Zimbabwe and South Africa assist Children on the Move
27 March 2024
Social Development to assist with children on the move this Easter at Beitbridge and Groblersbridge
In preparing for the Easter holiday, the Department of Social Development had its cross-border quarterly meeting with its counterparts from Zimbabwe yesterday 26 March 2024
This is to make sure that children moving between the two countries are protected as they move around the borders over this long weekend.
The department of social development is working closely with the Border Management Agency for the protection and care of children. The meeting that was attended by officials from Musina DSD, Vhembe DsD District Office, Limpopo Provincial Office and also National DSD, Red Cross and Save the Children.
The Zimbabwean Consular General’s Office in Johannesburg which is also assisting in verifying citizenship of the children before due documents are issued and the repatriation process is in place was also amongst the list of stakeholders who attended the meeting.
In the meeting it was agreed that the following should be strengthened namely:
1. referral mechanisms,
2. fast tracking of family tracing and re-unification and
3. after care and support post repatriation to the families to avoid recurrence of children crossing over again to South Africa.
Officials from the Department of Social Development will be on-site in Beitbridge and Groblersbridge over Easter to make sure that the processing of children is in accordance with the law.
The department of social development is obligated to make sure that all children within its boarders get the necessary care and protection.
South Africa is obligated through the Children’s Act, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNRC) and the African Charter on the rights and welfare of the child and any child found to be undocumented and/or unaccompanied must receive the necessary care and protection.
This includes a thorough assessment before they can be safely integrated with families in their home countries.
The Department of Social Development has a cross-boarder Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Zimbabwe and Lesotho, especially on children.
The MOU is about cooperation in relation to the provision of social services between the two countries.
In the realisation of this cooperation, there are cross-border meetings quarterly to discuss issues faced by unaccompanied and separated children on the move, seeking solutions and unblocking challenges that are in the best interest of the child.
The department of social development continues to engage the respective country authorities through the MoU to intensify their efforts during every holiday season to make sure all children are documented and accompanied before entry into South Africa.
The department works with international organisations like Save the Children and UNICEF to make sure that the rights of children on the move are protected.
UNICEF estimates that South Africa has the largest number of children on the move. The department will also send its officials who work in the Directorate of Trafficking in Person and Victim Empowerement Programme to highlight and prevent any person from being trafficked.
The department is the custodian of the Trafficking in Persons Act and leads Pillar 4 of the Gender Based Violence and Femicide National Strategic Plan. The Role of the Department of Social Development is the protection, care and support of victims of trafficking. Trafficking victims are accommodated soon after identification and receive psychosocial support with focus on dealing with the trauma they experienced during exploitation by traffickers.