Section 3(b) of South Africa's Refugees Act, which substantially reproduces the expanded refugee definition from the Organisation of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (OAU Convention), accepts the refugee status of a person who, owing to 'events seriously disturbing public order in either a part or the whole of his or her country of origin or nationality, is compelled to leave his or her place of habitual residence in order to seek refuge in another place outside his or her country of origin or nationality'. This article argues that socio-economic factors should be taken into account in assessing such refugee claims, in relation to the 'events seriously disturbing public order' and the compulsion to leave. The argument is based upon a consideration of South Africa's constitutional and international human rights commitments, its post-apartheid role within the international community and its legitimate policy concerns, as well as conceptual objections to the traditional dichotomy between refugees and economic migrants. In light of these considerations, the article then proposes an analytical framework for assessing this type of s. 3(b) refugee claim. Finally, this proposed framework is tested against fictional case studies set in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. These case studies further undermine the traditional refugee/migrant dichotomy and suggest that the proposed framework is manageable, rights-regarding and restricted on principled grounds. It is hoped that the proposed analytical framework can provide a coherent and practical way forward in South African refugee law that recognizes the universality and indivisibility of fundamental human rights. Further, given the growing international consensus regarding the indivisibility of civil-political and socio-economic rights, this article may inform debates about the treatment of socio-economic rights deprivations in refugee law beyond South Africa and the OAU Convention. © The Author (2009). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

[No Keywords available]

national identity immigration policy policy approach socioeconomic status Africa refugee Sub-Saharan Africa post-apartheid socioeconomic impact human rights South Africa Southern Africa analytical framework