Stakeholders continue to reject overhaul of SA immigration laws White Paper

DESPITE Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi forging ahead with the approval of the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration, and Refugee Protection, a number of independent groups have continued to decry the inclusivity of objectors inputs.

The concerns have come following the announcement of the cabinet’s approval of the final White Paper on April 10 and the gazetting on April 17.

According to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) the paper seeks to overhaul the immigration laws and provide a framework for the granting of residency and citizenship to foreign nationals.

Speaking during a recent television interview on the White Paper Motsoaledi said looking at the number of people and organisations that offered inputs, it was evident that the majority were supportive of its passing, although there were a few people who did not support several aspects.

The minister explained that from the over 4000 inputs it appeared that people were only challenging three things, first being the withdrawal of South Africa from the United Nations Convention, which was untrue.

If anything he said the country was sticking to the convention with reservations in terms of article 42 of the Convention which many countries had done, and South Africa was only attempting to rectify that now.

The second opposition he explained surrounded the department seeking to abolish Section 43 of the Refugee Act and ultimately depriving people and sending them back to their country of origin to be hanged.

“They say we want to do away with non-refoulement which is an international principle.

The principle of non-refoulement yes, we accept it is a universal principle, it is Article 33 of the United Nations Convention of 1951, it simply says you can’t take back a person from a country they ran away from if there is at all the chance and evidence that they will be persecuted and perhaps even executed in whatever way, so you can't say go away.”

“That article however has two sub-articles, the first says that it realises that there will be exceptions and people who come from such countries but who are a menace and threat to your own country’s security and stability,” he explained.

Motsoaledi said such sections were implemented to allow country’s exceptions to refoule, however, he added that in the case of South African law this section had not been domesticated.

As a result of this he said the country had experienced instances where criminals are able to seek safe haven in the country.

“Why should we be a country that is a haven for all these criminals and the reason is simple, they say they looked at our laws. All that we are saying in our laws, let’s put the country’s safety first.”

The South African Refugee Led Network (SARLN) in acknowledging the potential significance of the White Paper in shaping South Africa's policies in critical areas, has come out to raise concerns, however, regarding the extent of the public engagement process and the inclusivity of stakeholder inputs.

The organisation disputed the thoroughness of the engagements as they alleged that the paper had not undergone a comprehensive review process, and neither had it accommodated the key representatives of primary party effect.

Over and above that the organisation also disputed assertions by the minister regarding the board support he purported to the policy.

“While there may have been differing opinions on specific elements, SARLN contends that the level of opposition has not been adequately emphasised. The White Paper fails to highlight the contribution of asylum seekers and refugees to host economies.”

“We therefore believe that curtailing asylum seekers and refugees' freedom of movement and ability to work will not only threaten their constitutional rights. It will also diminish asylum seekers and refugees’ vital roles in local economies across South Africa and cause them to become more dependent on the state’s strained fiscus,” the organisation added.

ActionSA’s Lerato Ngobeni also expressed concerns on the White Paper as she explained that it still failed to adequately address skilled immigration into South Africa which could assist in growing the sluggish economy and creating jobs by attracting more people who could invest in the country, or who provide critical skills our economy desperately required.

“ActionSA maintains that unless there are fundamental, wide-reaching legislative and institutional reforms that adequately capacitates the Department of Home Affairs, South Africa will still have porous border issues. It is incumbent on us to remove this uncaring, unpatriotic government and set forth towards fixing the Department of Home Affairs,” Ngobeni said.

Saturday Star

goitsemang.matlhabe@inl.co.za