Xenophobia has no place in a free and democratic South Africa: address by Minister in The Presidency, Essop Pahad at the Social Dialogue on Promoting Tolerance and Diversity in South Africa, Pretoria

In May of this year, over sixty people were killed, scores injured, thousands were displaced, living in tents, and thousands more were caught in the middle of brutal attacks on residents in communities particularly across Gauteng. Many of those, injured and left homeless were South Africans but the overwhelming majority were our brothers and sisters from neighbouring states seeking a better life in our country.

These systematic attacks by criminal elements cause greater mayhem. But before unpacking what xenophobia actually means let us be very clear, these were dastardly acts of violence by cowards who do all of us and our country a serious injustice. In these difficult times let us be ever mindful of that simple, yet profound Xhosa saying "Umuntu ngumuntu ngabanye bantu" - People are people because of other people.

We have, as a government and a society, condemned all these acts of violence. I am proud to say that as a government and as a people we raised to the challenge and we worked in co-operation with everyone including international organisations and local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to ensure the safety of our fellow brothers and sisters from Africa who reside in South Africa.

Violence against our fellow African brothers and sisters has no place in a democratic South Africa and we have condemned it in the strongest terms. I wish once again extend my sympathies and condolences to the families of those who have been injured and killed in these dastardly acts.

The outpouring of generosity, the spirit of well being and the humanitarian assistance provided by NGOs, faith based organisations, as well as by South Africans from all walks of life is proof that our people will not tolerate the criminal acts of a few. These criminal acts did expose a potential fault line in our society and as we mend the wounds of that dastardly period, that blot on our democracy we must remain mindful that building, nurturing and sustaining social cohesion in a diverse society like ours is very important.

The central challenge facing societies as diverse as South Africa is to forge national unity out of heterogeneity and diversity. This challenge is magnified under conditions where there is a continual influx of migrants. In multicultural, diverse, heterogeneous societies, this is played out as a tension between a national identity and a specific group identity. For us in South Africa, it is important to articulate and embrace an inclusive vision that suggests common purpose and shared community can be achieved through inter-group solidarity.

No discussion of migration and diversity can ever be complete without a concomitant discussion of human rights and fundamental freedoms and responsibilities. For most countries in the developing South, the demographic challenges are intimately linked to issues of poverty, marginalisation, exclusion and underdevelopment. So there can be no discussion of migration without a discussion of poverty, rural poverty, gendered poverty, and all the socio-economic manifestations of poverty.

It is important to recognise that there many different types of migrants - there are distinctions (and therefore public policy implications) which need to be made between immigrants and asylum seekers, internal migrants and external migrants, legal migrants and illegal migrants, documented and undocumented workers.

These different types of migrants migrate to different parts of the world. For example, economic migrants - those seeking or attracted by better economic prospects - tend to migrate within a region and globally to more prosperous countries, while people fleeing zones of conflict are either internally displaced peoples (internal migration away from zones of conflict) or are externally displaced people fleeing to neighbouring countries. There a complex set of push factors (for example conflict and instability, poverty, unemployment, underdevelopment) and pull factors (for example, prospects for a better life, peace, employment, family reunification) which impact on the decisions of people to migrate.

In his proposals for strengthening the United Nations Organisation (Report of the Secretary-General, A/57/387), the then Secretary-General of the United Nations stressed that "it is time to take a more comprehensive look at the various dimensions of the migration issue, which now involves hundreds of millions of people and affects countries of origin, transit and destination. We need to understand better the causes of international flows of people and their complex interrelationship with development."

Mobilisation on the basis of xenophobia anywhere in the world regressive notions of chauvinism and narrow nationalism which seeks to create an "us" and "them" situation with the so called "them" - the foreigners, the undocumented workers - being responsible for "stealing" jobs and houses and services is extremely dangerous. The dehumanisation of the "other" leads to a situation where fear of the other can easily be manipulated and can spill over into gratuitous violence against the other because the ties that bind humans to each other are severed.

This kind of "othering" is equally true of the recent official round-ups and fingerprinting and vigilante attacks against the Roma people in Italy. It also finds expression in the diatribes by Umberto Bossi, a cabinet minister (from the xenophobic Northern League) who calls Africans "bingo-bonbos" and says that Italian troops should fire upon migrants seeking to enter Italy illegally in boats.

