Motlatsi wa Sepikara, maloko a hlomphehileng a Palamente ... [Deputy Speaker, hon members of Parliament ...]
... South Africa receives the largest number of asylum requests in the world. Well over 400 000 individual asylum claims have been received since 2008. On top of these are applications by migrant workers seeking to regularise their stay and access the employment market. Most of these applicants settle in urban areas. This fuels xenophobia as they compete with host communities for scarce jobs.
While Cope has certain reservations, our party welcomes the Refugees Amendment Bill. We do so because it seeks to clarify all aspects relating to refugees and asylum-seekers who seek a safe haven in South Africa. Inasmuch as our country must provide for its own citizens, it must also address the plight of refugees and effectively provide for their safety, health and general wellbeing.
One of the shortcomings of the Bill is the tight time frames that are demanded. We find it quite unrealistic to require a child born in South Africa of refugee parents to be registered within a month in terms of the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1992. It is common cause that Home Affairs does not at present have the capacity to meet its own deadlines. On top of this, many refugees and asylumseekers are themselves unregistered. They may therefore not get the administrative assistance and support they need. Failure to register a child's birth within the period stipulated in the Bill should not deprive such a child of the right all children are accorded at birth. Children born in South Africa, whether of refugee or South African parents, should have access to the same rights.
There is another administrative problem that will arise after this Bill has become law. There are times when unaccompanied children enter South Africa. The department will have to ensure that they are attended to in a sensitive and professional manner. Training of staff will be of fundamental importance in addressing this issue. The department will also have to make a careful choice of its Refugee Status Determination Officers and provide them with thorough training.
Of some concern to us is also the power granted to the director-general in dealing with manifestly unfounded cases. The guidelines for use by the proposed Status Determination Committee, SDC, which will determine whether refugees are granted status or not, must be made clear at the very beginning. It must not be forgotten that the aim of the SDC is to improve the process of determining status, and this must be reflected in its work.
The department should also be mindful of the political situation and the court system in the refugees' country of origin in processing an application. There is often no security for refugees during the time they are awaiting their legal documentation. The department should take cognisance of this. Administrative delays often subvert justice.
Cope is also emphatic about the department's encouraging the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR, in its role of interacting with refugees directly. The department and the UNHCR should seek to work in an integrated and co-operative manner. Matters regarding refugees are not only the concern of the Department of Home Affairs, but of other departments as well. Cope will support the Bill. I thank you, Chairperson. [Interjections.] [Time expired.] [Applause.]