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As xenophobic violence intensifies across South Africa’s major cities, international human rights scholar Prof. Uchenna Emelonye has called on the Nigerian government, ECOWAS, and civil society organisations to escalate their advocacy against what he terms a “systematic infringement” on fundamental rights.
Prof. Emelonye, the Chief Executive Officer of AfriRIGHTS and a scholar at Bournemouth University, United Kingdom, in a press statement described the ongoing attacks as a gross violation of international, regional, and domestic human rights laws.
The former United Nations Senior Human Rights envoy said the violence should not be viewed as mere civil unrest.
”These are not isolated incidents of public disorder; they represent systematic infringements on the fundamental rights of African migrants, including Nigerians, who are lawfully resident in the country,” Emelonye stated.
He detailed a breakdown of the legal violations occurring:
Right to life: Violated through targeted killings and physical assaults.
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Right to dignity: Compromised by discrimination based solely on national origin.
Right to property: Breached through the widespread looting and destruction of migrant-owned businesses.
Right to movement: Undermined by “constructive expulsion,” where violence forces the displacement of residents.
The Professor urged the Nigerian government to treat the protection of its citizens abroad as a “core sovereign responsibility” rather than a discretionary act, as he proposed a four-point response plan: Deployment of rapid-response consular teams.
High-level diplomatic engagement with South African authorities.
Legal and financial compensation support for victims.
Activation of regional accountability mechanisms through ECOWAS and the African Union.
”The vision of continental integration cannot coexist with a reality in which Africans are hunted, displaced, and dehumanized within Africa itself,” Emelonye warned.
His call comes amidst a grim month of violence. Recent reports confirm the deaths of two Nigerian citizens—Amaramiro Emmanuel and Ekpenyong Andrew—alongside the displacement of dozens more and the wholesale destruction of foreign-owned livelihoods.