South Africa is a signatory to the Geneva Protocol on Refugees and we will fulfil our obligation to protect all people from other countries. The 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention ensures the basic human rights of vulnerable persons and that refugees will not be returned involuntarily to a country where they face persecution. Providing them with food, shelter and other material assistance is the first step toward their long-term protection and rehabilitation. As a signatory to this protocol, and as a country that cherishes human rights, we have to protect the basic rights of every human being within our borders, including foreign nationals. We will do everything within the law to ensure safety of all citizens and foreign nationals irrespective of their status.

At the same time we must emphasise that those who are in South Africa as undocumented workers or residents, as asylum seekers and as bona fide refugees must abide by the laws and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. If they are found to have transgressed the laws of the land they will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

As a country we would not be here today were it not for the tremendous sacrifices made by our brothers and sisters in the front line states. They treated all of us in exile with the utmost respect and dignity. Even in the face of cross border raids and threats of invasion by the apartheid regime, our brothers and sisters in the front line states provided us with food, clothing and shelter. They made huge sacrifices to ensure that we in South Africa were liberated from apartheid and colonialism.

We must, as President Mbeki said, "recognise and fully appreciate that we are bound together with other Africans by history, culture, economics and, above all, by destiny. South Africa is not and will never be an island separate from the rest of the continent. We dare not loose sight of the fundamental reality of our interdependence as the people of Africa". This is the spirit of "Ubuntu" of "humanity towards others" and of a belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity. In a liberated South Africa, where we cherish the values of pluralism and diversity, chauvinism and xenophobia and acts of violence must be condemned and must be dealt with swiftly and within the confines of the law.

Xenophobia comes from the Greek words (xenos), meaning "foreigner", "stranger", and (phobos), meaning "fear". It refers to fear of foreigners or of people significantly different from oneself. As a sociological term, xenophobia is somewhat clinical and it obscures the destruction of property, physical and psychological violence against other human beings.

The terms "xenophobia" and "racism" seem to be used interchangeably, even though they have different meanings. Xenophobia is not the same as racism and ethno-centrism. The United Nations defines racial discrimination as meaning "any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life. (United Nations, International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1965, Article 1)

Ethnocentrism involves the tendency on the part of individuals and groups to judge and evaluate others from the vantage point of their own set of norms, values and cultural traditions. Ethnocentrism leads to a hierarchy in which people of different cultures are ranked according to how much or how little of the dominant norms, values and cultural traditions they possess.

Xenophobia fosters breeds and encourages contempt for the "other", and as with all other phobias, the person is conscious of their phobia - in this case their fear of the other who is seen as standing apart from them and from society. The Intergovernmental Working Group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, of The World Conference on Racism, Xenophobia and related intolerances correctly noted that "poverty, underdevelopment, marginalisation, social exclusion and economic disparities are closely associated with racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and contribute to the persistence of racist attitudes and practices which in turn generate more poverty". The Working Group encourages States to take this close correlation into consideration when they plan development policies."

A fundamental characteristic of people historically is their movement from place to place. The right to move was recognised globally over a half century ago with the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration states in Article 13 that "Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state" and "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country."

As noted in the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, orderly international migration can have positive impacts on both the communities of origin and the communities of destination. Migration also has the potential of facilitating the transfer of skills and contributing to cultural enrichment. Today the number of people residing outside their country of birth is at an all-time high of about 175 million, more than double the number a generation ago. The vast majority of migrants are making meaningful contributions to their host countries. At the same time, however, international migration entails the loss of human resources for many countries of origin and may give rise to political, economic or social tensions in countries of destination.

International migration, with its intricate web of demographic, social, economic and political determinants and consequences, is a topic that has moved to the forefront of national and international agenda. In the last few years, immigration has become a major issue of concern in an increasing number of countries. More recently, in the aftermath of the events of 11 September 2001, some countries have further tightened their policies towards immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

We can also understand that in today's world, globalisation has had profoundly detrimental effects on the economies and the societies of most developing countries. The negative effects of globalisation aggravate inter alia, poverty, underdevelopment, marginalisation, social exclusion, cultural homogenisation, and economic disparities within and between states. This means that undocumented workers, as well as refugees and economic migrants will naturally gravitate to safer countries offering a better life. It is only through broad and sustained efforts to create a shared future based on common humanity and respect for diversity that we can effectively deal with the scourge of racism, ethnocentrism and xenophobia.

