REFUGEES RETURNING, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS EXPELLED;

UNCLAS DAR ES SALAAM 001469

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

KAMPALA FOR REGIONAL REFUGEE COORDINATOR; AF/E FOR BYODER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV TZ
SUBJECT: REFUGEES RETURNING, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS EXPELLED;
TANZANIA'S REFUGEE UPDATE AUGUST 2006


1. (U) UNHCR assisted 5,511 Burundian refugees to
repatriate from August 1 to 22. This marked increase from
previous months is attributed to the promotion of voluntary
repatriation as well as to the season for planting and the
beginning of the school year. Two returns to the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) are planned for the week of
August 28 after a hold on repatriation due to the DRC
elections on July 30. Future repatriation to eastern DRC may
be problematic, depending on reactions to election results,
but will be helped by the addition of pontoons at Kigoma
pier. UNHCR signed a contract August 24 for two pontoons,
funded through contributions from an appeal and the UNHCR
budget for repatriation to DRC; the installation of the
pontoons is expected to be completed in November. With 18
new arrivals from Burundi and 18 from the DRC, Tanzania is
host to 323,000 refugees (181,200 Burundians, 136,500
Congolese, 2,700 Somalis and 2,600 others) in the Kagera,
Kigoma and Tanga regions.


2. (U) UNHCR expressed concern to the Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA),home to both the Refugee and Immigration
Departments, regarding the expulsion of approximately 600
Burundians. Media reports, which often confuse the terms
"illegal immigrant" and "refugee" said that the group of men,
women and children had been living in Tanzania villages for
more than two decades. MHA confirmed that those expelled
were not refugees but had been living in villages without
documents authorizing their stay. UNHCR expressed concern
about the human rights aspects of the expulsion, including
family separation, as some of those expelled are married to
Tanzanians. MHA added that the expulsions were part of a
nation-wide directive and that the refugee areas were not
being targeted. UNHCR did not know whether the Tanzanian
authorities notified their Burundian counterparts in advance
so that they could be ready to receive the Burundians. The
Director of the World Food Program (WFP) noted the expulsions
came at an inopportune time as good relations with
authorities in both Tanzania and Burundi are needed for
repatriation.


3. (U) Representatives from UNHCR, MHA and the Ministry of
Labour will meet August 29-30 in order to review the Refugee
Act. Refugee employment is a specific agenda topic.


4. (U) The WFP has experienced some difficulty getting food
from Dar es Salaam to western Tanzania, the DRC and Burundi.
In order to alleviate some of that difficulty, WFP has leased
locomotives to reinforce temporarily the capacity of the
Tanzania Railway Corporation.
RETZER