Refugees in dire situation without aid

seekers live on the economic margins, a situation exacerbated by the government’s stringent lockdown measures.

“After receiving numerous pleas from refugees and asylum seekers, Human Rights Watch raised the issue with the SA Human Rights Commission, which confirmed receiving similar reports, and pressed the authorities to ensure that everyone in South Africa can realise their rights.”

On May 12, the rapporteur for South Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Solomon Ayele Dersso, sent an urgent appeal to the government to protect the rights of vulnerable groups, including refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants during the lockdown.

South Africa, too, is a common destination for LGBT people fleeing their home countries due to persecution on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression.

Victor Chikalogwe, director of the

LGBT refugee advocacy group People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and Poverty, said that the lockdown had made life incredibly difficult for many undocumented LGBT migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, as they were unable to work in the informal trades that had sustained them, including restaurants, bars, or sex work.

They are not eligible to receive government social grants or food parcels, which are distributed only to those with South African identity cards and social security cards.

On March 24, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights expressed concern about the vulnerability of refugees and asylum seekers under Covid-19 regulations and addressed a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who serves as AU chairperson, urging the government to adequately address human rights issues in its responses to Covid-19.

This should include ensuring that undocumented refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa have access to basic services. The South African authorities should ensure that essential goods and services were provided to everyone in need without discrimination, Human Rights Watch said.

Special arrangements should be made to protect the rights of vulnerable groups, including refugees, asylum seekers, and the homeless, who may not normally have access to basic goods, including food, water – potable and for washing – and health care.

“The national lockdown will be most effective if carried out not only in accordance with the law, but also hand-in-hand with the fulfilment of the government’s obligation to provide basic goods and services to vulnerable community members,” Human Rights Watch said said.

Services should be available to all who are in need, including those living in areas under movement restrictions or under quarantine, those infected with Covid-19, and marginalised groups such as refugees, migrants, and people with disabilities. The government should take special measures to protect women and girls from physical and sexual abuse and exploitation and provide timely help to victims.

“South Africa should make special efforts to protect the most vulnerable in the country and ensure that refugees and asylum seekers are not overlooked or forgotten,” Mavhinga said. “The authorities should act and seek donor support to avert an imminent humanitarian catastrophe.”

SA must act to avert an imminent humanitarian catastrophe

Dewa Mavhinga

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH