Helen Suzman Foundation slates migration White Paper

The Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) has criticised the Cabinet’s decision to adopt the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection: Towards a Complete Overhaul of the Migration System in South Africa.

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Wednesday announced that after “robust engagements”, the Cabinet approved the final White Paper with a view for a bill to move to Parliament with haste.

Motsoaledi said public comments on the draft White Paper reaffirmed the need to adopt “effective policy measures and legislative interventions dealing with migration in South Africa”.

South Africa has different pieces of legislation dealing with citizenship, immigration and refugee protection, namely the Citizenship Act, Immigration Act and Refugees Act as amended.

He explained that asylum seekers and refugees were not recognised in South Africa until 1993.

“During the apartheid regime, South Africa did not accede to any international and regional conventions relating to the status of refugees and asylum seekers.

“South Africa administered its refugee policy on an ad hoc basis, granting refugee status mostly to white nationals from Zimbabwe, Portugal and Mozambique.

The Refugees Act was passed in 1998. In line with the 1951 Convention, the 1967 Protocol and the 1969 OAU Convention, the Refugees Act prohibited refusal of entry, expulsion or extradition of asylum seekers and refugees.

“The White Paper proposes that the Government of the Republic of South Africa must review and/or withdraw from the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol with a view to accede to them with reservations like many other countries.

The Refugee Protection and Immigration legislation must provide for reservations and exceptions,” the minister said.

Among the changes would be the repeal of the Citizenship Act and Births and Deaths Registration Act in its entirety to be included in a single piece of legislation.

Visas will also be reviewed under the Immigration Act.

“Visas such as relative’s visa, corporate visa, intra-company visa will be abolished. Additional limited-duration permanent residence visas linked to minimum investment will be introduced and e-visas (tourist) and remote work visas. The maximum period to issue visas would be shortened.”

Motsoaledi added that spaza shops owned by foreign nationals would also be regulated starting with an audit by municipalities.

“This is with a view to have all spaza shops registered and establish the immigration status of the owners. Furthermore, municipalities will introduce by-laws to regulate the location and other requirements such as, health and safety. Traditional leaders will play an important role in respect of informal shops located in communal land.”

The HSF said the White Paper “fails at the threshold for sound government policy-making because it provides an inscrutable solution without properly defining the challenges which migration poses to South Africa”.

“Instead, the White Paper bemoans South Africa’s already strict legal regime for refugee protection and fails to recognise basic legal realities that prevent large-scale tightening of our refugee laws. The principle of non-refoulement and the Constitution’s own rights prevent meaningful departure from the framework for refugee protection which South Africa already has. Moreover, the White Paper’s calls for institutional reform, while perhaps laudable when considered on their own, distract from the Home Affairs department backlogs and incapacity – neither of which are addressed in any detail in the White Paper,” the foundation said.

The department did not respond to requests for comment on the HSF’s views by deadline on Thursday.

Cape Times