On the 17 August 2022 the Inclusive Society Institute (Institute) hosted a roundtable discussion titled ‘Developing an Effective Response to Addressing Xenophobia in South Africa’. The roundtable is the first engagement in a two-part series of discussions. The second engagement is planned at a strategic level with senior government stakeholders and policy makers.

The motivation for the roundtable stems from concerns of growing levels of intolerance to migrants and the increasing number of xenophobic attacks. This coupled with anomalies in government’s response to issues of migration have called into question South Africa’s commitment to domestic, regional, and international trade and human rights commitments. Recognising xenophobia threatens the foundation of South Africa’s constitutional values of equality and human dignity; and poses a real threat to the country’s developmental agenda; the Institute decided to host the roundtable to bring together experts and civil society stakeholders to investigate challenges and opportunities to effectively respond to xenophobia in South Africa.

Report by the Inclusive Society Institute