Conference on refugees, IDPs scheduled for Bujumbura

A sub-regional conference on refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the central African region is due to be held from 14 to 16 August in Bujumbura. The meeting, convened by the UN’s Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa, will be followed by the committee’s 14th ministerial meeting which will also be held in Burundi from 17 to 19 August. A statement from the UN’s department of disarmament said the decision to hold the conference followed the committee’s frustrations with the persistence and escalation of the problem of refugees and IDPs in the central African region, despite previous efforts by the OAU and UNHCR to address this problem in Africa, particularly the Great lakes region. The conference is aimed at sensitising the international community to the “ever-growing” problem of refugees and IDPs in the sub-region and seek international assistance to address it. The conference will cover issues such as the causes and consequences of massive population displacement in the central African region, the magnitude of the phenomenon, difficulties, constraints and the problems of recognition, integration and repatriation. It will also discuss problems specific to women and child refugees and IDPs, a legal and institutional framework for the protection of refugees and IDPs, as well as measures that can be taken at national, regional and international levels to address the problem. It is hoped that the conference will culminate with the adoption of a plan of action and programme of assistance for the sub-region. The ministerial meeting will discuss the current geopolitical and security situation in Central Africa, inter-state cooperation for peace and security, among other issues.