Hon Chairperson, in contextualising my input I would like to argue that globalisation has created new realities and challenges at the international level. It has created greater movements of goods and people with different circumstances and interests. Some of the movements of people are motivated by the development of their business interests, and others are fleeing away from conditions that militate against their interests.
South Africa is part of this dynamic world and signatory to various international legal instruments with principles and standards relating to refugees, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and UN and OAU conventions and protocols relating to the status of refugees. That puts an obligation on it to assist other countries and people in need within its capacity. That is the context of the Bill.
At its 2007 national conference, the ANC noted the increasing challenge of refugees, which calls for better management and control. It recommended that our legislation should be revised to allow for stringent screening processes to prevent law fugitives from other countries from entering the country as refugees. In the context we noted that the principal Act has loopholes which could lead to a problem, not only for the Department of Home Affairs, but for South Africa in general.
In the Bill clause 8 amends section 24B of the principal Act in order to separate applications that are rejected as manifestly unfounded, abusive or fraudulent from being dealt with by the same procedure as applications rejected as unfounded applications. The effect of this amendment will be the same as that of an applicant whose application has been rejected as manifestly unfounded, abusive or fraudulent, and who cannot lodge an appeal to the Refugee Appeals Authority. Such a rejection will be reviewed by the director-general.
The same clause, as at provision 2.8.2, deletes subsection 3(a), which provides that the Refugee Appeals Authority may invite the UN High Commission or a refugee's representative to make oral or written representations before the Refugee Appeals Authority makes a decision.
Chairperson, these amendments seek to broadly manage the movements of people. We must also be honest and acknowledge that people have been taking advantage of the open-handedness of South Africa's refugee application system, because the principal Act stated that everyone had to be allowed a fair chance to state their case for being granted refugee status. Some people present themselves as asylumseekers whilst they are economic migrants.
Our refugee application system has been characterised by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees as one of the most generous systems in the world. We are proud of these observations. It means that our democracy works for the people, as indeed it does.
For example, with regard to asylumseekers and refugees, as well as its acceding to international conventions, South Africa adopted domestic legal instruments to manage asylumseekers and refugees. Among others are the following:
Refugees shall not to be prosecuted on account of their illegal entry into ... South Africa, provided that they present themselves without delay to the authorities and show good cause for their illegal entry or presence.
Refugees shall not to expelled from South Africa except on grounds of national security or public order.
Refugees shall be afforded basic security rights, including protection from the abuse of state power, such as wrongful arrest and detention, and protection against physical attack. Refugees shall be afforded basic human dignity rights, such as protection against discrimination, the right to family unity, freedom of movement and association, and freedom of religion.
Refugees shall be afforded self-sufficiency rights, such as the right to work and to education.
Refugees and asylumseekers are entitled by the Bill of Rights to social services.
Chairperson, international law and other instruments impose an obligation on all SADC states to ensure that their countries are politically stable and developing economically; and that their nationals are both identifiable and have proper travel documents so that they can be protected during their travel into the countries of their destination.
Furthermore, the issue of refugees and asylumseekers is a phenomenon which warrants the concerted efforts of government and civil society organisations alike to effectively manage its challenges as well as opportunities, and together to minimise the risk to national security. We must strive for greater co-ordination between all government departments, and between government and civil society.
According to the department there are more than 100 000 applications for asylum. Part of the challenge is that many individuals apply for asylum, but they are economic migrants who know that they will not qualify for refugee status under the principal Act. Yet they simply apply and then lodge an appeal if it is turned down. These are the challenges that lead to backlogs.
The ANC is heading towards 100 years of struggle for social justice and human dignity in South Africa and the world. It has remained one of the foremost champions of oppressed people, as it continues to subscribe to the noble principle of human solidarity. It is precisely for this role that the people of the world have always taken it for granted that the ANC will always be found on the side of the most progressive.
It is no accident of history that everybody expects the ANC to remain faithful to the global struggle for human rights and to uphold the human rights of others in daily struggle in relation to both South Africans and non-South Africans. It must therefore not come as a surprise that the ANC upholds the views it does towards internationalism, African solutions to African problems, and human solidarity.
Southern Africa faces a complex international migration phenomenon. Since 1994 South Africa has experienced an increasing, mixed flow of migrants ranging from undocumented migrants and asylumseekers to economic migrants as well as other forms of migrants, the majority of whom originate from the SADC region.
The Bill is also being dealt with in the context of the prevalence of international crimes or cross-border crimes, human trafficking and people running away from prosecution in their countries of origin. The nature of some of the crimes is serious, which warrants our treating them in a way proportionate to the degree of their gravity.
The Bill is specific on what constitutes serious crimes. For example, section 4 of the principal Act has been amended by insertion of the following:
... a crime that is not of a political nature and, if committed in the Republic, would be punishable by imprisonment (without the option of a fine).
The Bill also extends the condition for refusal and revocation of asylum to a crime committed outside the Republic before the application for asylum.
Chairperson, the ANC is committed to peace-building and the safety and security of our country. This commitment seeks to contribute to the international peace process and the safety and security of nations. Our good governance must also ensure that we do not become an entry point for criminal activities and the destabilisation of our country, region and continent.
We need to strengthen the capacity of the SAPS in dealing with cases pertaining to rights and obligations of refugees and asylumseekers. We must ensure that we sustain the training of the SAPS and judicial officers on issues of asylumseekers and refugees. Our law enforcement agencies must be capacitated in order to ensure that all the people become law-abiding citizens.
In conclusion, this Bill requires resources, such as human and financial resources, and appropriate systems to be in place for its implementation in order to ensure that we balance the developmental path of the country, and the security of the state, refugees and asylumseekers within the ambit of our Constitution and international law. The ANC supports the Bill with amendments.
Comrade Lovemore, we are not going to comment on the issues that you have just mentioned, because we are still dealing with the Bill, together with you and the committee. Thank you. [Applause.]