JOINT PRESS STATEMENT | IMMEDIATE RELEASE

25 MAY 2026

“Statement of outrage against the weaponisation of xenophobia and the brutal and unlawful treatment of migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers”

We, the undersigned organisations and individuals, express our deep outrage and

condemnation at the recent heavy-handed conduct of state officials in addressing the plight and safety of migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, alongside the rise of anti-migrant rhetoric fueling vigilantism in South Africa.

The scenes of law enforcement, in some instances forcibly loading refugees and asylum seekers onto buses under the guise of “verification processes” are a gross violation of human rights and an affront to the rule of law. These are not criminals. These are human beings — refugees and asylum seekers — who sought the protection of the South African Police Service in KZN, after being unlawfully displaced and violently targeted by vigilante formations and anti-migrant groups. Instead of receiving protection, dignity, and lawful assistance, they were subjected to public humiliation, intimidation, force, and the denial of their most basic constitutional rights.

With local government elections on the horizon, it is deeply alarming to witness public representatives intentionally fueling anti-migrant hostility. We condemn the ruthless exploitation of marginalised migrants for political leverage. Rather than taking accountability for deep-seated governance and economic shortcomings, leaders across the political spectrum are actively scapegoating migrants.

Profound national crises—including massive unemployment, collapsing infrastructure, and under-resourced public services—are being dangerously oversimplified into false and inflammatory claims that predominantly Black African non-citizens are the cause of local hardship.

South Africa’s Constitution, born from the struggles against apartheid oppression, enshrines the rights to dignity, equality, freedom and security of the person, access to legal representation, and protection from arbitrary and degrading treatment. All of which were denied to black people in South Africa under apartheid. Today, it cannot be that these rights are reserved only for citizens. They apply to all who live within our borders.

To deny refugees and asylum seekers access to legal representation, to remove them through coercion and fear, and to subject them to treatment that echoes the brutality of the apartheid regime, is an affront to the very values for which generations of Black South Africans fought and died.

We categorically reject:

The growing normalisation of xenophobia, scapegoating, and mob rule in our society. The criminalisation of African migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.

The complicity and silence of state institutions when vigilante groups unlawfully and violently evict people from homes, workplaces, and spaces of livelihood with impunity. The political campaigns built on the dangerous and unconstitutional premise of ‘othering’ vulnerable populations.

What we are witnessing is the public erosion of constitutional democracy. The rule of law is only applied to the rich and privileged, and this is unconstitutional. At a time when South Africa should stand as a beacon of human rights and Pan-African solidarity, fellow Africans are being treated with cruelty, hostility, and barbarism while seeking refuge and protection. This is structural and institutionalised xenophobia.

This Africa Day, we call on the whole of society to publicly denounce these acts, challenge harmful narratives, and stand in solidarity with humanity. We call on:

Politicians and political parties to immediately cease using xenophobic rhetoric as an electoral tool and commit to fact-based, responsible campaigning.

The Media and Journalists to promote responsible, fact-based, rights-based public discourse and avoid amplifying divisive and unsubstantiated claims.

Civil society organisations, faith-based institutions, and trade unions to continue the vital work of peacebuilding and community solidarity.

Legal practitioners, human rights defenders, and social movements to remain vigilant in holding the state accountable to the Constitution.

We further demand:

1. An immediate end to the use of force, coercion and intimidation against refugees and asylum seekers by state and non-state actors.

• Full accountability and independent investigations into any unlawful conduct or abuses committed by law enforcement officials.

• Immediate and decisive action against vigilante groups engaged in unlawful evictions, intimidation, and xenophobic violence.

• The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to strictly monitor and enforce the Electoral Code of Conduct, heavily penalising parties that incite violence or hatred against migrants.

• The reaffirmation by the South African government of its constitutional and international obligations toward refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants.

• The full and urgent implementation of the National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and all relevant stakeholders, including the establishment of effective monitoring, early warning, and rapid response mechanisms.

Today, as we mark Africa Day, we are called to reflect on the true spirit of Pan-African unity and liberation. We cannot authentically celebrate our shared continental identity while simultaneously tearing down and brutalising our fellow Africans.

We must stand united, rejecting the artificial divisions sown by xenophobia, and reaffirm our commitment to a continent where the dignity of every person is fiercely protected.

History will judge us not by our silence, but by whether we defended the humanity of the most vulnerable among us.

An injury to one is an injury to all!

[Organisation / Individual Name]

1. Lawyers for Human Rights
2. Union Against Hunger
3. Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia
4. Consortium for Refugees and migrants in South Africa
5. Southern Africa Litigation Centre
6. Wits Law Clinic
7. The International Labour Research and Information Group (ILRIG)
8. Dr Dale McKinley
9. Africa Grassroots Healing Initiatives
10. Centre for Applied Legal Studies
11. Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town
12. Zabalaza Pathways Institute…catalysing people’s power for just, loving societies, without poverty…
13. Ntirhisano Community Centre (NCC)
14. GroundWork, Friends of the Earth South Africa
15. Right2Protest
16. The Fruit Basket
17. Media Review Network
18. Africa Unite
19. Afesis
20. Be True to Me
21. The Auwal Socio-economic Research Institute (ASRI)
22. Treatment Action Campaign -TAC
23. The Auwal Socio-economic Research Institute (ASRI)
24. Treatment Action Campaign – TAC
25. Section 27
26. Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation
27. Zabalaza for Socialism
28. Free Basotho Movement
29. Collective Voices for Health Access
30. Legal Resources Centre
31. Amnesty International
32. The Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA)
33. South African Red Cross Society
34. Socio Economic Rights Institute
35. Tabitha Paine
36. Congolese Civil Society of South Africa
37. African Solidarity Campaign
38. Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC)
39. United Front
40. Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS)
41. Neighbors
42. Black Sash
43. Sisonke Revolutionary Movement
44. Reclaim the City
45. Claremont Main Road Mosque
46. Refugee Social Services (RSS)
47. Palestine Solidarity Alliance
48. Kensington Palestine Solidarity Group (KPSG)
49. Bench Marks Foundation
50. HIAS South Africa
51. TEKANO
52. Refugee Children’s Project (RCP)
53. Workers World
54. Equal Education
55. Development Action Group
56. Surplus People Project
57. Save Our Sacred Lands
58. Defend Our Democracy