11/16/2023
By Farouk Chothia
BBC News
With xenophobia rising in South Africa, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has announced plans to toughen asylum and immigration laws in a move that will have far-reaching consequences for foreign nationals who seek refuge in the country.
His proposals are contained in a document, known as a White Paper, which has been released for public discussion as the first step towards adopting legislation that will mark a decisive break with the more embracing policy that the government championed after it took power at the end of the racist system of apartheid in 1994.
In a sign of the extent to which he envisages changes, Dr Motsoaledi said the government had made a "serious mistake" about two years later when it signed up to international agreements - such as the UN's refugee convention - without seeking exemptions from certain clauses.
This was unlike many other countries, which opted out of clauses giving asylum-seekers and refugees the same rights as their citizens - including the right to employment and education for their children, he said.
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#South Africa