Agreement will pave the way for repatriation of Angolans

The process of repatriating Angolan refugees living in Botswana is to move forward with the signing of an agreement on the issue this week. Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos began a visit to Botswana on Tuesday, where "the relevant Botswanan and Angolan ministers will sign a repatriation agreement with UNHCR [the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees]", said UNHCR Botswana Representative Benny Otim. Officially, Otim told IRIN, about 850 Angolans classified as refugees are living in Botswana. "But there is indeed a larger number of Angolans in Botswana - some have been here for more than 20 years and a large number of them have already been naturalised [as citizens], while others are in the process of being naturalised. They will not want to go home," Otim noted. Once the repatriation agreement was signed, representatives of UNHCR, Angola and Botswana would form a commission to look at the logistics of taking people back to Angola. Otim said ensuring that people were returned in "safety and dignity" was of paramount concern. "As you know, some of these areas [in Angola] are heavily mined. We will have to focus on ensuring that when they (the refugees) get back they will not be hurt. The moment conditions on the ground are acceptable we will take them back into Angola." Otim noted that there were 450,000 refugees throughout the region, with the biggest concentration in Zambia. "So for us, returning the 800 or so refugees here is not going to be problematic". Further tripartite repatriation agreements need to be signed by UNHCR and those of Angola's neighbours still sheltering refugees. "For example, we hope to sign one with South Africa in the next few weeks," Otim added.