Three UN special rapporteurs on human rights* They referred this Friday to “Operation Doubt” as an example of hate speech. Originally a social media campaign, Operation Dudula has become a platform for the mobilization of violent protests, arson in houses and businesses owned by immigrantsand even the murder of foreign citizens.
The experts warned that the ongoing xenophobic mobilization is broad and deep, and that it has become the central campaign strategy of some political parties from the country.
“The anti-immigrant discourse of high officials has fanned the flames of violence, and government actors have failed to prevent further violence or hold accountable those responsible”, they pointed out.
“Too black to be South African”
“We are concerned that South Africa is on the brink of explosive violence given the lack of urgent action by the government to stop the use of migrants and refugees as scapegoats”, they added, also citing the widespread violence and intimidation against these groups.
The group recalled that xenophobia, especially against low-income African and Southeast Asian immigrants and refugees, has been a feature of South African politics for many years.
In 2008, for example, xenophobic violence killed more than 60 people and contributed to the displacement of at least 100,000.
Xenophobia is often manifested explicitly and is directed at low-income black immigrants and refugees and, in some cases, citizens of their own country accused of being “too black to be South African”.
In a highly publicized incident in April 2022, a 43-year-old Zimbabwean father of four was killed in Diepsloot by a group He went door to door demanding visas.
The attackers took the victim from a place where he was seeking refuge, beat him and they set it on fire. The violence has continued unabated.
Also, the Yeoville Market fire in Johannesburg on June 20 this year is believed to have been carried out by people who targeted immigrant merchants.
Institutionalized discrimination
The UN experts warned that discrimination against foreign nationals in South Africa has become institutionalized both in government policy and in South African society in general.
This has led to violations of the right to life and physical integrity, and of the rights to an adequate standard of living and to the highest attainable standard of health, in addition to raising risks of arbitrary detention, torture and refoulement.
Experts also expressed alarm at the widespread corruption in migration systems and asylum from South Africa, which exacerbates these problems.
“The cost in lives and human dignity, particularly in light of the past 30 years of xenophobic violence, remains pervasive and deeply concerning,” they stressed.
They regretted that South Africa does not comply with its obligations to protect and promote human rights, nor to prevent racial and xenophobic discrimination.
“Meanwhile, the perpetrators enjoy a widespread impunity for violence and xenophobic rhetoricleading to a lack of accountability for serious human rights violations and the flourishing of racist and xenophobic political platforms,” the special rapporteurs warned.
The experts urged public and private actors to comply with their commitments to human rights and racial justiceand to take a strong stand against the racist and xenophobic violence in South Africa.
UN experts have been in official communication with the South African government to address these issues and clarify their obligations under international law.
The signatories of the statement are: Tendayi Achiume, special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; Morris Tidball-Binz, special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; and Felipe Gonzalez Morales, special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants.* The special rapporteurs are part of the Special Procedures of Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name for the independent investigative and monitoring mechanisms established by the Council to deal with specific situations in countries or thematic issues around the world. the world. The experts of the Special Procedures work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and act in their individual capacity.
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