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UN concerned over ‘voluntariness’ of Burundians repatriating from Tanzania

UN concerned over ‘voluntariness’ of Burundians repatriating from Tanzania

Returnees at Nyabitare transit centre in Burundi
With the number of Burundians returning home from Tanzania having rising over the last few weeks, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today voiced concern that the repatriations have not been fully voluntary.

With the number of Burundians returning home from Tanzania having rising over the last few weeks, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today voiced concern that the repatriations have not been fully voluntary.

“Returning refugees cite the declining levels of assistance as one of the major reasons for return,” UNHCR spokesperson Peter Kessler said in Geneva. “Others lament new measures imposed by local authorities which restrict their movements and now confine them to the camps.”

Before the restrictions, refugees were able to move freely within a 4-kilometre radius of the camps, and many used this opportunity to cultivate crops or engage in other activities to supplement their food and other needs, Mr. Kessler stated.

He added that many of the total 350,000 Burundian refugees in Tanzania’s refugee camps who normally supplement their food by going out to work in nearby farms are now wholly dependent on food rations, which were halved at the beginning of the year because of shortages, worsening their burden.

In other news, UNHCR reported a more enthusiastic response among refugees in Zambia to repatriate to Angola. More than 2,000 Angolans have registered under UNHCR’s phased voluntary repatriation programme set to start in two weeks. The gradual return – to be carried out over two years – would be to areas identified as having the essential facilities and environments that would make returns durable.

Zambia hosts an estimated 90,000 Angolans in camps and settlements and another 98,000 elsewhere, mainly in urban centres. They are among 440,000 Angolan refugees in Angola's neighbouring countries. UNHCR has noted a significant number of spontaneous returns since a ceasefire in Angola went into effect last year, ending 30 years of civil conflict.