Ghana has requested that the African Union discuss xenophobic attacks in South Africa at its mid-year summit in Egypt. South African International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola said the move gives Pretoria a chance to highlight migration challenges.
Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Ablakwa wrote to the African Union on 7 May asking that the issue be placed on the agenda for the 24-27 June meeting of heads of state in Egypt. He argued that the attacks violate the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and undermine efforts to promote free movement under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Lamola told reporters the same day that South Africa was surprised by the request yet welcomed the opportunity. He said the country receives the largest share of irregular migration on the continent and needs to tackle the economic factors driving people to leave their home countries.
The minister added that some recent videos circulating on social media were fake or recycled from earlier incidents. He stated that government investigations had found no evidence that two Nigerian or two Ghanaian nationals had been killed by security forces, as had been claimed.
Lamola emphasised that any enforcement action against illegal immigration must be handled by police and not by vigilante groups. He noted that the cabinet has increased funding for border management and plans to deploy an early-warning system developed with Nigeria.
