UNHCR IMPATIENT WITH MOZAMBIQUE'S REFUGEE PROGRAM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000428

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TAGS: KCRM, PREF, PHUM, KWMN, SMIG, ELAB, KFRD, MZ
SUBJ: UNHCR IMPATIENT WITH MOZAMBIQUE'S REFUGEE PROGRAM


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1. (U) Summary: On March 20 the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) sponsored a two-day
retreat to work with the National Institute for the Aid of
Refugees (INAR),the Mozambican government office in charge
of refugee issues, to establish a strategic country plan
for 2007-2009. Invitees representing the donor community,
local and international NGOs, and government officials
gathered to discuss all relevant aspects of Mozambique's
refugee program. The retreat revealed UNHCR's impatience
with the GRM's stalled process of determining refugee
status, and raised a number of other questions. The
relatively comfortable, generous conditions at Mozambique's
Maratene camp appear to be luring refugees from central and
eastern Africa. The newly arrived head of UNHCR Mozambique,
Victoria Akyeampong, clearly has much work to do. End
Summary.

2. (U) The retreat began with Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs Eduardo Koloma's keynote speech addressing the major
strategic objectives of the GRM's refugee program, including
creating provincial offices for INAR (currently based in
Maputo),seeking training programs - including immigration
and law enforcement screening programs at key border posts -
for all officials involved in handling refugee issues,
supporting UNHCR's commitment to voluntary repatriation with
a particular focus on Rwandan refugees, improving refugee
identity document production, and reinforcing refugee rights
with an emphasis on unaccompanied minors.

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Budget Cuts
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3. (U) For their part, the Mozambican office of UNCHR
admitted to budget constraints this year (they expect to
only receive 80% of last year's budget),while faced with
increasing demands on services and resources. The new head
of UNHCR's Mozambique office, Victoria Akyeampong, appealed
to the audience to come up with innovative solutions on how
more could be done with less. She said current Mozambican
policy whereby refugees (even those without status) have
been receiving unlimited access to services at the Maratene
camp for years on end is simply untenable; she suggested a
compromise in which people asking for asylum or refugee
status would be given six months of unlimited support,
during which time the GRM would have to make a status
determination. Depending on the determination, the refugee
would be offered third-country resettlement, voluntary
repatriation, or local integration.

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UNHCR Unhappy Over Stalled Refugee Status Determinations
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4. (SBU) Several times during the retreat, heated debate was
followed by awkward silence. UNHCR was very critical of
Mozambique's currently paralyzed refugee status
determination (RSD) process, which has ground to a halt over
protracted bureaucratic stipulations and a lack of personnel
to carry them out. Example: not a single RSD decision was
made in calendar year 2005, leaving hundreds of refugees or
asylum seekers in limbo, and UNHCR along with other donors
providing food and services indefinitely.

5. (U) INAR officials explained the RSD process in detail.
INAR employs two people to conduct the initial interview
when refugees arrive at the camp. Dossiers on each person
are painstakingly put together by these two individuals and
then sent to Maputo for review by the Eligibility
Commission, an interagency task force charged with rendering
an RSD decision based on the file contents. The Commission
then sends the files to the Minister of Interior for
approval and signature. The Commission is supposed to meet
four times a year, but often does not. Additionally, last
year Interior Minister Pacheco did not review a single case
passed to him by the Commission, and has not yet done so
this year, either.

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The Lure of Mozambique and Maratene Camp
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6. (SBU) Other important questions emerged during the
retreat, such as why are Congolese, Somalians, and Rwandans
crossing up to three countries to declare refugee status
here in Mozambique? Why not stay in neighboring countries?
It seems that Maratene has earned a reputation for being a
"five-star" camp, and the city of Nampula fertile ground for
business opportunities. As if to punctuate the point,
during the conference INAR chief Rosa Chissaque received a
telephone call from the border post at Lichinga (Niassa
province, near the border with Malawi) and announced that 18
more Congolese had just requested asylum in Mozambique.
What is the justification for continuing to support refugee
programs in Mozambique, given donor fatigue and in the
absence of active conflict in the region? And why doesn't
the GRM have a clear integration strategy?

7. (U) The refugee population in Mozambique, rather than
dropping, has actually grown somewhat in the past year.
Among the 6,100 refugees in Mozambique, there is one
Afghani, one Cuban, one Bangladeshi, one Palestian, and one
Ethiopian. The clear majority are Congolese, Rwandan and
Burundian, although there are also handfuls of Angolans,
Liberians, and Zimbabwean.

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Comment
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8. (SBU) Victoria Akyeampong told PolOff she was sent here
from Geneva three months ago to "clean things up." UNHCR's
exit strategy is to phase out its presence here by 2010, as
it does not see a justification for the growing refugee
population. An Ivy League graduate (and U.S. legal
permanent resident),Ms. Akyeampong clearly has the skills
and force of personality to realize her mission. However,
the issue is one of partnership, and in INAR she has an
indecisive partner hamstrung by bureaucracy.