The nexus between migration and human security: Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa

In this paper the human security implications that accompany the unregulated movement of people are teased out.

The links between migration and security are increasingly being highlighted in current public discourse. Within the Southern African context the migration of Zimbabweans to other countries in the region, particularly South Africa, has been a source of tension.

In this paper the human security implications that accompany the unregulated movement of people are teased out. It reflects on the experiences of undocumented Zimbabwean migrants who are residing in South Africa and highlights their vulnerabilities, exploitation and abuse as a result of their lack of proper documentation. It thus inverts the current view of migrants as a source of insecurity to one that shows that they, too (and maybe more so), are subject to a life of insecurity.

It is against this background that the author calls for the implementation of The Free Movement of Persons Protocol by the Southern African Development Community. This protocol will reduce illegal border crossings and in so doing provide both host countries and the migrants themselves with better recourse to the legal system and hence greater human security.

About the author

At the time of writing this paper, Aquilina Mawadza was a researcher with the Regional Programme of the Institute of Security Studies. She studied history and linguistics at the University of Zimbabwe and the University of Florida in Gainesville, USA.