South Africa Calls For Africa-Wide Talks On Migration

South Africa has called for an Africa-wide discussion on migration as it seeks to contain the fallout from anti-immigration protests that have forced many migrants to leave the country and strained relations with some other African nations.

South African officials say a broader conversation among African countries is needed to address the causes of the migration crisis across the continent.

This comes as the country faces criticism over protests calling for the deportation of migrants who are in the country illegally and reports of violent attacks on migrants.

The African Union, which has 55 member states, last week rejected a proposal by Ghana to place South Africa’s migration tensions on the agenda of its next coordination meeting in October.

South Africa opposed the move, saying it would single out the country without addressing the wider crisis.

The issue is expected to be discussed later this month at a Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Durban.

International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola said on Wednesday that the talks will also examine factors driving irregular migration in different parts of the continent, including North Africa.

Lamola said the government wants an Africa-wide discussion on the migration crisis, which includes people entering South Africa illegally and the chaotic crossing last week of thousands of migrants from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, which left more than 80 people dead.

He said South Africa wanted to approach the issue by focusing on the “push-pull factors” that lead people to leave their home countries.

In the past two weeks, he has met other leaders and officials, including Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama and a representative of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.

In South Africa, anti-illegal immigration groups such as Operation Dudula and March and March have called for the deportation of migrants who are in the country illegally.

The groups have said they will continue protesting every Thursday to pressure the government to speed up deportations, enforce immigration laws and tighten border security.

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