Migration
latest news & developments
Managing Migration Together: Making South Africa’s Five-Point Plan Work Through Regional and International Cooperation
South Africa faces rising anti-migrant tensions alongside complex border governance challenges. Making the 2026 Five-Point Plan successful requires moving beyond diplomatic talk…
When will she be safe? The continuum of violence in refugee and migrant women’s lives
While South Africa celebrates Women's Month, many refugee and migrant women continue to face a continuum of violence, from the trauma of forced displacement to xenophobia,…
When Foreign Workers Lose, South African Workers Don’t Win
An encounter with Edward, a migrant worker in Cape Town, highlights the harsh realities faced by foreigners in South Africa's labour market. Despite challenges, his story offers…
Xenophobia is becoming Africa's new nationalism: South Africa is not alone
While South Africa often faces condemnation for xenophobic attacks, this article argues that anti-migrant sentiment is a continent-wide issue with deep historical roots,…
The ‘Othered’ red herring of false narrative
A debate on xenophobia in South Africa highlights the debunking of a bogus statistic claiming international migrants commit 60% of crimes. Experts reveal that migrant crime rates…
African leaders launch pushback against South Africa's anti-migrant narrative
Senior African political leaders, diplomats, lawyers, and researchers have launched a coordinated pushback against South Africa's increasingly hardline migration narrative,…
Pan-Africanism cannot begin and end with South Africa
President Cyril Ramaphosa's address to the Pan-African Parliament offers a balanced perspective on migration, condemning anti-migrant violence while urging African leaders to…
Africa's great untapped wealth
South Africa's debate on undocumented migration often focuses on border control and job competition. This article argues that migration is a symptom of deeper issues,…
Pretoria says Ghana and Nigeria's 'isolation campaign' will fail
South Africa's Presidency has welcomed Ghana and Nigeria's proposal for an African Union debate on migration, but firmly states that attempts to use the issue to diplomatically…
South Africa's debt to Africa
South Africa's freedom was never a purely South African achievement. The country liberated by African solidarity should not allow anger over migration to become an alibi for…
Migration tests SA's standing in Africa
The diplomatic fallout from South Africa’s migration tensions escalated this week after The Presidency accused Ghana of helping to drive a campaign portraying Pretoria as…
Presidency accuses Ghana of leading campaign against South Africa
The Presidency has accused Ghana of leading what it describes as a campaign to falsely portray South Africa as increasingly isolated on the continent, saying the issue has…
Development-Linked Financial Architecture (DLFA): Financing stability in an age of migration
Migration is a defining policy challenge for South Africa and the African continent, often viewed through the lens of border management. This article argues that migration is…
The country that forgot its own lesson: Xenophobia, memory and the pass book that never quite left
A powerful analysis of South Africa's deepening xenophobia, drawing parallels between current anti-migrant movements and the country's apartheid past. It explores how economic…
The migrant and the citizen: we need new forms of political community
South Africa's struggles with xenophobia, particularly against migrants from elsewhere in Africa, are not new. This article argues that blaming migrants deflects from deeper…