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2024-10-01 14:21:05 +0200
To: Leon Schreiber , Minister of Home Affairs
Withdraw the flawed White Paper on immigration
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*Campaign update: 115 organizations across South Africa and the broader African continent, have submitted an open letter to the president and the minister of Home affairs to withdraw the white paper.
Read more about the open letter here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Lv1BQRjk78mVmAoe/
** The Minister of Home Affairs has just taken up office and has set out some initial processes in place and one that is significant is the reinstatement of the Immigration Advisory Board. Read more here on his speech around the budget vote: https://www.gov.za/news/speeches/minister-leon-schreiber-home-affairs-dept-budget-vote-202425-15-jul-2024
*** The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs convened for a briefing by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) on the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration, and Refugee protections and implementing Operation Vulindlela recommendations. They highlighted that some aspects of the White Paper needed to be strengthened in line with the Government of National Unity priorities, the Medium-term Development Plan, and the Operation Vulindlela and Genesis reports and that a legal opinion was required to ensure compliance with the Statement of Intent and the Constitution.
Read more about the open letter here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Lv1BQRjk78mVmAoe/
** The Minister of Home Affairs has just taken up office and has set out some initial processes in place and one that is significant is the reinstatement of the Immigration Advisory Board. Read more here on his speech around the budget vote: https://www.gov.za/news/speeches/minister-leon-schreiber-home-affairs-dept-budget-vote-202425-15-jul-2024
*** The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs convened for a briefing by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) on the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration, and Refugee protections and implementing Operation Vulindlela recommendations. They highlighted that some aspects of the White Paper needed to be strengthened in line with the Government of National Unity priorities, the Medium-term Development Plan, and the Operation Vulindlela and Genesis reports and that a legal opinion was required to ensure compliance with the Statement of Intent and the Constitution.
The Minister also mentioned that due to the extensive work required to ensure the White Paper is without contention, the paper will only be finalised by March 2027, the Minister also said this is so in order to ensure that consensus is reached on the Bill instead of having to make changes later on. Read more here: https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/39506/?via=homepage-feature-card
The Department of Home Affairs must withdraw the bill in its current format and extend the public comments submission date to allow for a reasonable public participation process.
We also demand that the Department implement the recommendations proposed by civil society organisations such as Lawyers for Human Rights [1], and the Socio-economic Rights Institute (SERI) [2], as they have extensively worked directly with members of the community directly affected by these laws.
The Department of Home Affairs has recently closed the submissions for public comments for the White paper on Citizenship, Migration and Refugee protections. Public comments were opened in November, and a further extension was granted until 31 January 2024, following an outcry from various civil society organisations because of the short time allowed for public comments to be submitted.
Various other organisations, such as SERI, Lawyers for Human Rights and Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA), have called for a reasonable public participation process that allows all affected parties to participate. The process has been rushed, especially since the paper has some radical proposals.
The long-awaited policy statement outlining proposed changes to our asylum and immigration systems has been reported to make large claims on the granting of refugee status, twisting the actual landscape of the difficulties migrants are faced with when applying for citizenship [3] The paper also claims that there is an estimate of about 5 to 13 million migrants, these estimates are false [4]. These claims were debunked after Action SA used these unverified numbers to garner support during campaigning.
We also demand that the Department implement the recommendations proposed by civil society organisations such as Lawyers for Human Rights [1], and the Socio-economic Rights Institute (SERI) [2], as they have extensively worked directly with members of the community directly affected by these laws.
The Department of Home Affairs has recently closed the submissions for public comments for the White paper on Citizenship, Migration and Refugee protections. Public comments were opened in November, and a further extension was granted until 31 January 2024, following an outcry from various civil society organisations because of the short time allowed for public comments to be submitted.
Various other organisations, such as SERI, Lawyers for Human Rights and Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA), have called for a reasonable public participation process that allows all affected parties to participate. The process has been rushed, especially since the paper has some radical proposals.
The long-awaited policy statement outlining proposed changes to our asylum and immigration systems has been reported to make large claims on the granting of refugee status, twisting the actual landscape of the difficulties migrants are faced with when applying for citizenship [3] The paper also claims that there is an estimate of about 5 to 13 million migrants, these estimates are false [4]. These claims were debunked after Action SA used these unverified numbers to garner support during campaigning.
Why is this important?
We have seen the scapegoating of migrants continue to rise, especially in the lead-up to the elections. The popular idea to attribute the presence of migrants as the reason we have high unemployment rates and crime is harmful, and we have witnessed how dire and life-threatening this way of thinking can be. A thorough public participation process should be upheld, and members of the public should be given the opportunity to engage with the decisions made on their behalf and understand how they will be impacted.
Therefore, we call on the Department of Home Affairs to withdraw the bill and not rush such a critical piece of legislation, they should also work hand in hand with civil society for a thorough public participation process.
References
[1]https://lawyersforhumanrights.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LHR-Submission-on-DHA-White-Paper-2024-01-31.pdf
[2]https://seri-sa.org/index.php/latest-news/1355-submission-seri-makes-comments-on-the-white-paper-on-citizenship-immigration-and-refugee-protection-1-february-2024
[3]https://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/opinion/2023/2023-11/sas-immigration-proposals---false-claims-and-poor-logic.html
[4]https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/spotchecks/are-there-15-million-undocumented-immigrants-living-south-africa-no-another
Therefore, we call on the Department of Home Affairs to withdraw the bill and not rush such a critical piece of legislation, they should also work hand in hand with civil society for a thorough public participation process.
References
[1]https://lawyersforhumanrights.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LHR-Submission-on-DHA-White-Paper-2024-01-31.pdf
[2]https://seri-sa.org/index.php/latest-news/1355-submission-seri-makes-comments-on-the-white-paper-on-citizenship-immigration-and-refugee-protection-1-february-2024
[3]https://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/opinion/2023/2023-11/sas-immigration-proposals---false-claims-and-poor-logic.html
[4]https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/spotchecks/are-there-15-million-undocumented-immigrants-living-south-africa-no-another