2024 has been marked by several spikes in anti-immigrant sentiment, political posturing, scapegoating, and the ongoing practice at several levels of the politics of exclusion. The elections in May gave political parties the opportunity to canvass around anti-migrant rhetoric. In some campaigns it was ramped up dangerously and gave an excuse for xenophobic activity. Refugee […]
In 2024 the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence runs from 25th November to 10th December. The theme for 2024 is ‘Towards 30 Years of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action: Unite to End Violence Against Women’. This pernicious form of violence remains all-pervasive in South Africa Refugee Digest 88 – Migrants, […]
It is now well over a hundred days since the formation of the GNU. Many analyses have been conducted to gauge the effectiveness of this new form of government. As is to be expected, the results are varied, often depending on what part of the GNU is being examined. The Department of Home Affairs, where […]
The tragic event of the death of a refugee and the number of injuries sustained by others in a stampede outside the Refugee Reception Centre in Pretoria is profoundly symptomatic of the wide range of maladies surrounding the realities of displaced persons in South Africa and, despite some recent improvements, the dysfunction that characterises the Department of Home […]
As we head into times of possible realignment of politics and nuances in policy matters, the key issue in the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) regarding policy certainty is in the field of visas and status documents. This continues to be a highly contested issue that impacts the lives of tens, indeed, hundreds of thousands of people. Elsewhere, […]
So much of the continuing saga around refugees, migrants and asylum seekers continues to be played out in the courts. Much of the contestation centres on issues of access to documentation and interpretations of regulations. In the run-up to the recent elections especially, anti immigrant rhetoric took on a new intensity. Refugee Digest 84 – Migrants, Refugees and […]
The Department of Home Affairs is seeking to set aside the High Court’s ruling overturning the Minister’s decision to end the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits. The DHA says that the Court overemphasised the rights of children in its judgement. It holds that the rights of children do not trump all other fundamental rights. Refugee Digest 83 – Migrants, Refugees […]
It is common cause that South Africa needs to manage migrants far better than it is doing at present, and that that can only be done if the DHA is comprehensively cleaned up. Its woes are many and its triumphs few. In this Digest we look at some of the issues causing its dysfunction and some of […]
