SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION REPORT
INTO THE APPREHENSION AND DETENTION
OF SUSPECTED UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS
Download options
Executive summary
On the 19th March 1999, the South African Human Rights Commission launched its report into the treatment of persons under the Aliens Control Act, more specifically the circumstances in which people are apprehended and detained as suspected "prohibited persons", (undocumented migrants) in South Africa.
The report is the result of a 1+ year research study conducted by the Commission, in collaboration with a number of South African NGOs, researchers and constitutional law experts. Several important findings and recommendations are also included in the 56 page report. Appendix A-H is not yet available.
Eager that the report be made available as quickly as possible, with the kind
permission of the South African Human Rights Commission and co-operation with Lawyers for Human Rights, the report is available here.
The report will ultimately be housed on the SA Human Rights Commission's website.
We wish to sincerely thank the report's authors, and the hard work and energy
which went into the research, compilation and writing of this report.
For additional links on the issue of migrants in South Africa,
please visit LHR's reflinks.
Download options:
NB: Appendix A-H is not yet included
- full report HTML (171kB)
- MS Word (955kb)
- MS Word zipped (677kB)
- Txt (143kB) no graph (download separately)
- Txt zipped (49kB) no graph (download separately)
The Report's Executive Summary states as follows:
"Growing hatred and ignorance about the rights and realities of refugees and migrants has become an increasingly serious blight on South Africa's human rights record. Against this background, the South African Human Rights Commission and the National Consortium on Refugee Affairs (NCRA) convened a consultative conference on xenophobia and racism in late 1998 that contributed substantially to the adoption in December of the Braamfontein Statement. The Commission and the NCRA are currently overseeing the implementation of a National Plan of Action to Combat Xenophobia.
"Beyond this important public awareness campaign, the Commission recognised the need for a more systematic investigation of the treatment of people in the immigration system. From April to May 1998 149 detainees, along with 40 friends and family of detainees, were interviewed at Lindela. These interviews form the basis of this report.
"The report makes a number of findings about the arrest process. In the majority of cases, there were no reasonable grounds for an apprehending officer to suspect that a person was a non-national. A significant number of persons interviewed had identification documents which were either destroyed or ignored or which they were prevented from fetching from home. Apprehended persons were often not told or did not understand the reason for their arrest. Extortion and bribery are practises extremely widespread among apprehending officers. Reports of assault during arrest were not uncommon. Current immigration legislation combined with its interpretation has created an effective pass law requirement.
"Other findings related to persons detained in the immigration system. A significant number of persons with apparently valid cases for asylum did not have their cases investigated or decided. Some persons reported detention in police cells and at Lindela for periods longer than allowed by law, as well as being detained alongside criminal suspects. There were widespread reported incidents of bribery or extortion during detention, as well as incidents of assault. Common complaints about the conditions at Lindela included lack of adequate nutrition, inadequate medical care, and interrupted sleep, as well as being subjected to degrading treatment or intimidation. Almost all persons were denied the opportunity to retrieve personal belongings before repatriation.
"In far too many cases, arresting officers and other immigration system officials were thus reported to act as a law unto themselves, exercising their power with tragic disregard for the human rights of those subject to their control.
"The Commission has made recommendations which, if implemented, will ensure the development of a legal regime that remains consistent and loyal to our obligations under international and national obligations.
"We are particularly pleased that both the Department of Home Affairs and the proprietors of the Lindela Repatriation Centre have reacted positively to the various recommendations made and we do believe that collectively we can ensure the speedy implementation of the recommendations we have put forward.
"While the Commission recognises the need for government to regulate immigration, the interview excerpts published in this report provide compelling accounts of the unnecessary and unlawful suffering which current enforcement procedures are exacting on foreigners and South Africans alike. If a society's respect for the basic humanity of its people can best be measured by its treatment of the most vulnerable in its midst, then the treatment of suspected illegal immigrants, detailed in this report, offers a disturbing testament to the great distance South Africa must still travel to build a national culture of human rights."
to index press briefings
