This study examines the reintegration of South African political returnees into
South African society from a sociological perspective after the unbanning of the
African National Congress (ANC), South African Communist Party (SACP) and
the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) in 1990. It specifically looks at the role of
liberation movements, government, the International Organization For
Migration (10M), the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees
(UNHCR) and the South African Council of Churches (SACC) in the pre- and
post- 1994 period.
This study contends that for refugee reintegration to succeed, primary
prerequisites include a relatively good and sustainable economy and, most
significantly, positive governmental intervention. A central argument of the
study is that the ANC-Ied government has played a significant role in the
repatriation and long-term reintegration of political returnees. Of significance is
the economic dimension of this process since it facilitates reintegration at the
social level. The assessment of the role of the ANC-Ied government in the
political returnee reintegration process is undertaken primarily through the
Special Pension and Demobilization Acts of 1996 which constitute the focal point
of analysis of this study.
The findings of this research are that the International Organization For
Migration, the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees, the African
National Congress, the Pan Africanist Congress, the South African Communist
Party and the South African Council of Churches played a significant role in the
repatriation and early reintegration of political returnees in South Africa in the
pre-independence phase. In the post-independence period, the ANC led
government played an important role in long-term reintegration through
legislative means, namely, the Special Pension and Demobilization Acts of 1996.
The recommendations of the study are that the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees should continue conducting large scale political
refugee repatriations because of its expertise in international repatriation,
programmes and processes of this magnitude. More research on the long-term
socio-economic implications of the refugee reintegration process needs to be
conducted in view of the fact that this area of study has not been sufficiently
problematized. Finally, from a policy perspective, there is a need for
governments with returning refugee populations to be more proactive in
addressing this problem through legislative measures. / Sociology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/3335 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Ncala, Nokwanda Hazel |
| Contributors | Molamu, Louis, Allais, Carol |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (vii, 193 leaves) |
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