSA must continue. However as we map the way forward, we must state that MIDSA cannot exist outside the context of bilateral and multilateral political structures and commitments.
IOM has the capacity, experience and resources to ensure that MIDSA continues to play a vital role in supporting our collective quest for progressive and mutually beneficial migrant management in our region and in that sense MIDSA is a valuable instrument that we can use in our region to promote dialogue and cooperation.
Over the past two days, under the auspices of MIDSA our respective delegations have been seized with the interrogation of a wealth of information, best practices and case studies that IOM has brought to the fore.
These robust debates and discussions have certainly broadened our horizons with regard to the development of common solutions to common challenges. I am glad that we are at one when we say migration cannot be combated, instead it should be managed in a systematic and humane way.
It is indeed a milestone that MIDSA could finally bring together political heads to deepen dialogue and cooperation in the region. MIDSA does indeed have the potential to assist us as politicians by providing more time and space for us to engage in sustained and more focused dialogue in the future.
However, MIDSA cannot continue to be a forum for dialogue without some avenue to channel its resolutions towards the realisation of political agreements. Such agreements must occur and be championed at SADC and bi-national levels.
In the context of defining the future role of MIDSA, I suggest the discourse at MIDSA and SADC must be more focused and hone in on the following strategic priorities, many of which have already been raised today and I venture to list four of them:
- The better management of asylum seekers
- The development of mutually complementary approaches to skilled and unskilled economic migrants
- The integration of our border control systems to afford maximum benefit for the region as a whole and
- Regulating undocumented or irregular migrants within our national states.
Chairperson,
I seek now in some small way to make a contribution on some of these issues which I have termed matters of strategic priorities.
In times gone by, it was we the oppressed people and freedom fighters who sought refuge in other countries along our borders.
Consequently, in South Africa we have a particular appreciation for asylum seekers and refugees, as many in our ranks were refugees who returned to our homeland only after the unbanning of the African National Congress (ANC) a mere 20 years ago.
Today, relative peace and stability in our region, has indeed made Southern Africa a haven for economic opportunities.
Notwithstanding this fact, as a region we are now increasingly being confronted with having to address the plight of political refugees from other parts of the continent.
However, increasingly asylum seekers come to our country, not as persons persecuted by a foreign or existing undemocratic regime. We have now the spectre of the “economic asylum seeker.” Our laws do not cater for such individuals, as these laws are outdated. Together, we need to develop options for these kinds of migrants, who are motivated by the instinctive human quest for the advancement of their circumstances.
Genuine political asylum seekers pose challenges in the modern era too. When the South African liberation fighters left the country of their birth determined not to leave unchallenged the apartheid juggernaut, they left and presented themselves to countries like Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Lesotho. Only once processed in these countries closest to South Africa, did they proceed to other parts of the world.
Today, in South Africa we experience the phenomenon of first time asylum seekers whose places of origin suggests that they traverse through three or four countries before presenting themselves at our refugee offices seeking asylum for the first time. This phenomenon is not only contrary to international practice but encourages lawlessness and contributes to national and regional insecurity.
It is our view that to address this situation, we need to have a Regional agreement in line with international statutes. This situation is not unique to South Africa. Many asylum seekers travel through the rest of the continent, arrive in the SADC region and then apply for political asylum for the first time.
Therefore, such an agreement should eventually be extended throughout the continent, to ensure that asylum seekers register their intentions at the first safe country of arrival rather than the country of final destination. We believe that this matter should serve at formal SADC structures and could be a topic for future discussion at MIDSA.
Chairperson,
As a region, we are not immune to the impact of the global economic crisis. The present climate is dominated by people within our region, and indeed, the rest of the continent, who are motivated by the shared human aspiration to create better prospects for themselves and their families. Some of these individuals are unskilled and others highly skilled.
Consequently, in reviewing our approach to migration, we need to view this challenge as an opportunity to develop our economies rather than an impediment.
Historically, both as a continent and region we have grappled with addressing the issue of the so called ‘brain drain.’ Viewed from an African context, we have consistently tried to develop sustainable economies while operating with a limited skills pool. This situation has arisen, in the main, because of the continuous flight of the best African skills to other Continents including Europe, the USA and Asia.
