Johannesburg, Jan 23 (IANS): The South African government Thursday criticised the Human Rights Watch report on the country.

"Our statistics on asylum seekers and registration of refugees indicates that South Africa is fully responsive to human rights obligations," Xinhua quoted Minister of Home Affairs Naledi Pandor as saying.

"We are in the main a country that welcomes those who seek refuge and offers them protection," she added.

The Human Rights Watch World Report 2014 released Tuesday warned that South African human rights were taking a turn for the worse and claimed the country was becoming more hostile to foreigners.

Admitting that the country has “worrying incidents of attacks against foreign nationals and xenophobia and these have to be challenged and addressed by our country," Pandor said: "It would be difficult to find a country in the UN that is as welcoming as our country."

On Tuesday, the Department of Police also slammed the Human Rights Watch report on South Africa, saying it is "subjective" in the assessment of the country's police.