This position requires an individual who has varied experience working on social services related issues including education, social security, labour, health as they relate to refugees and migrants. The ideal candidate should have a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science, Law, Human Rights or related field. A higher degree will be an added advantage. Knowledge and understanding of refugee and immigration law is a prerequisite, so are excellent writing, reporting and presentation skills and willingness to work after hours and on weekends when required. Highly developed communication, networking and interpersonal skills are a prerequisite. Knowledge of French will be an added advantage.

Key responsibilities include:

• Developing an advocacy and lobbying strategy addressing social services issues as they relate to non-nationals with regards to education, health, labour, social security and others.
• Work in close collaboration with other staff, CoRMSA network members and partners to advocate on matters of social services and access to the asylum system.
• Implement advocacy and awareness raising campaigns.
• Conduct research and policy analysis and produce briefings and reports on current policies and practices, and proposals for change and prepare documents for submission to relevant parliamentary structures.
• Represent CoRMSA in various fora and produce meeting reports thereof.
• Build strategic relationships with relevant government departments and other institutions working with non-nationals in general and on access to social services in particular while identifying advocacy opportunities and strategies for engaging.

Please send CVs to info@cormsa.org.za. Closing date 08 February 2012. CoRMSA will contact only shortlisted candidates. If you have not received any communication from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please consider that your application was unsuccessful.  Refugees and women are particularly encouraged to apply. www.cormsa.org.za

The Court found that a decision had indeed been taken in line with an apparent policy pronouncement by Cabinet to move all asylum services to border posts.  It was agreed between all parties that if a decision was found to have been taken, the necessary public consultation and consultation with the Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs had not taken place as required by the law.

According to Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, head of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme at LHR, “We are encouraged by the court’s decision in this matter.” She added, “We continue to be extremely concerned about the closures of the metropolitan refugee reception offices. The Department of Home Affairs has not carried out any public consultations on a decision which will negatively affect a vulnerable group. Further, the department has so far failed to put up any infrastructure or make contingency arrangements to provide services to refugees and asylum seekers. Notwithstanding, they have started closing down refugee reception offices.”

Lawyers for Human Rights has also challenged the closure of the Port Elizabeth Refugee Reception Office.  This centre was closed as of 30 November 2011 apparently in line with the same Cabinet policy.  That matter is due to be heard on 9 February 2012 in the Eastern Cape High Court in Port Elizabeth.

In terms of the order, an interim office at the regional immigration office must continue to provide asylum services to all holders of asylum seeker and refugee permits issued under the Refugees Act.  The order also stipulates that no one whose permit expired between the period of 30 November 2011 and 14 December 2011 when the refugee office was non-functional will be subjected to a fine or any criminal sanction for the expiry of that permit.

This order, which was agreed to by the Minister and Director-General of Home Affairs, also set out expedited dates for filing court papers in order to ensure that the matter is adjudicated before the High Court without unnecessary delay.

The Department has stated in a similar case regarding the closure of the refugee reception office in Johannesburg that it is the intention of the Department to move all asylum and refugee services to border posts and to continue with the closure of refugee reception offices in metropolitan centres.

“We are extremely concerned about the proposed move to the borders.  There has been no consultation with the public about this abrupt and hasty change in policy,” said David Cote of LHR’s Strategic Litigation Unit.  “This is all the more disconcerting considering that the Department has already started closing refugee reception offices without putting any infrastructure in place to deal with existing or new applicants who already live and depend on the support in metropolitan centres.”

The matter has been set down for hearing on 9 February 2012.

Attorney Daven Dass from the Wits Law Clinic is now liaising with CoRMSA to encourage other refugees to make an application for this document.  This is extremely important in the light of the fact that as per the current DHA’s practice, no documents were being issued to refugees allowing them to travel outside of the country.

Please note this is all the information we have at this time.  The Department has not yet indicated how the process will be made accessible to all refugees.

CoRMSA is therefore encouraging the refugee and migrant network to report incidences related to mass deportations.

How/where to report emergency cases

For a better, faster and coordinated reporting of emergency cases, CoRMSA would like to recommend the network to use SA Emergency: http://saemergency.net/

How does this link work? Click on the link above and register with SA Emergency. After you have registered, log in with your email address and select “Join a new group” under Groups option. Different groups will be displayed and you have to click “Emergency Reports During Deportations” which you can use to report any emergency incidents.

