South Africa Fieldwork 2019

From end of October to mid-December 2019, Dr Caroline Nalule conducted field research in Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa for the recognising refugees strand of the RefMig project. She conducted interviews mainly with practitioners in refugee matters, including NGOs, CSOs and the UNHCR, as well as refugees and asylum seekers. At the time of the study, a new refugees amendment Act had been passed by parliament but was yet to be operationalised, hence there was a measure of uncertainty among all the interlocutors regarding the situation of refugees and asylum seekers, particularly those with papers about to expire and that would have to be renewed. While the Department for Home Affairs reiterated its commitment to ensure that all who seek protection in South Africa are documented, those that sought protection lamented the difficulty in getting the necessary documentation issued timeously or for a certain validity period which, according to the law, should be four years for recognised refugees. There was a marked uncertainty and apprehension on the part of those seeking protection regarding their residency in South Africa, in particular, but regarding the protection of their rights as refugees, more generally. Hopefully, the Refugees Amendment Act operationalised in January 2020, notwithstanding some of its controversial and contestable provisions that go to the substance of refugee protection, may create more certainty and efficiency in the refugee status determination process. Dr Nalule visited the African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS), University of the Witwatersrand during her visit.