The Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The Head of the Jesuit Refugee Service
Head of the Consortium of Refugees and Migrants in South Africa
SAMAWA
Coordinating Body for Refugee Communities
Catholic Justice and Peace
Refugee Ministries Centre
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation
Southern African Women Institute for Migration Affairs
Blacksash
Sonker Gender Justice Network
Ladies and gentlemen
Members of the media
World Refugee Day will be commemorated tomorrow Monday, 20 June internationally. This day honours the courage and determination of those who are forced to flee their homeland due to persecution or the breakdown of public order.
It is an honour to present the keynote address to this gathering commemorating World Refugee Day which this year, coincides with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The UNHCR will in 2011 hold all its commemorative events throughout the world under the theme: "The Refugee without hope is too many."
The 60th anniversary of the UNHRC forces us to take stock of where we are after six years of its establishment. Undoubtedly the world has not become a safer place and the UNHRC has earned its place amongst multilateral institutions as one that continues to be credible and unfortunately, even more relevant than at its inception.
It should concern us that while our civilisation can boast the most amazing advances in various fields of endeavour: inter alia, technology, astronomy, and that we can catch a glimpse of the very conditions that existed at the point of creation of matter through sophisticated experiments using accelerated atomic particles – but non violence and peace on this planet evades us as a species. All around the world citizens still have cause to flee social and political persecution, as well as various forms of injustice, resulting in their displacement either within their countries or in host countries.
It must register as a severe indictment on us as a species that we are bent on our destruction. This moment should give us all pause, as human being first and foremost, to contemplate our priorities and our legacy.
Distinguished guests,
South Africa has a long standing association with UNHCR, going back to when the organisation assisted our citizens who were compelled to flee our country from political persecution to later on when we could also play our full role to assist UNHCR in refugee situations elsewhere.
We are not only a signatory to the Refugee Convention of 1951 and its 1967 Protocol but also a member of the Executive Committee of UNHCR and have participated internationally in many UNHCR activities such as, inter alia, through the deployment of a full time Home Affairs representative in Geneva.
As a member state of the UNHCR and a member of the Executive Committee, we are gravely concerned that the number of forcibly displaced persons has over the years grown steadily worldwide to 44 million. Of these more than 26 million (including 15.2 million refuges and the rest being stateless and internally displaced persons) are directly assisted by UNHCR. In recent months and days we have again been witnessing the refugee generating potential of conflict situations, especially in the North of the African continent, and have noted UNHCR’s involvement therein.
According to the UNHRC, more than half of the world’s refugees are in Asia and some 20% in Africa where they live in widely varying conditions, from well-established camps and collective centres to makeshift shelters or living in the open. More than half of all refugees live in urban areas where they all face three possible solutions: repatriation; local integration or resettlement.
Distinguished guests,
South Africa has been a receiving country for refugees from the region, the continent and indeed from as far away as Bangladesh and Pakistan. The High Commissioner for Refugees, in his address to the November 2010 Executive Committee, acknowledged that South Africa has of late become the largest recipient of individual asylum seekers in the World. As a developing middle income country, South Africa now has more asylum seekers to deal with than all 27 countries of the European Union combined.
It should be noted that the majority of asylum applicants do not qualify for refugee status. The reason that we have such a high level of applicants is partly because our asylum management process is lacking in many respects. We are alive to the weaknesses in the system and are concerned that the huge influx of applications from individuals intent on abusing the relatively simple process of regularisation that the asylum management process presents, ultimately serve to disadvantage genuine refugees, as our resources are diverted away from offering them the level of service and protection that we strive to achieve.
Amendments to the Refugee Act recently promulgated in parliament are intended to streamline the processes of application for asylum by making it more efficient and credible for those who seek our protection.
Amongst others, we are now proposing committees that will decide on the status of applications. Members of these committees will have different expertise required to adjudicate such matters and are expected to make decisions efficiently while restoring the integrity of the process. We are also proposing an Appeals Authority which can meet simultaneously in groups at different centres to consider applications which will go a long way towards expediting processes.
The amendment also provides for the registration of new born children of refugees who, like South African citizens, will be registered at any Home Affairs office. It will then be incumbent on the parents to present the birth certificate at any Refugee Reception Office in order to have the said child included as a dependent of such refugees.
Distinguished guests,
While we await the assenting into law of these amendments as well as the finalisation of the regulations that will govern their implementation, we have in the meantime initiated a process of completely reviewing the Asylum Seeker Management Process.
This seeks to holistically address challenges related to the management of asylum seekers with a view to ensuring we may better manage and honour of international obligations.
Economic migrants
In dealing with the complex issue of economic migrants who arrive at our borders we are looking to give credence to addressing this reality. We are aware that the country will continue to experience the phenomenon of economic migrants as long as development on the continent remains uneven, as long as people are subjected to social and economic underdevelopment, as long as people experience deprivations from, amongst others, food, education, healthcare and financial stability.
It is in recognition of this reality that we will be reviewing the policy and regulatory framework to manage this kind of migration to ensure we become more responsive to current conditions.
As part of this we will therefore be implementing an integrated immigration management system which will also entail an Amendment to the Immigration Act of 2002. This will ensure that the Department of Home Affairs is aligned to the national priorities of government, foremost amongst which is job creation through the New Growth Plan. Our visa regime for business people and investors will therefore be simplified while we will also facilitate the recruitment of critical skills through the introduction of a critical skills work visa. We have also simplified requirements for the issuing of our student visas.
Distinguished guests,
It is our intention that through the amendments to the Refugees and Immigration Acts entry into South Africa for those with legitimate cause and proper documentation will have their hope, humanity and dignity restored. It will undoubtedly become more difficult for those who wish to abuse our asylum seeker processes or our immigration laws to do so. We will cooperate with our partners within the Justice and Crime Prevention Cluster (JCPS) to ensure that South Africa is indeed able to deliver on the commitment that all South Africans are and feel safe through enhanced legislative processes.
Before I conclude, allow me to comment on reports being carried in the South African media in the recent past regarding tensions between South African small business concerns and ostensibly asylum seekers who are operating businesses in the townships. Notoriously in the past, this tension has in other parts of the country spilled into violence and at times resulted in fatalities’ on the side of foreigners.
In April 2011 the Soweto Small Business Interim Forum (SBIF) wrote to the Representatives of the Small Business Independent Forum (SBIF) formally asking for a meeting with the Department of Home Affairs to discuss escalating tensions between the local small business owners who had perceived that foreign owned businesses were being illicitly operated in the township.
Our officials have met with the SBIF on two occasions, 29 April and 17 May 2011, which culminated in a broad and inclusive meeting of 26 May 2011. This meeting resolved to establish the Home Affairs Johannesburg Metro Council Region D Stakeholder Forum (the Stakeholder Forum) to discuss, amongst others, problems and tensions that exist between South African small business owners particularly in Region D (Soweto) and the foreign (asylum seekers) owned small businesses.
The establishment of this forum has contributed substantially towards averting similar attacks on foreign owned businesses in Soweto by agreeing on a programme of action aimed at ensuring such tensions do not escalate any further without any action from government. The forum will continue to provide a platform for dialogue on issues of mutual concern amongst business owners in this area.
The Department of Home Affairs will continue to facilitate this dialogue on an ongoing basis in an attempt to foster healthy relationships with different stakeholders.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In closing, let me reiterate the commitment from our government to ensure that refugees, who legitimately seek protection from persecution in whatever form upon our shores, will have their hopes, humanity and dignity restored.
I thank you.
