By Rex Mphisa
THE International Organisation For Migration does not subscribe to, nor support deportations as these infringe on those affected’s dignities and engagements are ongoing to have that only as a last resort, IOM head of station at Beitbridge Nhamo Muleya has said.
“We are in the process of engaging stakeholders on the issue because deportations take away human dignity and should be used as a last resort,” Muleya said.
“We support assisted or voluntary return of people to their home countries. Just like what happened recently when many people were assisted to return from South Africa. It gives dignity to migrants. People should be given dignified returns,” he said.
Muleya was addressing journalists attending a three day workshop on ethical reporting on issues concerning migrants.
The journalists were drawn from Media houses based in Beitbridge where migration is highly active.
Daily reporters witness hordes of people forcibly removed from South Africa and these include children and unaccompanied children.
Tens of thousands of Zimbabwean nationals were affected and displaced by the anti-immigrant campaigns and protests led by the March and March movement in South Africa, with over 174,000 citizens returning to Zimbabwe either independently or through government-assisted repatriation by September 2026.
Some of these were just bundled and put into vehicles which was traumatic.
Muleya in his introductory remarks said it is important for journalists to understand terminologies used in migration.
He said migration is everywhere and not a problem to be solved but a reality to be managed, made safe and live with.
Internationally IOM explicitly opposes participating in or supporting involuntary returns, stating that its official mandate strictly limits its operations to safe, orderly, and dignified migration.
The IOM emphasises that forced removals run counter to its core institutional principles.