South Africa Proposes Radical Changes to Immigration System

In the recently published White Paper On Citizenship, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that the legislation contains radical proposals aimed at overhauling the migration system in South Africa.

Motsoaledi added that South Africa should temporarily withdraw from the United Nations Refugee Convention and associated protocols because courts hold legal theory adverse to state interests.

"It is not surprising that South African courts developed jurisprudence regarding asylum and refugees in the absence of reservations and exceptions ... which is always unfavourable to the interests of the state," Motsoaledi said at a briefing regarding the white paper.

The move comes after Motsoaledi's protracted battle to terminate the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit programme (ZEP), a legal saga that most recently saw Pretoria High Court confirm the protection of ZEP holders until June 2024.

InFocus

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi (file photo).

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