Date: 28/01/2009

Source: The Presidency

Title: SA: Mbete: Address by the Deputy President of South Africa, at the opening of the eighth World Conference of the International Association of Refugee Law Judges, Cape Town

SALUTATION
Programme Director;
Justice Pius Langa, Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa;
Ms. Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;
Ms. Erika Feller, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;
Mr. Justice North, President of the International Association of Refugee Law Judges;
Members of the judiciary and members of the International Association of Refugee Law Judges;
Senior officials of the UNHCR;
Senior officials of the South African Government;
Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is my pleasure to welcome you, on behalf of the Government and People of South Africa, to the City of Cape Town - the seat of our Parliament. We are also honoured that you chose our country to play host to this important 8th Conference, which is the first of its kind in Africa.
As the South African government, we fully support and endorse the main purpose of this Conference, which is to:

§ Develop a common understanding of refugee law throughout the world, and
§ Advance the principle of the independence of the judiciary.

Africa has an interest in the answer that your deliberations of the next two days will attempt to provide to your very probing Conference theme: "Where to Now? Charting the Future Course of International Protection". You, dear Delegates, have a daunting task of coming out of this Conference with an outcome that will enhance our global effort to address the plight of refugees.

Our continent was, in 2007, home to over 30 percent of the total individuals that are of concern to the UNHCR, over two million of which are refugees. This is mainly because of conflicts that are ravaging our continent from Darfur and Somalia in the East, through parts of West Africa and the Great Lakes Region, to Southern Africa.

The UNHCR''s recently released report (of October 2008) on Global Needs Assessment provides a revealing picture of the state of affairs of challenges facing refugees world-wide. The report, based on case studies of eight countries, four of which are in Africa, found that 30 percent of needs of refugees and other people of concern to the UNHCR, are not being met; and that a third of these unmet needs are in the domain of basic and essential services.

We as the South African Government are committed to rising up to the challenge of meetings the needs of refugees who, in 2007, were almost 40.000 in number in our country. We have, for example, extended our HIV and AIDS anti-retroviral programme to refugees and asylum seekers.

We are also hard at work with our civil society and the UNHCR to promote tolerance in our communities to ensure that the ugly face of xenophobia does not surface again.

I, myself, was once a refugee... (Deputy President speaks about her PERSONAL experience of being a REFUGEE - in exile)

- At the age of 24 - the Deputy President left the country (SA) for Swaziland.
- her experience with officials who register refugees.
- the decision made to leave the country without her young children.

Programme Director,

I should commend the organisers for making the advancement of the principle of the independence of the judiciary one of the objectives of this Conference.

Our Constitution recognises this fundamental principle. An independent judiciary is critical to the consolidation of our hard-fought-for democracy.

Ladies and Gentlemen

I hope to see you here in our country next year when we kick-off the sporting extravaganza, the 2010 FIFA World Cup!

I wish you success with your deliberation over the next two days.

I thank you