Forty-six organisations and individuals condemn xenophobia and the brutal and unlawful treatment of migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers

The Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS): We, the undersigned organisations and individuals, express our deep outrage and condemnation at the recent heavy-handed conduct of state officials in addressing the plight and safety of migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, alongside the rise of anti-migrant rhetoric fueling vigilantism in South Africa.

The scenes of law enforcement, in some instances forcibly loading refugees and asylum seekers onto buses under the guise of “verification processes” are a gross violation of human rights and an affront to the rule of law.

These are not criminals. These are human beings — refugees and asylum seekers — who sought the protection of the South African Police Service in KZN, after being unlawfully displaced and violently targeted by vigilante formations and anti-migrant groups. Instead of receiving protection, dignity, and lawful assistance, they were subjected to public humiliation, intimidation, force, and the denial of their most basic constitutional rights.

With local government elections on the horizon, it is deeply alarming to witness public representatives intentionally fueling anti-migrant hostility. We condemn the ruthless exploitation of marginalised migrants for political leverage. Rather than taking accountability for deep-seated governance and economic shortcomings, leaders across the political spectrum are actively scapegoating migrants. Profound national crises—including massive unemployment, collapsing infrastructure, and under-resourced public services—are being dangerously oversimplified into false and inflammatory claims that predominantly Black African non-citizens are the cause of local hardship.

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