Botswanan president urges solution to Africa's refugee problem

Africa’s massive refugee crisis should shame the world, visiting Botswanan President Festus Mogae said on Thursday, calling for an urgent rescue plan. In an impassioned speech at the headquarters of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Mogae said the continent’s refugees constituted a "human tragedy".

He said the AU, which represents 53 African nations, should place refugees high on the agenda of its summit due to convene in Addis Ababa in July and devise a master plan to resolve the crisis.

There are 4.5 million African refugees around the world, many of whom fled to avoid the continent's many wars and widespread poverty. A further 12 million Africans are internally displaced persons (IDPs).

"Africa is the largest producer of refugees," Mogae said. "Given the magnitude of this problem, we as Africans have a moral obligation to be proactive in seeking solutions to this human tragedy, which is an embarrassment to us all."

The largest group of African refugees comprises the 500,000 Sudanese who have fled a bitter 20-year civil war and are mainly living in camps in neighbouring countries. Sudan also has the world’s largest number of IDPs - 4 million.

According to UNHCR, many refugees would be able to return home if the bloody conflicts on the war-ravaged continent ended. David Lambo, the head of the UNHCR's department dealing with African refugees, said at a recent press conference in Geneva that UNHCR was "in sight of the day" when millions would be able to return. Up to 2 million could begin returning to their own countries within three to five years, he added.

Mogae, who ended a four-day state visit to Ethiopia on Thursday, also addressed the HIV/AIDS pandemic. "We must be honest in acknowledging that HIV/AIDS at present is an African disease," he told diplomats and UN officials. "The time to act to save the continent was yesterday," he warned. "We must admit that we were very slow in responding to this dreadful disease."

Focusing on the need to enhance transparency and democracy on the continent, Mogae asserted that accountability and democracy were no longer "the reserve of the few". "Our people are entitled to good governance, and to have a say in matters that affect their lives," he said, "not because someone outside Africa says so, but because it is their right."

He urged rich nations to play their part, calling for debt relief and new trade talks following the collapse of the Cancun meeting. "Rich nations can no longer afford to stand by the sidelines and watch the deteriorating economic situation in the developing world," he concluded.