Roundtable discussion on addressing xenophobia in South Africa

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The Inclusive Society Institute (ISI) on Wednesday, 17 August 2022, hosted a roundtable discussion on addressing xenophobia in South Africa. Participants represented a wide range of public and civil society organisations.

Presentations were made by:

• Dr Steven Gordon, representing the Human Sciences Research Council

• Mr Diego Itturralde, representing Statistics South Africa

• Professor Loren Landau, from the African Centre for Migration and Society

• Ms Sharon Ekambaram, representing Lawyers for Human Rights

• Ms Danaline Franzman, representing the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development

Consideration was given to the factors that drive xenophobia, interventions that are needed to reframe plans beyond the National Action Plan on Racism and Xenophobia, an assessment as to whether the immigration laws and policies are fuelling xenophobia, how to address the dichotomy in responses by state actors, and on how to address inconsistency in state responses. It also considered measures to align legislation and policy to ensure consistency in action.