The United Nations investigator for migrant rights cautioned South Africa on Monday that failure to recognise rising numbers of paperless foreigners could reignite xenophobic attacks.
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights of Migrants Jorge Bustamante, whose nine-day fact-finding visit ends on Tuesday, told lawmakers there was an increased need to measure undocumented immigration, which was on the rise.
“To be myopic about the existence of that phenomenon will lead to problems such as those problems that South Africa had two years ago and which caught the attention of the world,” he told Parliament’s home affairs portfolio committee.
Violence
South Africa exploded in anti-foreigner violence in May 2008, which left more than 60 people dead and drove thousands from their homes into tented camps.
“The fact that there are so many undocumented immigrants in South Africa already makes South Africa behind the realities of international migration,” Bustamante said.
“That is something that is very much in contrast with the fine, exemplary level of the Constitution of South Africa.”
South Africa’s importance as a destination country for migrants would continue to grow, he said, saying there was a demand for foreign labour.
South Africa, the continent’s largest economy, is a magnet for immigrants. But the country’s 25% official unemployment rate means tensions often run high between foreigners and locals who perceive them as taking scarce jobs. — AFP