The US restricts visas for South African officials over alleged anti-white discrimination, citing concerns about equal treatment and human rights
The United States has imposed visa restrictions on individuals it accuses of promoting discrimination against South Africa’s white minority, further escalating tensions between Washington and Pretoria.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the restrictions on Tuesday, saying the South African government had failed to adequately address concerns previously raised by Washington over racial inequality.
Rubio said the measures would apply to people who promote “race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation in South Africa.”
He did not immediately identify anyone affected by the restrictions.
The Trump administration has repeatedly criticised South Africa over policies intended to address racial inequality, arguing that some of them discriminate against Afrikaners, who are mainly descendants of Dutch and French settlers.
South Africa has consistently rejected that accusation and denied claims that it is persecuting white people or seeking to confiscate their land.
The latest restrictions come after relations between the two countries deteriorated following President Donald Trump’s return to office early last year.
Trump has cut US aid to South Africa, expelled the country’s ambassador and offered refuge to white South Africans fleeing what his administration described as persecution.
South Africa has also rejected allegations of a “white genocide”, saying such claims have been widely discredited and lack reliable evidence.
The country’s latest crime statistics do not indicate that white people have been victims of violent crime at higher rates than other racial groups.
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 law permits the state to seize property in the public interest and provides for situations in which compensation may be set at zero. However, authorities are generally required to first attempt to reach an agreement with property owners, while disputes can be challenged in court.
Land ownership remains a highly sensitive issue in South Africa more than three decades after apartheid, when the black majority was dispossessed of land and denied many basic rights.
The South African government says land reform is necessary to address those historical inequalities and maintains that the legislation does not allow arbitrary seizures.
White South Africans own most private farmland despite making up just over 7% of the country’s population.
In a separate social media post on Tuesday, Rubio accused the South African government of pursuing “racial grievance against the Afrikaner minority”.
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 will not allow such behaviour to go unchecked,” Rubio said, adding that the actions targeted by the policy undermined “peace, economic stability and the rule of law.”
The South African government has yet to respond to the new restrictions.
The US embassy in Pretoria said Washington believed dialogue with South Africa had run its course and accused Pretoria of failing to demonstrate a commitment to strong bilateral relations.
It described the visa restrictions as the beginning of further action, saying: “This visa restriction policy is only the first step in a series of escalatory measures that will show America’s firm resolve in this matter.”
South Africa has made several attempts to ease tensions with Washington. Ramaphosa travelled to the White House last May with a large delegation that included white members of his coalition government as well as prominent white South African golfers.
The meeting, however, was disrupted by Trump’s claims that white South African farmers were being killed and persecuted, allegations for which evidence presented at the meeting was subsequently widely discredited.
Efforts to repair relations have continued to face setbacks. In August, South African exports to the US were hit with 30% tariffs, the highest rate imposed on a sub-Saharan African country.
The latest visa restrictions were imposed under a provision of US immigration law that allows the secretary of state to bar foreign nationals whose entry is considered potentially harmful to US foreign policy interests.