Madam Speaker, Deputy Minister, colleagues, the 1998 Refugee Act gives effect to the relevant international instruments, principles and standards relating to refugees or the reception into South Africa of asylum seekers and regulates applications for the recognition of refugee status.
A number of amendments in the Bill before us today deal with the issues of definition and alignment and, in other words, are of a technical nature. We accept these amendments. A matter of importance is the dissolution of the current Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs and the Refugee Appeals Board, which are to be replaced by the proposed Refugee Appeals Authority.
It must be understood when we talk about an appeals authority that if an asylum seeker is denied asylum and appeals to the appeals board for a review and the appeal is declined, he or she then falls under the immigration laws. Now we support this, but obviously we have to wait and see whether it will mean a speeding up of the of process of assessing the status of refugees.
There is continued concern about the processing of asylum seekers, which carries a significant backlog. Now the Minister responded to this and obviously this was recognised by initiating the Backlog Project which we hope will not only clear the backlog but will also ensure that no further backlog will occur.
We were therefore distressed by what appears to be a leaked report by the Backlog Project team in the Mail & Guardian. We would appreciate it if the Minister would comment on this matter before commenting or passing any judgement.
Furthermore, we would attest to the urgent need for more refugee reception centres and seek assurance that adequate funding and skilled staffing requirements are at the top of the agenda. It is also necessary to advise our public to understand our obligation towards asylum seekers and refugees in terms of international conventions signed by South Africa as a state party. It is not only from a legal perspective that we have to inform them, but more importantly, from a humanitarian one.
We feel that if there had been better dissemination of these facts some of the recent outbreaks of violence could have been avoided. South Africa's problems concerning migrations are not unique in our global society. People living without hope of ever achieving a satisfactory lifestyle will always be tempted to migrate towards economically more developed states. At the same time, no country can afford to have tens of thousands of undocumented people within its borders.
With the recent disturbances in Zimbabwe these numbers have increased and it is our duty to ensure that the required facilities to deal with these possible temporary migrants are dealt with as a matter of urgency. We have discussed this matter with many Zimbabweans and the majority of them assured us that they would like to return to their country of origin as soon as there is political stability; so there has to be specific accommodation for our neighbours from the north.
The IFP has carefully considered the amendments and we support the Bill. I thank you.