South Africa says unable to take in Afghan refugees

Says country is already home to a substantial number of refugees

South Africa said it has declined a request to host Afghans who have fled into Pakistan to escape the Taliban, as it is already accommodating “a substantial number” of refugees from other countries.

The government said it had been approached “to consider receiving a number of Afghanistan refugees who have sought refuge in Pakistan.”

“The request is that they be accommodated in South Africa en route to their final destinations,” the foreign ministry said in a statement late Wednesday.

“The South African Government is unfortunately not in a position to accommodate such a request.” It said the country “is already home to a substantial number of refugees and is seized with addressing their needs. “Most of them already benefit from the Social Assistance and free medical health programmes offered by our country.”

The country also boasts one of the world’s most progressive refugee policies, which helped attract more than a million asylum seekers between 2007 and 2015. But the processing of their paperwork was backlogged even before the pandemic and most find themselves stuck in limbo after applications are rejected, according to rights groups.