27 Sep 2019
Joint statement made by African civil society leaders on the xenophobic attack on African foreign nationals in South Africa
We the undersigned leaders of civil society across the African continent are deeply concerned about the ongoing xenophobic attacks on African foreign nationals residing in South Africa. We deeply regret this unfortunate incident that has claimed the lives of our African brothers and sisters and led to the destruction of their properties and businesses.
We are worried that these attacks regress Africa’s common economic and development agenda enshrined in Agenda 2063 and stands in the way of attaining the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) recently put in place by our governments to ensure that Africans become prosperous. More than this, the spate of violence undermines our common heritage and value systems as the African people. These actions also negate the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, are inhumane and undermine progress that has been made to advance human rights across the continent.
We condemn in its entirety these barbaric acts and call on both the government of Nigeria and South Africa, including the African Union to take decisive steps and come up with a comprehensive plan of action to address this issue while encouraging our brothers and sisters affected by these attacks to stay calm and safe.
We welcome the steps already taken by some governments and further encourage the use of diplomatic routes and launching of a joint-national campaign against crime and xenophobia by tapping into the expertise of civil society and the private sector in these regards.
We further commend the calls of civil society colleagues globally, and particularly in Africa, who openly condemn these attacks. We encourage them to work with the government and the people of South Africa in developing plans and actions capable of bringing these attacks to a halt.
We are convinced that those who perpetrate these heinous acts do not reflect the values that South Africans cherish and uphold, hence we call on leaders of thought, clergy, public servants, politicians, business and civil society in and out of South Africa to speak up against these attacks; which no doubt could reverse gains already being made on attaining the Sustainable Development Goals across the continent.
In order to bring an end to these acts and ensure they don’t recur, law enforcement agencies should act in a timely manner and bring the perpetrators to justice.
We call on the media as an integral part of the civil society community to use their platforms in educating and sensitizing citizens on the ills of xenophobia and its implications on unity and social cohesion of Africans.
As we continue to monitor the situation and follow up on government interventions to address this crisis, we commit, as civil society, to using our organisational platforms to raise awareness on the need for Africans to become more accommodating and see each other as one within the context of Ubuntu- I am because you are.
Signed
National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO), Zimbabwe
Nigeria Network of NGOs, Nigeria
African Monitor, South Africa
Civicus, South Africa
West African Civil Society Institute (WACSI), Ghana
Africa Platform, Kenya
RESOCIDE, Burkina Faso
JOINT Liga de ONGs em Mocambique , Mozambique
Concertation Nationale de la Société Civile du Togo (CNSC-TOGO) , Togo
Afrikajom Center, Sénégal
Collectif contre l’Impunité et la Stigmatisation des Communautés (CISC), Burkina Faso
