South Africa Should Uphold the Dignity of Asylum Seekers

press release

Today the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and South Africa commemorates Human Rights Day, in remembrance of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, when apartheid police killed 69 people protesting "pass laws," which required Black, Indian, and Colored people to carry identity and permission documents at all times.

Nearly 30 years after the apartheid system was dismantled, document raids in South Africa continue. Now, it is foreigners, including asylum seekers, who are being intimidated by police and immigration authorities. Following the xenophobic attacks in Diepsloot in January, South Africa's police minister deployed officers to raid and check foreign nationals' documents, while Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi declared "most people are not documented because they came here to commit a crime."

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