Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09DARESSALAAM299
2009-05-08 04:09:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Cable title:  

TANZANIA TO NATURALIZE 170,000 BURUNDIAN REFUGEES

Tags:  PGOV PINR PHUM PREF TZ 
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VZCZCXRO9255
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHDR #0299/01 1280409
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 080409Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8491
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 2878
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 3405
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI 1330
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0316
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 1260
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0369
RUEHDS/USMISSION USAU ADDIS ABABA
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0493
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
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

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.

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