Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
government to the recent tragic incident of attacks on some African and foreign
nationals in parts of Durban and Johannesburg in our country in April this year.
Let me reiterate our condemnation as the government and the people of South
Africa, of the shameful and violent attacks which took the lives of seven people.
This figure includes three South Africans.
Excellencies,
As South Africa we take our obligations under the African Charter on
Human and Peoples Rights very seriously. South Africa is also a signatory to
various international obligations that protect foreign nationals and refugees,
including the Geneva
Protocol on Refugees.
The Constitution of our country protects the rights of all people living within the
country, South Africans and foreign nationals alike.
South Africans expressed their horror and condemnation through various actions
including peace marches and media campaigns to promote peaceful coexistence
and tolerance.
We trust that this commendable stance by the South African people in their
thousands, shattered the stereotype that South Africans are intolerant,
specifically against fellow Africans or that South
Africans are xenophobic. South Africans are not xenophobic. We do not believe
that the actions of a few out of more than 50 million citizens justify the label of
xenophobia.
It should be recalled too, that South Africa has been home to African nationals for
decades, even during the period of apartheid. They have lived with their brothers
and sisters in townships and villages of this country without any problems.
South Africa continues to be a multicultural society that welcomes and promotes
interaction among people of different backgrounds.
It is not surprising therefore, that the majority of those who had been displaced
by the violence have returned to the communities they lived in and they have
been accepted back.
We have repeated the message to our people that there can be no justification
for the attacks, regardless of the grievances that have been expressed by some
South Africans.
Some of the issues raised have related to an increase in the number of illegal
and undocumented immigrants, illegal trading, allegations of crime as well as
competition for jobs and social services.
These are matters that are of concern to us as government and action