Note that this should not replace telephone calls, sms and other traditional means of communication we have at our disposal.

• 3 categories of permits were considered by the Department:

-          Business Permits

-          Study Permits

-          Work Permits

• Relaxed requirements and shortened process were implemented in December 2010 to document Zimbabweans with a target date of 31 December 2011 for receiving applications.
• These relaxed requirements allowed for the applications to be submitted without all the relevant supporting documents and without the taking of fingerprints.
• During December 2010, applications were also received from the Zimbabwean Consulate, identified NGO’s and farmers to ensure achievement of the set target date.
• The milestone of 31 December 2010 was closed with a total number of 275 762 received applications.
• After 31 December 2010 all applications were dispatched to Head Office regardless of availability of supporting documents.

Matters to be taken forward:

The following critical matters are being taken forward:

• Re-instatement of the teleconferences (so can work with various offices on a daily basis). This should improve compliance issues from Frontline Offices.
• Continuation of the DHA SMS’s to notify Zimbabwean applicants to submit outstanding supporting documentation and fingerprints.
• Matching SMS responses to the applications and verification/validation of compliance in order to issue permits.
• Zimbabwean stakeholders forum meeting is scheduled for the 19 September (postponed to next week) to mobilize applicants to respond to SMS’s and to submit outstanding documents and take fingerprints.
• The Amnesty applications and intention to surrender asylum will receive attention. Applicants who applied for Amnesty are contacting the Department to ensure that the Amnesty confirmation forms are completed (so can legalise their stay).
• Over the next two weeks, clients whose pre-adjudicated forms have been matched with submitted supporting documents will be issued with permits.

Phasing out of the ZDP:

• All incomplete applications dispatched to Head Office are sorted according to the following criteria. However, final verification of the numbers will be confirmed after final capturing in a Master Control List.

-          Applicants who applied using other Zimbabwean identification such as Identity Documents, Birth Certificates, Drivers Licences or expired Zimbabwean Passports.

-          Applicants that applied with no supporting documents.

-          Complete applications with only fingerprints outstanding.

• The details of applicants awaiting Zimbabwean Passports and applicants without documents have already been provided electronically to the Zimbabwean Consulate.
• Discussion with financial institutions took place in respect if applicants who applied for amnesty.
• Engagement with Department of Transport on the issue of verifications for Drivers Licences. This Department should also be provided with access to the online verification database.
• Development and testing of the DHA SMS’s finalise and activated from the 4^th April 2011.

Statistics

A total of 116 960 incomplete applications were sorted according to the following sorting criteria:

The final closing report will be presented to the Minister at the end of September, so all Zimbabweans need to respond to their sms’s before this time to ensure they submit their outstanding documents.

The DHA is still looking at extending the dispensation process to other nationalities. A decision on the way forward will be made at the end of the ZDP process.

Monitoring deportations:

1. What is an emergency?

In the context of deportations, an emergency could be considered as a situation that threatens people‘s safety and security, health, and social stability. Such situations require an immediate action and a momentous coordinated response.

2. Who could be vulnerable?

i. Pregnant women

ii. Children (especially unaccompanied minors)

iii. Elderly people

iv. Disabled persons

v. Mentally challenged persons

vi. Sick people, including persons Living with HIV/AIDS

vii. People with valid documentation, including recognised refugees and asylum seekers   being arrested and deported without verification of their status.

3. How we could help: Planning for a coordinated response

There is need to specify the tasks to be performed by all organisations that are likely to be involved in emergency interventions. This would provide a better coordination of services.

For a better coordination of services, organisations would do well to form task teams according to their main areas of intervention such as:

• Law based entities
• Health practitioners
• Child based organizations
• Humanitarian or relief organisations
• Human rights advocacy based organisations
• Faith based organisations
• Psychosocial support based organisations

4. How/where to report emergency cases

For a better, faster and coordinated reporting of emergency cases, CoRMSA would like to recommend the network to use SA Emergency: http://saemergency.net/

How does this link work? Click on the link above and register with SA Emergency. After you have registered, log in with your email address and select ―Join a new group under Groups option. Different groups will be displayed and you have to click ―Emergency Reports During Deportations which you can use to report any emergency incidents.

Note that this should not replace telephone calls, sms, emails and any other traditional means of communication we have at our disposal.

You can also download PDF documents of the Responding to Mass Deportations and Promoting Protection during the Resumption of Deportation of  Zimbabweans by the Protection Working Group.