Abstract
The post-apartheid South Africa has vigorously pursued the sustainability of befitting liberal sovereignty. Their constitution which had been acknowledged as one of the best across the globe provides for among other things, the sustainability of human mobility. However, the incidence of xenophobia has challenged the truism surrounding the claim of South Africa as a nation ‘free for all to live in’. Despite its strong endorsement of the African Union migration policy framework; South Africa’s policies for managing human mobility or migration of African immigrants have seemingly worked in opposition to the recommendations of the African Union Migration Policy Framework for Africa (AU MPFA). This has shed light on doubt about South Africa’s support of Pan-Africanism
This work aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the African Union Migration Policy Framework in South Africa over ten years. The study used a qualitative research approach to analyse the policy's implementation and impact on South Africa's migration management. The research has drawn on the Migration Policy Framework for Africa and Plan of Action (2018-2030) and other relevant literature to provide a comprehensive analysis of the policy's implementation. The study identified the challenges and opportunities that South Africa faces in implementing the policy and provides recommendations for improving the policy's effectiveness. The research contributes to the understanding of migration policy implementation in Africa and provides insights into the challenges and opportunities of regional migration policy frameworks.
This research uncovered that, despite some obvious benefits, the African Union's migration policy does not offer country-specific recommendations for safeguarding migrants' rights. With the precarious role of state actors and the minor efforts of non-state actors to counter xenophobia, the country remains at a crossroads to achieving human rights goals and upholding
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pan-Africanism. Few mechanisms exist to facilitate the implementation of AU MPFA in South Africa due to widespread institutional misalignment and a complete absence of a migration monitoring or enforcement framework. The study concludes by reinforcing the argument that the change of the immigration issue from a matter of domestic politics into one related to diplomacy and regional security is a dangerous twist, and novel approaches would achieve its objective through the embeddedness of legislative alignment in South Africa.