South Africa: The Zimbabwean documentation process: lessons learned

Between 20 September and 31 December 2010, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) carried out the Zimbabwe Documentation Process (ZDP). In the period leading up to the documentation process, civil society organisations began voicing concerns about the short timeline provided and the management of the process. These concerns continued as the process got underway. In light of these concerns, and in order to identify any obstacles as they emerged, the African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS) – formerly the Forced Migration Studies Programme – began sending researchers to observe the situation. The findings from this monitoring provide a picture of how the process worked and highlight important problem areas. This report presents the key lessons learned, with suggestions for carrying out future regularisation measures.