South Africa - Africa: UN Experts Warn of "On the Brink of Explosive Xenophobic Violence"

 South Africa - Africa: UN Experts Warn of "On the Brink of Explosive Xenophobic Violence"

Reports of increasing violence against foreign nationals in South Africa have been denounced by a group of independent UN human rights experts, who have also called for accountability for the nation's growing xenophobia, racism, and hate speech against migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and even citizens who are perceived as outsiders.

The rights experts included "Operation Dudula" as an example of hate speech in a statement they released on Friday. Operation Dudula, which started as a social media campaign, is now used to organise violent protests, vigilante violence, arson attacks on migrant-owned homes and businesses, as well as the murder of foreign individuals.

The Special Rapporteurs, or experts, cautioned that the current xenophobic mobilisation is more extensive and pervasive and has evolved into the main electoral strategy for several political parties in the nation.

They said that "government actors have failed to prevent additional violence or bring offenders accountable" due to senior government officials' anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Too black to be an African-American

We are gravely concerned that the country is on the brink of explosive violence if the government of South Africa does not take quick steps to stop using migrants and refugees as scapegoats and the pervasive violence and intimidation against these groups.

The experts pointed out that South African politics had always been characterised by xenophobia, particularly toward low-income African and Southeast Asian migrants and refugees.

For instance, xenophobic violence in 2008 killed over 60 individuals and caused at least 100,000 people to flee their homes.

The targets of xenophobia are frequently low-income Black migrants and refugees as well as, occasionally, South African natives who are thought to be "too Black to be South African."

In one widely reported instance, a group of people going door to door and asking to see visas killed a 43-year-old father of four from Zimbabwe in Diepsloot in April 2022.

The attackers thrashed the victim, lit him on fire, and forced him out of a hiding place. Unabated violence has persisted. The fire of the Yeoville Market in Johannesburg on June 20 of this year is said to have been carried out by individuals who targeted migrant businesses.

Discrimination that is institutionalised

In South Africa, discrimination against foreign nationals has become entrenched in both government policy and larger South African society, according to UN experts.

According to them, this has increased the possibility of arbitrary imprisonment, torture, and refoulement as well as infringement of the rights to life, physical integrity, an appropriate level of living, and the greatest degree of health possible.

The experts also voiced alarm about claims that the immigration and asylum procedures in South Africa are plagued by pervasive corruption, which exacerbates already grave issues.

The experts stated that "the cost in human dignity and lives, particularly in light of the last 30 years of xenophobic violence," continues to be significant and extremely concerning.

They said they were "gravely worried" that South Africa was failing to uphold its duties to protect and advance human rights and stop racial and xenophobic prejudice.

At the same time, those who use violent and xenophobic rhetoric frequently go unpunished. As a result, severe human rights crimes go unchecked, and racist and xenophobic political platforms thrive.

The experts urged both corporate and governmental actors to uphold their obligations to racial justice and human rights, and to take a strong stance against the ongoing acts of racial and xenophobic violence in South Africa.

In order to respond to these accusations and make clear the South African government's obligations under international law, the UN experts have been in direct contact with the South African government.