Turning the tide of Africa’s refugees? : UNHCR’s Geneva conference on repatriation and reintegration

According to the discussion papers and introductory statements issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at the Dialogue on Voluntary Repatriation and Sustainable Reintegration in Africa held in Geneva on the 8 and 9 March, the tide is turning. Instead of refugees fleeing their land, they are preparing to return. According to the president of Refugees International, Ken Bacon, this is a "reversal of how people think of Africa and is a sign that conditions are getting better". UNHCR’s analysis is that for the first time in many years, successfully concluded and ongoing peace settlements are providing "an unprecedented opportunity to find solutions for a number of protracted refugee situations in Africa... and for up to 2 million persons over the next five years". Ruud Lubbers, The UN High Commissioner for refugees, opened the two-day international conference by expressing optimism that peace and conflict resolution initiatives in nine countries, these being Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Liberia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sierra Leone and Sudan, could enable several million refugees and IDPs to consider returning. In some cases, voluntary return has already been taking place in large numbers. According to UNHCR statistics, over 270,000 refugees returned to Sierra Leone over the last three years, leaving just 50,000 outside of the country. Since the peace agreements of 2002, in Angola, a total of 3.7 million IDPs and refugees have come home, despite nonexistent infrastructure, fragile government, weak socioeconomic conditions and widespread presence of landmines. A further 225,000 Angolan refugees wait in neighbouring countries. Where once there were 2 million Rwandans outside the country, only 60,000 await repatriation today. The largest number of refugees who could imminently return to their homelands are the 790,000 Burundians living in Tanzania, the 380,000 refugees from DRC living in a dozen countries, and 320,000 Liberians waiting in neighbouring countries for the creation of conditions - particularly of security - conducive to their return. However, Bjarte Vandvik, the director of the international department of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told IRIN that under current circumstances, "repatriation and reintegration might be attempted too fast". "We cannot repatriate if societies are not ready or do not have the capacity. Otherwise, they go back to what?" he asked. According to UNHCR reports, Sudan is an exceptional case, where not only are there over 3 million IDPs but over 600,000 Sudanese refugees continue to live both in and outside camps in Uganda, Ethiopia, DRC and Kenya. Refugee International told IRIN that Sudan exemplified a contradictory scenario with the ceasefire in the south having held well and peace talks inching towards a conclusion, while simultaneously a new war had flared up in the last 12 months in the western region of Darfur, serving to massively increase the numbers of refugees and IDPs.

A refugee checks for his name on the list of those to be repatriated Ndutu Refugee camp, Kibondo, Tanzania

At the Geneva meeting, representatives of 60 countries, including 35 African states, comprising senior government officials, donor states and international organisations, discussed how they could cooperate on tackling the formidable obstacles facing the repatriation and reintegration of refugees. Delphine Marie, a UNHCR spokeswoman for Africa, told IRIN that the number and seniority of the participants in the meeting represented "an important sign of interest and consensus around the necessity to seize the opportunity to assist reintegration in Africa". Delegates noted that in fragile postwar situations, failure to achieve socioeconomic reintegration and the effective resolution of the original root causes of conflict could incur the risk of renewed conflict. In seeking durable solutions, representatives needed to examine the imperatives relevant to the creation of conducive socioeconomic conditions and grass-roots development, as well as those applying to security, respect for human rights, rule of law and good governance. Bacon told IRIN that despite this having been an important conference, any note of caution was completely justified, adding that "a World Bank report recently showed that globally 50 percent of all civil wars restart within 10 years of peace agreements". Bacon noted that one of the most positive aspects now obtaining was that "Africans are taking more responsibility themselves. They see that a country at civil war infects surrounding countries as well, and so African leaders themselves are becoming more interested in working towards peace and stability." Summing up the recommendations and conclusions of the conference, the chairman, Rudd Lubbers, stressed the complexity of the challenges facing returnees in the form of the massive socioeconomic and political needs facing all the nine African countries highlighted. An integrated approach by all the stakeholders in an unprecedented collaborative alliance was regarded as essential to achieving concrete results on the ground. For UNHCR, the lead agency mandated to offer protection and assistance to IDPs and refugees, the need to support returnee populations is epitomised in its emphasis of on what it terms as "the four Rs" of its country programmes: repatriation, reintegration, rehabilitation and reconstruction. However, despite the agency’s long-standing concern for reintegration, Marie noted that "UNHCR has a limited mandate: we need widespread agreement that the preconditions for return need to be addressed".

Children climb off trucks onto home soil for the first time in their lives Gisuru Transit centre, Eastern Burundi

The immediate outcome of the meeting was the establishment of a high-level working group (HLWG) comprising representatives of governments, the United Nations, the African Union and other partners, who will work with UNHCR to develop a comprehensive strategy of support for relevant countries. Asked if UNHCR had expected a more concrete outcome from the conference, Marie replied that this was the start of a new process set to continue for some years. "We are trying to play a catalyst role with all the actors," she told IRIN, "to build a consensus on which we can build." A follow-up meeting is scheduled for the end of April to address some reservations from various European governments concerning the establishment of another HLWG with an as-yet-uncertain mandate and terms of reference. The challenges facing successful return and reintegration of refugees and IDPs are recognised by all to be considerable. By seeking to address the issues holistically, representatives at the conference also focused on the need for durable solutions in other aspects of social, the economic and political life in affected countries. "By taking a comprehensive approach, the meeting may have led to a ‘shopping list’ of high ambitions," said Vandvik, who nonetheless found the conference positive, because it created a "broader political process where people are recognising the big return that is now taking place where previously there were protracted refugee situations". This article, which gives an overview of issues raised at the UNHCR-sponsored Geneva conference is accompanied by four country-based reports which illustrate the challenges linked to the return home of refugees and IDPs.

A special report on Burundi looks at various issues that need to be taken into consideration for Burundians living in Tanzania. 'TANZANIA: Special report on repatriation of Burundian refugees'.

'BURUNDI: Displaced in Bujumbura', highlights the problems faced by internally displaced people from Burundi’s Batwa (‘pygmy’) minority.

The plight of spontaneous returnees in Angola is the subject of 'ANGOLA: Spontaneous returnees facing difficult hurdles'.

An overview of the issues surrounding the repatriation of Rwandan and Sudanese refugees currently living in Uganda is dealt with in 'UGANDA: A refuge from civil wars'.