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US Limits Visas for South African Officials Over Discrimination Allegations
Confirmed
In Short: The US has imposed visa restrictions on South African officials accused of promoting discrimination against the country's white minority, escalating tensions between Washington and Pretoria.
The US has imposed visa restrictions on individuals accused of promoting discrimination against South Africa's white minority, citing concerns about equal treatment and human rights. The move follows an earlier executive order by President Trump expressing similar concerns.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the restrictions on Tuesday, stating that the South African government had failed to address Washington's concerns over racial inequality. The measures target officials responsible for 'race-based discrimination, incitement of violence, or enabling land confiscation without compensation in South Africa.
The dispute over land intensified after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed legislation allowing the government to expropriate land without compensation in rare circumstances. The US has previously cut aid to South Africa, expelled its ambassador, and offered refuge to white South Africans fleeing what it described as persecution.
South Africa has rejected allegations of a 'white genocide,' stating that such claims lack reliable evidence and have been widely discredited. The South African government has not adequately addressed the concerns raised by the US, according to Rubio.
What's confirmed
- “As stated in President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14204, 'Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa', the United States remains gravely concerned about racially motivated crime and government‑sponsored discrimination occurring against the Afrikaners and other minority populations in South Africa, including race‑based discriminatory legislation, threats of land expropriation without compensation, and incitement of racial violence through dehumanising chants and slogans,” Rubio said.
What's still developing
- He said officials responsible for what he described as injustices “have no place in the United States”, accusing Pretoria of failing to address Washington’s concerns over what the US calls “government-sponsored discrimination” against Afrikaners and other minorities.
- The United States (US) has announced new visa restrictions targeting foreign nationals it says are responsible for or complicit in South African laws and policies involving uncompensated land seizures, race‑based discrimination, and the incitement of imminent violence against minority groups.
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- Pretoria rejected allegations of systematic persecution of whites and defended its land reform programme as an effort to address inequalities inherited from apartheid.
- Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) party, however, insisted that the legislation is a milestone in its efforts to transform the country’s racially unequal economy, in which the white minority still owns most of the private farmland.