Africa Needs Unified Immigration Plan, Not South Africa Scapegoating: DIRCO

DIRCO Rejects Single-Country Focus, Pushes for Continental Immigration Framework

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation has pushed back against what it characterizes as unfair targeting, calling instead for a broad African summit to address migration challenges that extend far beyond the country’s borders.

The rejection follows the African Union Council’s decision to decline Ghana’s proposal to place South Africa’s xenophobia specifically on the continental agenda. DIRCO welcomed that outcome, framing it as a necessary step toward more constructive dialogue.

International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola made the case during a media briefing in Pretoria on Wednesday, arguing that isolating South Africa as the focus of discussion would prove counterproductive. He emphasized that while the country remains a primary destination for African migrants, the underlying migration crisis is fundamentally a continental problem requiring coordinated solutions across multiple nations.

“There is no discussion that will be helpful that just focuses on South Africa, because we are not the only country facing a migration challenge,” Lamola said. “Five percent of the African population lives outside of their countries and not out of choice but out of necessity, to eke out a living or for whatever reason, so these issues must be discussed and be properly dissected.”

The minister’s position reflects DIRCO’s broader argument that framing the issue as a South African xenophobia problem misses the structural drivers of African migration. The department contends that the movement of people across the continent stems from economic necessity and limited opportunity in home countries, not simply from conditions in destination nations.

DIRCO’s call for a continent-wide summit signals an attempt to reorient the conversation away from what the department views as scapegoating and toward systemic analysis. The proposal suggests that addressing migration requires examination of economic disparities, employment opportunities, and development gaps across African nations, rather than directing enforcement or policy attention at any single country.

The department’s stance comes amid ongoing regional tensions over migration and xenophobia. Ghana had sought to use the African Union platform to highlight concerns about anti-migrant sentiment and violence in South Africa. The AU Council’s decision to reject that proposal has given DIRCO diplomatic cover to advance its alternative framing.

By positioning South Africa as one nation among many grappling with migration pressures, DIRCO aims to shift accountability and responsibility to the continental level. The department’s argument rests on the premise that sustainable solutions require addressing root causes across the continent, including the economic conditions and development disparities that drive people to leave their home countries in search of better circumstances.

The call for a continent-wide immigration summit represents DIRCO’s preferred pathway forward, one that would examine migration as a shared African challenge rather than a South African problem. Whether such a summit materializes, and what concrete outcomes it might produce, is the question now facing the department and its continental partners.