Briefing Paper 647 – Humane Policies: A Sign of the Times by Peter-John Pearson
Spread over the weeks of March 2026, a number of interesting comments emerged in the public domain, centred on what Dr Naledi Pandor called “a more humane policy framework”2 with regard to migrants and foreign nationals, and a sharper critique of the closely allied area of xenophobia. Indeed, ‘humane’ is a word used frequently by Pope Leo XIV with regard to the same demographic.3 A similar call for South Africa to be more engaged in international policy formulation, with an emphasis on a more humane policy framework, came from a conference at the University of Cape Town in March.4 It appears that the need for more humane policies amidst the plethora of exclusionary policies is a sign of the times.
BP 647 – Humane Policies – A Sign of the Times by Peter-John Pearson