Barriers to status determination of asylum seekers in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa is party to international treaties on refugee protection, notably, the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa. The South African government has put statutory provisions and policies in place to guide refugee status determination – eg, in the Refugees Act. This dissertation focuses on addressing the barriers to the status determination of asylum seekers in South Africa. It identifies hurdles faced by asylum seekers in the status determination process such as lack of timely decisions; incorrect application of the law; misinterpretation of the law by the Refugee Status Determination Officer (RSDO); lack of professionalism by the refugee reception officers handling asylum-seeker claims; and lack of resources, for example, a shortage of interpreters to help bridge language barriers. However, when compared to many other African countries, the policies and legal framework in South Africa remain of a relatively high standard. Although there are procedures in place to determine the status of asylum seekers, without proper enforcement the protection of asylum seekers is undermined. The question arising is therefore: “What structural or administrative barriers undermine the South African Government’s effort to implement smooth refugee status determination process in South Africa?” The solutions to the barriers touched on above lie in the hands of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) which must put adequate measures in place in the administrative process governing the status determination under the asylum seeker application system. An adequate administrative process plays an integral role in resolving barriers faced by asylum seekers during their applications. A well-organised administrative process will resolve many of the problems resulting from non-compliance with the legal mechanisms already established by the DHA. The department needs to ensure that their officials and in particular the RSDOs are more competent in exercising their decision-making and application procedures. The department must also ensure that RSDOs have adequate resources to conduct proper interviews and assessments of all claims they deal with – eg, providing interpreters to work permanently with the RSDOs. Finally, the DHA must increase its capacity and facilities to handle the number of applications submitted on a daily basis as it is legally obliged to do.