Gaps in protection: undocumented Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa

This paper sets out to explore the position of undocumented migrants in South Africa from the perspective of three areas or frameworks: the current debates in refugee and forced migration studies about whether refugee studies should remain a separate field of study ; the ways in which undocumented migrants, though in theory protected by the human rights framework are in fact falling outside of any protection disempowering them and leaving them vulnerable; how structural barriers within South Africa as a receiving country impact on undocumented migrants both in terms of their position within that country but also on their transnational capacities which will impact on the wellbeing of families in Zimbabwe subjecting them to greater poverty and fewer options for mobility.