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By ANA Reporter 
September 24, 2020
South Africans are indicting citizens of Nigeria and Zimbabwe for South Africa’s high crime rate
JOHANNESBURG, September 24 (ANA) – The University of Pretoria Human Rights Center on Thursday condemned the march against foreigners in the city of Tshwane, Pretoria.
On Wednesday, protesters targeted Nigerians and Zimbabweans. Organizers of the march expressed concern about illegal immigrants and drug trafficking.
The director of the Center for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria Law School, Professor Frans Viljoen, said that this type of march underscores the need for the government to deliberately cultivate social cohesion between South Africans and foreigners.
Viljoen said that as the center understood that there were concerns regarding the state of security in the country, however, the crime has no nationality.
“Obviously, it is wrong to target people from certain countries or label them as criminals, drug traffickers or responsible for the social ills in the country,” he said.
“This rhetoric only seeks to reinforce xenophobic and populist narratives, from which South Africa strongly distances itself, both constitutionally and in the 2019 National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerances.
Law enforcement agencies must hold accountable anyone instigating violence based on anti-migrant rhetoric and xenophobia, following due process of law as required by South African law. “
Viljoen said that law enforcement agencies must hold accountable anyone who instigates violence based on anti-migrant rhetoric and xenophobia.
“It is undeniable that many South Africans face unemployment. A recent Human Rights Watch report on xenophobic violence against non-nationals in South Africa notes that the government blames them for unemployment, crime and neglect,” Viljoen said.
“The complaints about high unemployment, unacceptable levels of income inequality and the economic hardships of the majority of South Africans living in adverse poverty are genuine and must be addressed by the state and policy makers. But channel the challenge. anger towards our brothers and sisters in other parts of the continent is misplaced. “
The South African community must acknowledge its failures and stop attributing its socio-economic challenges to “others” in society, he said.
Viljoen said it was important for the government to address the genuine grievances of many South Africans regarding economic conditions, unemployment and unacceptable levels of income inequality.
African News Agency (ANA)
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