Lawyers for Human Rights: We, the Undersigned Organisations, Individuals, Groups, Movements and Communities welcome President Cyril Ramaphosa’s unequivocal condemnation of xenophobia, and unlawful attempts by private individuals and groups to enforce immigration laws. The President’s affirmation that immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the state, and not private actors, is an important reaffirmation of the rule of law and South Africa’s constitutional commitment to human dignity, equality, and non-discrimination.
We acknowledge and welcome several important commitments in the President’s address.
- The unequivocal rejection of unlawfulness attempts by private individuals and groups to enforce immigration. The President stated clearly that only authorised state officials may act against immigration law violations, that no person may confront others in the street to demand proof of nationality, and that the responsibility for immigration enforcement rests with the state and the state alone. We welcome this unambiguously.
- The events in Durban in May 2026, in which anti-migrant formations surrounded police stations, accompanied enforcement operations, and issued public ultimatums to Migrants to leave by 30 June 2026, represent precisely the kind of parallel enforcement the President has now publicly and explicitly We call on the government to give concrete operational effect to this commitment.
- The condemnation of xenophobia, Afrophobia, and ethnic. The President stated that there is no space for xenophobia, racism, Afrophobia, or any other form of intolerance in South Africa. We welcome this unequivocally.
- The acknowledgment that anti-foreigner sentiment has been accompanied by ethnic and tribal attacks on South African. The President is correct that the instrumentalization of migration as a political narrative creates conditions for broader social division and violence. This concern is not limited to migrants.
- The commitment to South Africa’s constitutional values and international obligations. The President reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to the Constitution, to human dignity, and to its international protection obligations. We note this commitment and will hold government to it in both policy and practice.
- The acknowledgment that migrants are also exploited, not merely exploiting. The President correctly identified that undocumented migrants are employed precisely because their precarious legal status prevents them from asserting their rights. This is an important and often overlooked dimension of the migration debate: irregular migrants are frequently victims of economic exploitation, not its architects.
