National Conference on Movement Building for Migrant Rights in South Africa

The African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS) at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA) hosted a National Conference on Movement Building for Migrant Rights in South Africa on 27 November 2025 in Johannesburg.

This gathering brought together civil society organisations, migrant-led groups, and sector leaders to strengthen collective strategies and responses to the growing threats facing migrants and refugees.

Key takeaways shaping this conversation:
– South Africa’s migrant-rights sector is working in a context of deepening inequality, austerity, and declining public services, fuelling xenophobic politics and securitised migration reforms.
– While the Constitution guarantees human rights for all, migrants continue to face bureaucratic obstacles, documentation delays, inconsistent treatment, and violence that makes their rights difficult to exercise in practice.
– Vigilante groups, anti-migrant campaigns, and exclusionary policies further erode migrants’ safety and access to justice.
– Despite limited resources and fragmented networks, civil society, migrant-led organisations, and community activists remain committed to building solidarity and a unified migrant-rights movement.
– Strengthening coalitions is essential to resisting xenophobia and ensuring that rights are realised in lived experience, not only on paper.