South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on African nations to to cooperate on migration and protect human rights.
He made the appeal while addressing the Pan-African Parliament on Monday, July 28, following weeks of anti-immigrant protests led by groups that accuse undocumented migrants of fueling unemployment, crime, and mounting pressure on public services.
“We need to work together to address issues like conflict, instability, poverty and social discord,” Ramaphosa said on Monday.
“As African countries, we have to acknowledge and address the conditions that drive migration in the first place,” Ramaphosa told a session of the parliament, which is the legislative body of the African Union.
South Africa is facing growing criticism from other African governments over attacks on their citizens in South Africa.
At least four migrants have been killed in the violence, including a Nigerian national who died while under arrest in Cape Town.
The attacks were “sad and abhorrent”, Ramaphosa said, adding that “we in South Africa deeply regret and mourn” the lives lost. “We’ve taken a firm stand against hatred for people from other countries, xenophobia or Afrophobia,” Ramaphosa said.
Thousands of African migrants have left South Africa over the past two months, with countries including Ghana, Nigeria, and Malawi assisting in the voluntary repatriation of their citizens.
