South Africa – The IOM Regional Director, Mr. Ashraf El Nour made opening remarks at the South Africa Dialogue on Labour and Mixed Migration Governance held in Johannesburg (4-6 October 2022), which was coordinated by the Southern Africa Migration Management (SAMM) project which is implemented by four UN Agencies (IOM, ILO, UNHCR and UNODC), and funded by the European Union, together with the Department of Employment and Labour (South Africa). Mr El Nour formed part of the panel with the ILO Regional Director (Dr. Joni Musabayana), Deputy Head of Delegation, European Union (Mr. Raul De Luzenberger) and the Honourable Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour, South Africa (Hon. Boitumelo Moloi). The Dialogue is attended by representatives from the South African Government, Trade Unions, Employer Organisations, and Community Organisations.

In his opening remarks, Mr. El Nour made reference to the global and regional dynamics that South Africa is positioned in. The SADC region is home to large number of migrant workers and well-managed migration has significantly contributed to the region’s development, and its integration into the global economy, and the share of migrant workers to the region GDP is significant.  The Southern African migration profile is historically defined by intra-regional migratory movements. Migration patterns in the region have undergone a major restructuring as result of a wide range of demographic and socioeconomic changes. The paradigm shift is marked by greater intra-regional mobility, beyond just labour, and migration management is gaining the attention.

Specific to South Africa, Mr. El Nour highligted that migration has been part and parcel of South Africa’s history. South Africa experiences a high volume of migration due to work opportunities in the mining, manufacturing, and agricultural industries by virtue of its strong economic position on the continent. The industrial development in South Africa has been a magnet for both skilled and unskilled labour migrants from the region and elsewhere, notably from the Horn of Africa and West Africa as well as the significant rise in mixed and irregular migration flows consisting of refugees, asylum-seekers, economic migrants, and victims of trafficking, including women and children. It is therefore important to ensure a rights-based approach that responds to the protection needs of migrant workers, their families and host communities including the migrants in vulnerable conditions. Furthermore, South Africa is also faced with the challenge of migrant integration and social cohesion which is reflected in the violence and tensions between migrant communities and local community citizens. The constant increased influx of migrants exerts pressure on limited resources and pre-existing service delivery concerns as migrants compete for scarce resources with their host communities. As such, migrants are often met with significant immigration, socio-cultural and economic challenges. This often results in a negative narrative about migration and migrants and in turn affects social cohesion.

In his closing, Mr El Nour reaffirmed the support of IOM to South Africa through IOMs regional strategy, to respond to current migration challenges and newly emerging issues, and contribute to the Sustainable Development Agenda, and to better support Member States, migrant populations, and communities through collaborative approaches including whole-of-government and whole-of-Society approaches through a number of priority areas covering migration governance, mobility and national and regional dialogues.

For more information contact Abibo Ngandu, Regional Media and Communicartion Officer angandu@iom.int