Pretoria - Border control and migratory flows will be top of the agenda when Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma hosts United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, Jorge Bustamante.
Bustamante, who is on an official visit to South Africa from Sunday to Tuesday 1 February, will meet with the minister on Monday.
Dlamini Zuma's discussions with the Special Rapporteur are in line with South Africa's commitment to its international obligations to ensure that the human rights of refugees and asylum seekers are protected.
During the discussions, Dlamini Zuma is expected to brief Bustamante on government's efforts to eradicate poverty and underdevelopment, which contribute to the migration of people who seek better economic conditions.
The South African government is currently finalising legislation of its immigration policy, with an aim to separate economic migrants from asylum seekers.
In addition, Dlamini Zuma is expected to brief the Special Rapporteur on the ongoing process to document all illegal Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa, as part of SA's commitment to ensuring they can live productively with dignity, without the constant fear of deportation.
The minister has set her department a deadline of a little more than five months to complete the process of documenting Zimbabwean nationals.
By 30 June, Home Affairs officials would have sifted through the more than 275 000 applications from Zimbabweans who applied to have their stay in South Africa regularised. By this date, all applications need to have been adjudicated; thousands need to have been reviewed and successful applicants need to have been issued with their permits.
Once the documentation process is complete, Zimbabwean nationals will have until 31 July to collect their permits from the department's offices countrywide. This will give them a month's grace period.
