The recent violence against non-South Africans across the country is not a new phenomenon nor is it likely to end with deaths that shocked South Africa in May. The violence is but the most recent episode in a long history of the exclusion and marginalisation of foreign nationals in South Africa. That was the central message contained in a report released today by the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA), the national network of refugee and migrant service providers. Entitled "Protecting Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Immigrants in South Africa" and based on six months of research around the country, the report illustrates the way non-nationals have been excluded from many of the services to which they are entitled under South African law - including health care, education, labour rights, and physical security.
The report goes on to argue that there is a false dichotomy between providing rights for foreigners and rights for South African citizens. As the recent violence has made all too clear, the rights of South Africans and non-nationals are interdependent. If South Africa is to create the structures of labour and human rights protection to which it aspires, the rights of everyone in the country must be protected. Not providing non-nationals with documentation or allowing them to work legally means that the are subject to exploitation and will work under conditions that undermine the minimum labour standards organisations such as COSATU have worked to create. 'Currently there is insufficient protection of the rights of non-national migrant workers', says Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, of Lawyers for Human Rights. 'Until such time as government signs the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families or else develops policy around the employment of undocumented migrants, both human rights and labour standards will be severely undermined'. Similarly, denying health care or education to migrants puts us all at risk.
The recent crisis has also illustrated the need to revisit migration policy. But as we move forward, we should draw on international examples from the United States and Europe Union that clearly have demonstrate that halting illegal immigration by attempting to 'seal the borders' is impossible and ineffective. Such efforts do not reduce migrant numbers, but rather heighten exploitation, human rights abuses, and deaths. It is critically important to address migration as the development issue it is so as to assess the ways in which migration can be utilised to benefit both South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). 'International evidence has shown us that with the appropriate policy changes, the benefits of migration can have a positive impact on local and regional social and economic development; and that's good for South Africans,' says Dr Loren Landau, director of the Forced Migration Studies Programme at Wits University.
Whilst the CoRMSA report is critical of the lack of action taken by government and other key actors in the way the rights of non-nationals have been addressed in the past, it take a constructive approach providing recommendations for various stakeholders so as to address some of the concerns listed. 'In the past, there has been huge conflict between government and civil society regarding the rights of non-nationals. We have been trying to take a positive approach and address our concerns directly with government and thereby allow the relevant departments to take the necessary actions themselves', says Sicel'mpilo Shange-Buthane of CoRMSA. 'We are optimistic that in light of the recent xenophobic crisis government will see the urgency of addressing some of the concerns over the rights of non-nationals'.