There are also important challenges associated with migration with diversity and migration with integration that we need to be conscious of - including:

* xenophobia and racism directed at migrants and in particular at undocumented migrants
* positively positioning migration in the context of domestic unemployment
* dealing with negative perceptions of migrants
* labour market integration - access to skill trades and professions, accreditation issues, evaluation of foreign education and training, evaluation of experience abroad, etc.
* settlement issues (housing, schooling, employment, etc)
* political participation and civic engagement of migrants
* migration and citizenship - formal rights and responsibilities of citizenship (the right to acquire citizenship after a reasonable period of stay, the right to vote and hold office after being naturalised as a citizen etc); and
* balancing rights with responsibilities in a pluralistic society.

Certainly migration brings with it the challenges of diversity including the changing ethno-racial, religious and cultural composition of society. So as a government, we know we have to deal with a number of complex issues related to diversity including, but certainly not limited to:

* accommodating the needs of diverse populations
* dealing with the challenges of religious and linguistic diversity
* dealing with constitutional challenges associated with rights, competing rights and responsibilities
* dealing with hyphenated identities, cohesion and inclusion; and
* diversity, civic engagement and participation.

These challenges are being dealt with in the context of our constitutional framework that respects the rights of migrants and promotes a conception of the "people united in their diversity".

There is a strong argument to be made that xenophobic acts of violence fall into the category of hate crimes - where perpetrators target a victims because of their membership in a certain social group, usually defined by race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, or political affiliation. These crimes take many forms, including violence, physical assault, intimidation and harassment, and damage to property and harm to persons.

Xenophobia does incredible harm to the safety and well being of all the citizenry. It certainly inflicts incalculable physical and psychological damage on the individual and on groups of individuals who are the targets of xenophobic violence. Entire communities have been disrupted and the bonds of civility and humanity that bind members of a community together are almost irretrievably severed. Social cohesion is eroded and the social fabric of the community is torn. But xenophobia also affects the psyche of a nation and does immense harm to public order and individual and community safety.

When xenophobia calls into question the very core of a person's and a community's identity and violence ensues, the resultant degradation and dehumanisation is especially severe, and trauma is inevitable. When xenophobic acts of violence occur, we cannot be said to be a nation in true dialogue.

Xenophobia certainly dehumanises both victims and perpetrators; one is empowered and emboldened while the other is disempowered and abused. However, the possibility of escalating cycles of violence and retaliation is ever present. And we have already begun to see victims beginning to organise themselves for common protection.

Immigrants, asylum seekers, workers on work permits, people with temporary protected status, and undocumented workers come to our country for various reasons, including to escape political persecution and many come seeking better economic opportunities. They do not take jobs away from South Africans; they contribute to the economy of South Africa, they work and they consume goods and services.

As soon as the criminal acts of violence began our government established an intergovernmental task team to look into the root causes of the violence, including expressions xenophobia in our country. The task team met on a regular basis and its efforts at understanding the root cause of what was happening led to the development of a coherent set of short, medium and long term solutions to the challenges that we confronted. These challenges included understanding:

* why formerly peaceful communities erupted in this fashion?
* who was behind the co-ordination of the attacks?
* how they spread across so many different geographical communities in such a short period?
* were there hidden hands behind these protests?
* if the attacks are linked to issues of employment, housing and service delivery, why have they taken such a violent form? Surely in a democracy like ours responsible protests about service delivery, employment and corruption need to take peaceful forms
* how can we prevent this from happening in the future; and
* what public education campaigns need to be undertaken to increase awareness of our unity in diversity?

Through the work of the intergovernmental task, a coherent, systematic and clear way forward was developed. Teams were immediately tasked with providing humanitarian assistance to people who were injured and displaced from their homes. All three spheres of government worked co-operatively to provide assistance, engage with community based organisations in the overall effort and worked to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice and that law and order was quickly restored and that process of community healing and building community cohesion began. An indispensable component of this overall effort is the re-integration of displaced migrants back into the community.

With respect to the reintegration of displaced foreign nationals, our focus has shifted to efforts at the reintegration of the displaced foreign nationals back into communities. Both provinces have been working on creating an environment conducive to reintegration and working on all the practical aspects of the successful reintegration of the displaced foreign nationals.

It is necessary for all three spheres of government as well to continue to appeal to communities, civil society, community and religious-based organisations to assist in achieving the necessary co-operation to ensure peaceful reintegration. The success of reintegration is a collective effort involving all sectors of society.

In conclusion, let me reiterate that xenophobia and criminal acts of violence and destruction have no place in a democratic South Africa. The Progressive Governance Leader's Summit 2004 Joint Communiqué reflecting on the importance of migration noted, that "Pluralism encompassing cultural, ethnic and religious diversity is one of the key features of our societies. Our societies are enriched by diversity." In South Africa we will remain united in our diversity.

Thank you.