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JOHANNESBURG – Foreign nationals in South Africa face “routine” harassment, violence and discrimination by locals and government authorities, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday.
The group said xenophobia remained widespread in South Africa despite a government action plan implemented in May 2019 to combat “intolerance.”
In a 64-page report, HRW said that foreigners are the scapegoat for economic insecurity in one of the world’s most unequal societies, where unemployment is above 30 percent.
SA closure: foreign citizens not authorized to leave
He broadcast the testimonies of more than 50 African and Asian citizens of “routine” and “sometimes lethal” xenophobia.
Foreigners told HRW that they sometimes suffered verbal and physical harassment in their daily interactions with locals.
A common insult in South Africa is “kwerekwere”, a derogatory word for “foreigner”.
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Xenophobic attacks left at least 62 people dead in 2008, while another seven died from similar riots in 2015.
Violence flared again in September last year when armed mobs attacked foreign-owned businesses in and around Johannesburg’s financial center.
The ensuing clashes left at least 12 dead, 10 of whom were South African, according to the government.
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HRW accuses law enforcement officials of being complicit and often “discriminatory” and “abusive” towards non-nationals.
It claims that foreign-owned companies are disproportionately attacked by the crackdown on counterfeit products and that migrants are arbitrarily detained for allegedly lacking proper documents.
According to the group, the police are reluctant to protect immigrants and investigate crimes against foreigners.
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The report calls for “more urgent and concrete measures” to protect foreign nationals, stating that the government’s plan has been “just words on paper” until now.
Author Kristi Ueda condemned the culture of “impunity” that “only emboldens others” and perpetuates violence against non-nationals.
“Non-South African citizens have suffered wave after wave of xenophobic violence and live in constant fear of being attacked,” Ueda said.
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“The government must hold those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”
The home affairs department did not respond to requests for comment.
South Africa hosts more than 2.2 million foreigners, from political refugees and economic migrants to skilled expatriate workers, according to the latest 2011 population census.
