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South Africa is pushing for continent-wide talks on migration as it seeks to address growing tensions over anti-immigration protests, attacks on migrants and the repatriation of thousands of foreign nationals.
The government says broader discussions involving African countries are needed to address the factors driving migration across the continent, rather than focusing solely on South Africa.
The African Union (AU), which has 55 member states, rejected a proposal by Ghana last week to include South Africa’s migration tensions on the agenda of the bloc’s next coordination meeting in October. South Africa opposed the proposal, arguing that it should not be singled out while the wider migration crisis remains unaddressed.
South Africa’s migration situation is expected to be discussed at a Southern African Development Community summit later this month in Durban, with the government seeking to broaden the conversation to other African countries.
Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe are expected to attend the talks. The three countries have been repatriating some of their nationals from South Africa.
South Africa’s International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola said on Wednesday that the discussions would examine the factors driving irregular migration across different parts of Africa, including North Africa.
Lamola said South Africa wanted an Africa-wide response to the migration crisis, which includes irregular migration into the country and the recent mass crossing of thousands of migrants from Morocco into Spain’s Ceuta enclave on July 31, where more than 80 people reportedly died.
He said South Africa wanted the migration debate to focus on the push-and-pull factors that encourage people to leave their countries.
Lamola has held discussions in recent weeks with other African officials, including Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama and a representative of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
Anti-illegal immigration groups, including the March and March movement, have called for the deportation of migrants living in South Africa without valid documentation.
The groups have vowed to continue weekly protests on Thursdays to pressure the government to accelerate deportations, enforce immigration laws and strengthen border security.
Some migrants have reported being violently attacked during protests in different parts of the country.
The South African government said about 68,000 people were repatriated from the country between June and July, including migrants deported for lacking the required documentation or staying in the country illegally.
Most of those repatriated were from Malawi, followed by Zimbabwe and Mozambique, although the government has not provided a detailed breakdown of those deported and those who left voluntarily.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Border Management Agency has reduced the capacity of a temporary repatriation facility in Musina, near the Beitbridge border crossing with Zimbabwe, from 20,000 to 1,500 people.
