Pretoria - Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will return to South Africa tomorrow after wrapping up a meeting of the 61st Session of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Executive Committee in Switzerland.
The minister ended a three-nation tour to France, Italy and Switzerland with the UN meeting.
Dlamini Zuma, who led a senior South African government delegation to the meeting, presented a progress report on the process of reviewing immigration policy as well as the recent Cabinet decision to document Zimbabweans living in South Africa.
The progress report and decision of Cabinet to document Zimbabweans received applauses and praises from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres.
Gutteres, who said refugees had found protection and support in South Africa, expressed his deepest appreciation for the migration and asylum policy of South Africa. He described the policy of regularisation of the Zimbabweans living in South Africa as generous.
"[It] has contributed in a very important way not only to alleviate their plight but to create conditions for stability to be re-established in Zimbabwe," said Gutteres.
During her visit to France and Italy, the minister held bilateral discussions with her counterparts regarding broad issues of immigration as part of the review of South African immigration policy.
In this regard, Minister Dlamini Zuma has begun a process nationally of consulting with key stakeholders including COSATU and Business Unity South Africa on the immigration policy with a view to separating economic migrants from asylum seekers.
