Security concerns for Rwandan refugees

The mixing of Rwandan and Burundian refugees, and the open nature of refugee camps in Tanzania, give cause for concern, the Tripartite Commission for the Voluntary Repatriation of Refugees from Tanzania warned following its meeting on Friday.

Participants in the meeting had recognised that the presence of non-registered refugees in camps was also a cause for concern, and had agreed that camp officials must heighten their state of vigilance in the facility. Disciplinary measures would be taken against those who breached the law, the commission said.

Tanzanian and Rwandan government representatives are to travel to the camps to encourage the voluntary repatriation of an estimated 24,400 refugees who fled Rwanda in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, in which the Rwandan government says Hutu extremists killed at least one million Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus.

As part of a pilot project, the commission said, photographs will be taken of each refugee willing to return, in order to avoid "recycling". At the suggestion of the Rwandan and Tanzanian governments, it was also decided that Tanzania would review the current status of all Rwandan refugees in Tanzania, to determine which of them qualified for refugee status.

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has agreed to aid the repatriation of any refugee wishing to return to Rwanda. The UN agency also asked for more time to prepare information on procedures for the reunification of unaccompanied minors with their parents in Rwanda.

The next meeting of the Commission will be held in March.