AFRICA: Refugees' situation

Africa has the highest number of refugees in the world, the head of the UNHCR Bureau for Africa told a media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday. Albert-Alain Peters said Africa has eight million refugees, two million of whom are from the wars in the Horn of Africa, including Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan. "This situation is putting a lot of strain on infrastructures and facilities of the countries that are hosting the refugees," Peters said. He said the refugees' situation is a direct result of political problems in their respective countries. "This situation therefore requires political solutions," he said. He further said there had, however, been encouraging resolution of conflicts whereby refugees have returned to their countries. These include Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa in Southern Africa and Togo in West Africa. Peters expressed concern that the outbreak of a refugee crisis in Belgrade might force European countries, who are the major donors of aid to UNHCR, to redirect their support to their own over the plight of African refugees. "We need to emphasise to our African governments to increase their material support to the cause of refugees in the continent." He added that countries like Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia and Namibia, among others, have regularly contributed to the coffers of the UNHCR.