South Africa has welcomed ongoing discussions at the African Union (AU) on migration, saying the continent needs a comprehensive and coordinated response that addresses the root causes of irregular migration rather than singling out individual countries.
Speaking during a media briefing on government's comprehensive approach to migration management on Sunday, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola said South Africa supports engagement on migration at the highest level of the AU, provided the discussions focus on orderly, regular and legal migration, as envisaged by existing continental frameworks.
“The AU has a Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, Rights of Residence and Rights of Establishment... aimed at having a common and regulated approach on Africans' ability to travel, work and live across the continent,” he said.
Lamola explained that the protocol, adopted by the African Union in 2018 as a flagship project under Agenda 2063, promotes coordinated migration management, stronger border systems and enhanced efforts to combat human trafficking.
He noted that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) also has a Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons, of which South Africa is a signatory, although more member states are still required before it can be operationalised.
“But both protocols call for regular and orderly migration, which is a point of emphasis that migration must be orderly, must be regular, and must also be legal,” the minister said.
He said South Africa's approach to migration is fully aligned with these regional and continental frameworks.
“So, migration must be orderly, must be regular, and must be legal, which is what the South African government has to do to ensure that migration is within the parameters of the law…it must be within what our laws prescribe,” the Minister said.
Lamola said African countries have consistently recognised the sovereign right of every state to enforce its immigration laws.
However, he stressed that concerns raised by many countries relate not to the enforcement of immigration laws, but to incidents where private individuals or groups take the law into their own hands.
“The only issue that all of them do raise... is that where there is a challenge of irregular and illegal, including undocumented immigrants, it must be dealt with in a human way. It must be dealt with by law enforcement, not private individuals and groups that are not mandated by the laws of that country,” Lamola said.
He said government would continue engaging with countries across the continent to reinforce this principle.
Migration debate must address root causes
Lamola said discussions at the AU should move beyond focusing exclusively on South Africa and instead examine the broader drivers of migration across the continent.
He noted that South Africa receives the highest number of migrants in Africa, both regular and irregular, while North African countries also experience significant migration pressures as destinations and transit routes to Europe.
“South Africa is one of the highest receiving countries of migrants, both regular and irregular. On irregular migration, I believe we are the number one country on the continent,” he said.
According to Lamola, migration cannot be addressed without confronting the underlying factors that compel people to leave their countries.
"So, this debate that is being called by Ghana should not be a debate of finger pointing, cheap political scoring against South Africa, labelling South Africa as this and that, because it will not be helpful,” he said.
Instead, he said the discussion should focus on economic challenges, unemployment, governance, peace and security, as well as the impact of climate change across the continent.
"Framing the debate in that context will lead to a positive and a constructive engagement,” the minister said.
He added that South Africa remains willing to engage with the African Union on migration and would welcome a fact-finding mission by the continental body.
"We welcome any discussion that will be comprehensive on migration to deal with all issues, including the root causes of illegal migration,” the Minister said.
Lamola said the issue is expected to feature in engagements during the African Union Executive Council meeting, which begins this week.
Ghana engagement reaffirmed strong bilateral ties
Responding to questions about his recent visit to Ghana as President Cyril Ramaphosa's Special Envoy, Lamola dismissed suggestions that the South African delegation had been rejected.
“I went to Accra, Ghana, as the Special Envoy of the President, and I was well received by President Mahama with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana and his delegation,” he said.
He said discussions reaffirmed the longstanding relationship between the two countries, which dates back to the struggle against apartheid.
“The meeting reaffirmed South Africa-Ghana relations that this matter on the table is not going to impact or affect South Africa-Ghana relations because the relationship between Ghana and South Africa is enduring,” he said.
Lamola said Ghana acknowledged South Africa's sovereign right to enforce its immigration laws but raised concerns about violence associated with protests over migration and incidents where individuals impersonate law enforcement and Home Affairs officials.
He said South Africa assured Ghana that law enforcement agencies were taking action against those responsible, including arrests linked to impersonation, looting and housebreaking.
The Minister also said specific criminal cases involving Ghanaian nationals, including a murder under investigation by the South African Police Service, remain active matters before law enforcement.
“There is action and there is work. It is not a situation of impunity,” the minister said.
Lamola reiterated that while South Africa will continue enforcing its immigration laws, it remains committed to working with African partners to ensure migration across the continent is managed in an orderly, humane and lawful manner. – SAnews.gov.za
