The initiative allowing the resettlement of members of the Afrikaner minority is a race-based policy, Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola has said<\/p>\n
South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola has denounced US President Donald Trump\u2019s program for resettling Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority in South Africa, as refugees, describing it as \u201cApartheid 2.0.\u201d
\nLamola made the remarks at an African Diaspora Forum in Washington, according to footage posted on Sunday by South Africa\u2019s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). The minister argued that the program gives preferential treatment to white South Africans while excluding other racial groups.
\n\u201cOnly white Afrikaners from South Africa are allowed to be refugees here. And all of you or any other race is not allowed. It\u2019s a race-based policy, which we call the Apartheid 2.0,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Trump vs. South Africa: Who is winning the clash over \u2018white genocide\u2019?<\/p>\n
The Democratic Alliance, the second-largest party in South Africa\u2019s coalition government, welcomed Lamola\u2019s condemnation and urged him to oppose race-based policies at home. It called for economic justice and opportunity \u201cwithout permanently reducing citizens to arbitrary racial categories.\u201d
\nAfrikaners are a predominantly white, Afrikaans-speaking ethnic group descended mainly from Dutch, German and French settlers who began arriving in southern Africa during the 17th century. Afrikaner-led governments instituted apartheid, the system of racial segregation that ended in 1994.
\nTrump established the resettlement initiative through an executive order signed in February 2025, alleging that Afrikaners faced state-sponsored racial discrimination, violence, and farmland confiscation under South Africa\u2019s Expropriation Act.<\/p>\n
There is no genocide against white people in South Africa. #UnityInDiversity #SouthAfrica@UbuntuRadioZA @GovernmentZA pic.twitter.com\/ROLKbFHqkD\u2014 DIRCO South Africa (@DIRCO_ZA) September 20, 2026 <\/p>\n
Pretoria has rejected the allegations, insisting that the legislation is intended to address land inequalities inherited from apartheid and that no private property has been confiscated under it.
\nTrump expanded the initiative in May 2026, raising the annual US refugee admissions ceiling from 7,500 to 17,500 and reserving the additional places for Afrikaners, citing an \u201cunforeseen emergency refugee situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
The blood of Soweto: When children confronted apartheid\u2019s guns<\/p>\n
AfriForum, which had lobbied Washington over alleged discrimination against Afrikaners, said it \u201cdoes not have information\u201d about the claimed emergency. The group said its priority was creating conditions that would allow Afrikaners to remain in South Africa. More than 13,000 South Africans have since been resettled in the US, according to State Department figures, even as Washington sharply restricted refugee arrivals from most other countries.
\nApplicants must establish past persecution or a credible fear of future persecution and undergo security screening. Dozens have reportedly received rejection notices that provide no detailed explanation and cannot be appealed. Cases examined through information requests included denials linked to criminal records and public-safety concerns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The initiative allowing the resettlement of members of the Afrikaner minority is a race-based policy, Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola has said South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola has denounced US…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38597,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t