TANZANIA TO NATURALIZE 170,000 BURUNDIAN REFUGEES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAR ES SALAAM 000299 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E JLIDDLE, AF/C, PRM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR PHUM PREF TZ SUBJECT: TANZANIA TO NATURALIZE 170,000 BURUNDIAN REFUGEES ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The Government of Tanzania (GOT) is expected to grant approximately 170,000 Burundian refugees full citizenship status later this year, in an effort to bring to a close a refugee situation dating back to 1972. High Commissioner for UNHCR Antonio Guterres called President Kikwete's decision to grant refugees citizenship en masse "unprecedented" in Africa and possibly the world. The Comprehensive Solution Strategy unveiled by UNHCR in 2008 has three phases: processing (including naturalization), relocation and resettlement. So far, donor countries, including the U.S., have given USD 25 million for completion of the strategy's first phase. New appeals and timelines for the remainder of the project are expected soon from UNHCR, as well as a possible supplemental appeal for the completion of the first phase. END SUMMARY ¶2. (U) The GOT decided in 2007 to bring the 37-year history of the Burundi refugee settlement to an end. Tanzania took in hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing warring factions in Burundi in the early 1970s. Today, many of the long-standing refugees identify more with Tanzania than Burundi. An estimated 80 percent of the refugees were born in the refugee camps and most are fluent in Swahili. The refugees have successfully established themselves as farmers and contributors to the local economy. ¶3. (U) In 2008, at GOT request, UNHCR launched a global appeal to fund the "Comprehensive Solutions Strategy" for the 1972 refugees. This appeal raised USD 25 million from donor nations to assist with the first part of a three-phase program to resettle the refugees in Tanzania as citizens or return them home to Burundi. The U.S. contributed nearly USD 4 million to the appeal, in addition to our budgeted commitment of about USD 6 million to UNHCR and another USD 2 million to various other organizations assisting refugee operations, such as UNICEF, American Red Cross, International Rescue Committee, and the International Organization for Migration. Other major donors include the United Kingdom, European Community, Japan, Denmark, and Norway. ¶4. (U) In the project's first phase, UNHCR and the GOT determined the desires of the refugees and began repatriating those who wished to return. So far, over 30,000 refugees have received assistance to return to Burundi and another 25,000 are expected to return later this year. The remaining 170,000 refugees have submitted applications to naturalize and remain in Tanzania. High Commissioner for UNHCR Antonio Guterres, visiting the camps in 2008, lauded the program and called President Kikwete's decision to grant refugees citizenship en masse "unprecedented" in Africa and possibly the world. ¶5. (U) The next phase of the plan is to resettle the new citizens in new communities away from the camps. The third and final phase of the plan is to ensure that the new citizens are equipped with basic needs, such as language skills and land, to sustain themselves into the future. UNHCR plans to launch a new appeal, likely for USD 9 million, to complete the first phase. GOT officials want to be sure of the commitment of the international community and that funding is available before completing the naturalization process. Tanzania has reduced its usual naturalization fee from USD 800 to USD 50 for this population, adding a financial component to its other support for the refugees. ¶6. (SBU) Some European donors have expressed concerns about the plan to remove refugees from a place where they are prospering and living in peace in order to disperse them throughout the country. The GOT response to this concern has two key points: under founding President Nyerere, Tanzanians were forced to move from their home regions to prevent tribalism; and leaving them in place could present a serious security situation. Minister for Home Affairs Lawrence Masha recently expressed to Poloff concern that individuals associated with former rebel groups in Burundi remained in the camps. He said that if the population is not scattered throughout Tanzania, the potential for a threats to public peace and security could be significant. Masha added that many of those remaining in Tanzania have relatives elsewhere in the country, have indicated their preferred resettlement location, and are ready to move. The GOT plans to make the vacated land available for large-scale agricultural investment. ¶7. (U) CDA visited the camps in late April with Ministry of Home Affairs and UNHCR representatives and spoke with local officials, refugees, and members of the NGO community. Relations between UNHCR and local government officials, once strained and even acrimonious, have improved markedly, in part because of progress made towards resolving the situation of the 1972 refugees. This improved relationship has been beneficial for dealings over camps housing other, more recent refugee populations. DAR ES SAL 00000299 002 OF 002 ANDRE