South Africa still had a long way to go toward reconciliation, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Reconciliation Day celebrations at the Amphitheatre in Freedom Park, Pretoria, Zuma said the country still had a long way to go to get rid of racism, xenophobia and other "social ills".
"Let me emphasise that in this era of promoting renewal, we must promote the values of non-racialism, reconciliation and non-sexism among all our people, black and white," he said.
Zuma said the government was outraged by the reports of ill-treatment of foreign nationals in some parts of the country.
"Such attacks go against the spirit and letter of our Constitution and our track record of respecting human rights and promoting dignity," he said.
"There needs to be an improved understanding of the plight of refugees in particular, and their reasons for being in our country."
He said there needed to be an understanding that not all foreign nationals were in South Africa illegally.
"Legal immigrants contribute constructively to the economic and social development of our country," he said.
"Let us embrace especially our African brothers and sisters, who usually bear the brunt of ill-treatment more than foreigners from other continents."
He said the Department of Home Affairs was formulating a migration policy that will enable foreign nationals to be treated in a more humane manner.
Speaking at the Reconciliation Day celebrations at the Amphitheatre in Freedom Park, Pretoria, Zuma said the country still had a long way to go to get rid of racism, xenophobia and other "social ills".
"Let me emphasise that in this era of promoting renewal, we must promote the values of non-racialism, reconciliation and non-sexism among all our people, black and white," he said.
Zuma said the government was outraged by the reports of ill-treatment of foreign nationals in some parts of the country.
"Such attacks go against the spirit and letter of our Constitution and our track record of respecting human rights and promoting dignity," he said.
"There needs to be an improved understanding of the plight of refugees in particular, and their reasons for being in our country."
He said there needed to be an understanding that not all foreign nationals were in South Africa illegally.
"Legal immigrants contribute constructively to the economic and social development of our country," he said.
"Let us embrace especially our African brothers and sisters, who usually bear the brunt of ill-treatment more than foreigners from other continents."
He said the Department of Home Affairs was formulating a migration policy that will enable foreign nationals to be treated in a more humane manner.
