Another 26,000 are expected to return to Angola in
2012 with the largest number of returnees over the two years coming
from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), currently host to more
than 111,000 Angolan refugees.
Although UNHCR’s large-scale voluntary repatriation operation
of Angolan refugees closed in 2007, about 146,000 Angolan refugees
in total remain in Botswana, the DRC, the Republic of Congo (ROC),
Namibia and Zambia, nearly 10 years after the end of Angola’s
brutal civil war.
Many of the refugees in the DRC and Zambia are still living in
camps and dependent on humanitarian assistance for survival.
They, and Angolan refugees in the other three host countries,
also cease to be refugees at the end of the year and should they
stay on, will become migrants instead.
With the five host countries and the Angolan government keen
to find durable solutions for the Angolan refugees, helping those
who want to return home provides a unique opportunity to bring
closure to one of the most protracted refugee situations in the
world.
Over the past few weeks, 124 refugees
from two camps in Zambia have already been assisted home by IOM and
UNHCR. Nearly 9,000 Angolans out of more than 25,000 in Zambia have
so far expressed a desire to return home.
UNHCR has already begun mass information campaigns and
go-and-see visits to enable refugees to make an informed decision
on returning to Angola.
The two organizations will work together on the operation
which includes assisting refugees obtain vital documentation, the
provision of medical screening, shelter and other humanitarian
assistance at way stations and transit centres in the host
countries.
IOM will transport the refugees and their belongings to Angola
by road or air, while in the DRC, it will also provide technical
support to immigration authorities at the main land border points
between the two countries.
The Organization, which has been asked by the Angolan
government to establish and operate transit and reception centres
in Angola for returning refugees, will also focus on the
rehabilitation of roads and the transportation of the refugees to
final destinations in Bengo, Cabinda, Huambo, Moxico, Uige and
Zaire provinces. IOM will also provide medical escort for
vulnerable individuals.
The Angolan Ministry for Social Welfare and Reintegration
(MINARS), which is coordinating the Angolan voluntary repatriation
operation with UNHCR and IOM, will provide returnees with social
reintegration kits. These include construction and agricultural
tools and items for income generating activities as well as a three
month food ration which IOM will distribute.
In addition to providing technical advice and support to the
Angolan government, UNHCR will monitor the returns, address any
protection issues that may occur, work with authorities on issuance
of civil documents and provide Portuguese language instruction to
refugees returning from the DRC, ROC and Zambia.
For further information, at IOM, please contact Jemini
Pandya, IOM Geneva, Tel: + 41 22 717 9486/+ 41 79 217 3374
Email: jpandya@iom.int or Jumbe
Omari Jumbe Tel: + 41 22 717 9405/+ 41 79 812 7734 Email:
jjumbe@iom.int
At UNHCR, Celine Schmitt, UNHCR DRC, Tel:
+243817009484 Email: Schmitt@unhcr.org or
Sybella Wilkes, UNHCR Geneva, +41 22 739 7968/ +41 79 557 9138
Email: wilkes@unhcr.org
