Current Situation of Migration and Mobility in the SADC Region

by | 21 Aug 2017 | 2017

The Migration Cluster of the SADC People’s Summit met at Constitution Hill on 17th August 2017 to discuss the current situation of migration and mobility in order to make recommendation to Heads of State Summit that will take place in Pretoria the 19th August 2017

People of SADC gathered at the Summit have noticed what follows:

  1. A mistrustful and unlawful attitude towards migrants
  2. A shrinking space for migration
  3. Difficulties of permits renewal for asylum seekers and refugees
  4. Children born to migrants’ statelessness
  5. Incidence of xenophobia in some countries
  6. Forcing documented migrants to illegality
  7. No proper training and capacity building for refugee reception officers
  8. Unequal and bad treatment of migrants’ teachers and learners SADC counties schools
  9. Sport competitions and Churches not used enough to foster social cohesion
  10. Rejection of migrants in some SADC countries’ healthcare facilities

RESOLUTIONS

  1. SADC to facilitate people’s free movement like in ECOWAS & East African Community
  2. SADC should extend the right of mobility to the people of DR Congo in same way as it does for other citizen of the block
  3. SADC should fight human trafficking in the region
  4. There should not be stateless children in the SADC region
  5. SADC should institute a regional passport to facilitate the mobility of her citizens
  6. SADC Countries should document her citizens to avoid putting them on illegal status
  7. Strategies and policies for social cohesion should be taken more seriously with special emphasis on education
  8. There should be an engagement at regional policy level in order to reconsider migration policies which could stop criminalising SADC citizens and emphasize the benefit of working together so as to embrace diversity
  9. SADC should harmonise its asylum seekers and refugees’ protection, policies, laws and practices
  10. SADC should implement the Standardisation of labour practices to discourage and prevent corporations from employing cheap labour and exploiting non-nationals
  11. SADC member countries should stop discriminating to allow SADC citizens access to human rights and basic public services
  12. Major event in SADC countries such as Africa Day should be used as a tool to educate and promote unity in the region
  13. SADC should encourage her citizens to contribute to the development of their host countries
  14. A module on xenophobia and discrimination should be included on the SADC countries educational curriculum
  15. SADC should encourage Heads of State to respect their term limits in office and good governance
  16. SADC countries should include asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in their national healthcare and education policies