Today, December 18, marks International Migrants Day.
Four years ago, heads of state and government gathered in the UN General Assembly to discuss issues related to migration and refugees. This sent a powerful political message that migration and refugee matters had become a major international issue that needed to be looked at carefully.
Up to 1993, UN Member States adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, adding there was a need for a comprehensive approach to human mobility and enhanced co-operation at the global level.
The UN also noted that “throughout human history, migration has been a courageous expression of the individual’s will to overcome adversity and to live a better life”, adding that “today, globalisation, plus advances in communications and transport, has greatly increased the number of people who have the desire and capacity to move.”
It added: “This new era has created challenges and opportunities for societies throughout the world. It also has served to underscore the clear linkage between migration and development, as well as the opportunities it provides for co-development, that is, the concerted improvement of economic and social conditions at both origin and destination.”
Although countries such as America and France have experienced a spike in migration over the past few years, with many individuals from different parts of Africa and Spain risking their lives in travelling by sea to live in countries with better economic prospects and better education for their children.
South Africa has also had an influx of individuals seeking the same opportunities. In this country, it has created tensions and has often fuelled acts of violence associated with xenophobia. Since 2008, there has no doubt been a struggle for resources, with the country recording astronomical levels of unemployment and huge inequality.
In our country border control matters have always been a sensitive issue. Therefore, we ought not to shy away from finding tangible solutions – solutions that will accommodate the country's citizens as well as migrants who genuinely need help.
Acts of violence in resolving matters concerning migrants, as we have seen recently in Durban, should never be the way to go.
The Star