As a consequence of our rigid approach towards addressing the migration question, we have not been able to easily facilitate the inflow of skills into the region.
We need to change our policies and practices in order to become more investor friendly and to create a conducive climate that will bring these skills back to our region. We need to act together to implement strategies that will exploit the possibilities of sharing skills, while acting in concert to develop mutually beneficial agreements with countries that receive the skills we have invested in real terms.
In line with earlier trends, let me speak to some measures we have taken in South Africa to better manage migration.
In South Africa we have a large number of unskilled foreign nationals who seek asylum, and who spend long periods of time in the country while awaiting the outcome of their applications. In order to integrate these asylum seekers into our economy, we have taken measures to facilitate access to banking services for such individuals.
In South Africa, we have finalised amendments to our Immigration Act that will assist us to manage the challenge of mixed migration flows, by exploring the best way of separating economic migrants from refugees and asylum-seekers. This should both drastically reduce to manageable levels the numbers of asylum-seekers and importantly fill a policy vacuum in managing “economic migrants.”
We have made a start with the special dispensation afforded to undocumented Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa. This accords legal recognition to economic migrants who previously fell out of our regulatory measures. We humbly acknowledge that this would not have become a reality without the support and cooperation of our Zimbabwean counterparts. We are, in addition, considering incrementally extending this special dispensation to undocumented nationals from other SADC countries.
We are also implementing various measures that will ensure a more efficient border control system. These measures include the implementation of a new Movement Control System (MCS) that enhances security at borders and provides for real-time passenger verification and processing.
Chairperson,
As previously stated, the challenge of regional migration cannot be addressed in isolation. Whatever resolutions we agree upon at this conference must be located within the broader context of the overall political, security and economic challenges we are confronted within the region.
It is our view that in shaping the way forward for the SADC region, we need to proactively consider the harmonization of regional agreements amongst regional economic communities (SADC, EAC) in supporting mutual legal migration.
There is also a need for the establishment of national and regional structures to address the challenges of mixed migration, including a component dedicated to data collection, research, analyses and information sharing. An ongoing evaluation of the regional implementation of migration policies will also make a critical contribution towards achieving our objectives of fostering cooperation related to migration.
As a region, we need to develop standardised procedures and protocols based on ethical considerations and build confidence between states to determine how to aggregated data/trend data that could be shared among member states. Again, MIDSA and the IOM have relevance here.
Chairperson,
As governments, we do have a political responsibility for the implementation of sustainable and responsible migration policies, but the task of seeking permanent solutions to address regional migration is not just that of governments alone.
To succeed in implementing a common approach towards migration in our region, it is vital that we share best practices as governmental and non-governmental organisations, elevate our cooperation to the highest political level possible and create mutually beneficial partnerships that will result in winning solutions for host governments, citizens and migrants.
In the context of developing partnerships, it is fundamental that other sectors of society including business, labour, religious organisations and communities be actively engaged to ensure that we succeed in our mission. Local communities cannot be left out of the equation, or else we risk xenophobic tendencies resurfacing once again.
Again, in this regard MIDSA will be most useful to facilitate and enable these vital inter-sectoral dialogues at a region level.
Chairperson,
In advancing our collective cause to meet the objectives outlined above, it is critical that we resolve to elevate, inter alia, the issue of migration management to SADC structure including the Heads of State and Government Summit, the Council of Ministerial Committees, the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, and the SADC Secretariat.
Chairperson,
South Africa remains steadfastly committed to the facilitation of movement of persons in line with the SADC protocol on the facilitation of movement of persons. We have ratified the protocol, realigned legislation and are busy with the implementation of our obligations.
As a sovereign state we stand ready to work in partnership with all SADC members to shape a new policy and plan of action that will demonstrate to the world that, indeed, we are capable of finding solutions to our common challenges in Southern Africa.
On behalf of the South African delegation, we take the opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to the Government of the Republic of Nambia for hosting us this week and for their generous hospitality for the duration of this conference.
We look forward to ensuring that we will indeed succeed in adopting a common approach towards regional migration.
Thank you!
Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
E-mail: ronnie.mamoepa@dha.gov.za
