Pretoria – Cabinet says the migration crisis in Europe is a regional challenge that requires the collective effort of individual states.
“The active participation of and close collaboration with societies, communities and civil society organizations is needed to deal with migration issues,” said Cabinet on Thursday.
Cabinet issued the statement following its ordinary meeting on Wednesday.
It said it had noted the migration developments in Europe which “highlight the complexity of the migration management and its relationship with foreign policies of the respective countries”.
“South Africa has consistently tried to handle issues of migration as humanely as possible. The migration crisis in Europe is a regional challenge that requires the collective effort of individual states,” said Cabinet.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday called for the relocation of 120 000 migrants arriving in Italy, Greece and Hungary under a compulsory scheme among member states of the European Union (EU).
Juncker made the proposals during his speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where he put forward a comprehensive package of proposals to help address the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe.
This comes in addition to the European Commission's proposal in May to relocate 40 000 people, which is still to be adopted by the European Council, thus bringing the total proposed number up to 160 000.
The new relocation would be done according to a mandatory distribution key using objective and quantifiable criteria, the European Commission said in a press release.
The figures of 120 000 persons to be relocated shows that Germany and France should take in 46 percent of asylum seekers.
The distribution of tens of thousands of refugees has triggered controversy among EU member states. Some of them especially oppose mandatory refugee quotas.
The European Commission will present the relocation plan to an emergency meeting of EU internal affairs ministers by September 2014. – SAnews.gov.za-Xinhua
