Human Rights Watch report slams govt

A telephone hotline for migrants to report a myriad of human rights abuses by the South African police and employers is one of many recommendations a human rights organisation has made to the government. 'Unprotected Migrants: Zimbabweans in South Africa's Limpopo Province', a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), noted that "Zimbabweans are arguably the biggest group of foreign Africans in South Africa." The political and economic woes of South Africa's northern neighbour have sent anywhere between three million and five million Zimbabweans flooding into the country. According to HRW, by the end of last year, 114 Zimbabweans had secured refugee status, "while nearly 16,000 Zimbabweans had pending cases for refugee status". There was a "perception among police officers that there is 'no war in Zimbabwe'", the study said, "and therefore Zimbabweans could not possibly have a right to political asylum or refugee status." Zimbabwe's economy is in crisis and has the world's highest inflation. The latest official estimates indicated a drop to 993.6 percent in June, from a previous rate of 1,184 percent, and unemployment has been calculated at over 70 percent. However, Tony Hawkins, a former professor of business studies at the University of Zimbabwe, has predicted that the inflation rate will pick up again in the second half of the year. The 50-odd page human rights report revealed that migrants were "especially vulnerable to abuse by various government departments", particularly South Africa's home affairs department and the police. "Police often mistreat undocumented workers when they arrest them," HRW's deputy Africa director, Georgette Gagnon, said in a statement. "While awaiting deportation at police stations, undocumented migrants are given inadequate shelter and food, and some are detained beyond the 30-day legal limit." Limpopo Province, which borders Zimbabwe, is both a conduit for migrants drawn by the lure of a better life to Johannesburg, South Africa's economic hub, and also provides casual work on the labour-intensive citrus and vegetable farms nearer the border. Farmers who do not depend on Zimbabwean labour blame workers from the north for crime, and speak openly about "how they strive to keep their areas 'clean of Zimbabweans'"; those who do use Zimbabwean labour often do not pay the minimum wage and violate the "constitutional right of migrants to fair labour practices," the report said. Both documented (legal) and undocumented (illegal) migrants from Zimbabwe "occupy an ambiguous space in the law with respect to certain rights guarantees." The human rights body recommended that the South African government enforce compliance with its immigration and employment laws, and amend laws where necessary. The report concluded that "the government should address the specific situation of undocumented Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa through comprehensive rather than ad hoc measures that address their status." go/he/oa