South Africa wants tougher laws to stop the influx of refugees and asylum seekers. One proposal is a withdrawal from the international convention on refugees. In the runup to a general election, the government is under pressure to calm rising xenophobia and the record unemployment in a weak economy that appears to fuel the trend.
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00:00 (dramatic music)
00:01 - South Africa is pressing the reset button
00:03 on laws that affect citizenship,
00:06 immigration and refugee protection,
00:08 and tightening them.
00:09 - Home Affairs Minister, Dr. Erin Mutswaledi
00:11 is lobbying for the review and temporary withdrawal
00:13 from two international agreements on refugee protection.
00:17 - Why are we here in other countries?
00:18 - But would that really solve
00:20 South Africa's immigration dilemma?
00:22 - Even if they come up with these new laws
00:24 and they pull out of these international treaties,
00:27 it's not going to stop migration.
00:29 - Welcome to the flip side.
00:31 Migration is an increasingly contentious issue
00:33 in South Africa, where authorities can't even say for sure
00:37 how many foreigners are in the country, legally or illegally.
00:41 The public and migrants alike are urging the government
00:43 to deal with the situation.
00:45 Three separate laws currently govern refugees,
00:48 immigration and citizenship in South Africa.
00:51 (speaking in foreign language)
00:58 The African National Congress, ANC-led government,
01:02 now just wants one law in order to plug loopholes.
01:05 - The ANC in 2022 at its elective conference
01:09 decided to review the white paper
01:13 on international migration,
01:14 trying to make it difficult for migrants of low skill
01:17 to work in South Africa.
01:18 This is a way of appeasing its voters.
01:21 - The Home Affairs Minister, Aaron Mutswaledi,
01:23 says South Africa doesn't have the resources
01:26 to grant the socioeconomic rights
01:28 envisaged in the UN Refugee Convention.
01:31 And signing up to it in the first place
01:32 was a serious mistake.
01:34 But would exiting the treaty bring a solution?
01:38 - When you look at the constitution of Myanmar,
01:40 you will find out that with the withdrawal from the treaties
01:44 is not going to have a meaningful result
01:48 as the Department of Home Affairs is expecting.
01:52 - And could South Africa face repercussions
01:55 if it abandoned its obligation?
01:57 - This actually would be a step backwards
01:59 and would create more problems for the country
02:02 as enabling refugees and asylum seekers
02:05 to access education and labor markets
02:08 actually helps foster their self-reliance
02:11 and reduces dependency on the state.
02:14 - The current government has until next year's
02:16 general election to put in place this framework
02:19 if it passes in parliament.
02:21 - At the end of the day, for as long as they have still
02:24 pushed vectors in other African countries
02:26 and they still view South Africa as the maker of Africa,
02:29 people will still continue to come to this country.
02:32 - And that is the flip side.
02:34 (upbeat music)
02:36 (upbeat music)