A/HRC/17/33/Add.4 permits to work, study and or conduct business. However, the deadline for application for these special permits was 31 December 2010. The relatively short period of time that the Zimbabweans were given to apply for this dispensation, combined with additional requirements of a Zimbabwean passport and support for the application from the employer, educational institute or proof of registration of business7 made it difficult for them to apply in time. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Zimbabwe Documentation Process has witnessed shortfalls in its application and management, resulting in overly-high demands on Home Affairs offices and in deficiencies in the queuing and application system. The delays in the process and the brief period allocated to it seem to be the greatest obstacles encountered.8 40. The Special Rapporteur appreciates the fact that the Department of Home Affairs has attempted to simplify the documentation process, particularly for those who had good reason for not being able to apply by the deadline; he did, however, hear of complaints about the implementation and management processes of this initiative.9 By the time the shortcomings of the documentation process were discovered, many people had already returned to Zimbabwe to apply for passports, as the few Zimbabwean consulates were often unable to issue the required documentation. 41. These shortcomings highlight the absence of a clear and comprehensive immigration policy applicable to all foreign nationals in the country, covering all categories of migrants. Such a policy would also need to create and maintain the necessary conditions for the successful integration of migrants into South African society. 42. In order to achieve such a comprehensive policy, covering the flow of labour migration and with a human rights-based approach, a regional approach could be developed with SADC member States. 43. The absence of a comprehensive immigration policy with regard to labour demands was also illustrated in 2008 and 2009, during the violent anti-foreigner riots that took place throughout the country. The tensions were fuelled by the economic crisis, which affected the most vulnerable, and the fierce competition for employment between South African nationals and foreigners, who were seen as “stealing” the few jobs available by accepting lower wages and poor working conditions. In other areas, riots were reported in townships where foreign nationals had established small businesses with highly competitive practices, often driving their South African competitors out of business. 44. The Special Rapporteur was informed of the violence that took place in late 2009 in the De Doorns and Worcester communities in the municipality of Breede Valley (Western Cape), where many migrant workers were employed by contractors in the agriculture industry, often at wages and conditions in conflict with labour laws. The Special Rapporteur, who visited the region and met with the municipal authorities, was informed that, at the height of the violence, an estimated 3,000 migrant workers, mostly from Zimbabwe, had to be displaced for their own safety.10 Although at the time of the visit the situation was again calm, the tension remained and the municipal authorities had difficulties 7 8 9 10 Submission to the Special Rapporteur on the rights of migrants during his visit to South Africa, January 2011, Lawyers for Human Rights. African Centre for Migration and Society, press release on the fairness of the Zimbabwe documentation process, 25 January 2011. Roni Amit, The Zimbabwean Documentation Process: Lessons Learned, University of the Witwatersrand, African Centre for Migration & Society, January 2011. Violence, Labour and the Displacement of Zimbabweans in De Doorns, Western Cape, Migration Issue Brief 2, University of the Witwatersrand, Forced Migration Studies Programme, December 2009. 11