Refugee agency to support IDPs, returnees, Guterres says

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, and the European Union Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, ended a two-day visit to Burundi with a pledge to help the country reintegrate internally displaced people and repatriate refugees living outside the country "voluntarily and in dignity". They made their pledge on Saturday, when they met senior government officials after visiting a camp hosting Congolese refugees at Kinama in Gasorwe commune, in the northeastern province of Muyinga. "I came to witness your living conditions," Guterres told the nearly 8,500 Congolese refugees at Gasorwe. On their part, the refugees expressed their wish to return to their homeland, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), saying they were convinced security conditions there were improving. The refugees complained about the difficulty they had educating their children, as most refugee pupils who finished secondary school could not easily access university education. Instead, "they indulge in delinquency and sexual activity for want of income-generating activities," one refugee said. Guterres said he was aware of the challenges faced by families who were forced to live as refugees. "The UNHCR [UN refugee agency] will do everything possible to help settle the refugees' problems," he said. UNHCR will continue to repatriate refugees with support from the European Union. Guterres raised the issue of repatriation during an audience with First Vice-President Martin Nduwimana and affirmed that his agency was committed to ensuring the dignity and protection of returning refugees. He also stressed the need for Burundi to have capacity to absorb a great number of returnees and to integrate them "harmoniously". Françoise Ngendahayo, the minister for solidarity who accompanied Guterres and Michel on their visit, expressed Burundi's "commitment and readiness to support refugees and to ensure their security, as well as to respect the principle of voluntary repatriation and ensure their dignity." On Saturday, Michel met President Pierre Nkurunziza to discuss the boosting of cooperation between Burundi and the EU. "The European Union is happy with the progress Burundi has already made in democracy, despite some challenges," Michel told a news conference after the meeting. The EU would "soon" assist Burundi in relocating and resettling refugees and internally displaced people, he said. UNHCR has facilitated the repatriation of 4,300 Burundian refugees since the beginning of 2006. The agency said at least 50,000 refugees were expected to be repatriated by the end of this year.