TANZANIA CONGOLESE REFUGEES TRIPARTITE COMMISSION MEETING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DAR ES SALAAM 000379 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E JLIDDLE, PRM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR PHUM PREF CG TZ SUBJECT: TANZANIA CONGOLESE REFUGEES TRIPARTITE COMMISSION MEETING ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: May 11-13, Delegates from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR),the Tanzania (GOT),and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) participated in the fourth meeting of the Tripartite Commission for the Voluntary Return of Congolese Refugees in Kigoma, Tanzania. The parties agreed to continue facilitated repatriation; to consolidate all Congolese refugees into Nyaragusu camp no later than September 30; to move refugees already in the resettlement process to the Kanembwa processing center by the end of June; and to explore with the World Food Program (WFP) the possibility of increasing the food ration from three to six months as an extra incentive for the refugees to repatriate. The Commission's Final Communique also included a commitment to avoid unintended removal of recognized refugees from Tanzania during actions to expel illegal immigrants. In contrast to prior meetings of the Tripartite Commission, this session was easily concluded with very little contention between the parties on the content of the final communique. (NOTE: The text of the final communique will be forwarded to the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration via email.)END SUMMARY ¶2. (U) The fourth meeting of the Tripartite Commission for the Voluntary Return of Congolese Refugees in Tanzania met in Kigoma, Tanzania, May 11-13. The Commission was comprised of delegations from UNHCR in both Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) UNHCR offices as well as government delegations from Tanzania and DRC. The meeting was chaired by Tanzanian Deputy Minister for Home Affairs Khamis Kagasheki, with UNHCR Tanzania Country Representative Yacoub El Hillo and DRC Ambassador to Tanzania Juma Alfani Mpango as co-chairs. ¶3. (U) Representatives from the Embassies of France, the Netherlands, and Belgium attended the session as observers, as did USG Regional Refugee Coordinator and the ECHO (European Community Humanitarian Organization) Representative for Tanzania and Burundi. Members of the press, including Bloomberg News and BBC, also covered the presentation of the final communique. ¶4. (U) The Tripartite Commission meeting and the two days of working group sessions went smoothly and lacked contention. By contrast, some sessions of the Tripartite Commission in 2008 were not able to close until the early morning hours, because of complaints from the Regional Commissioner in Kigoma about timelines for camp closure and repatriation. One issue that raised the level of tension a bit was the expulsion of Congolese illegal immigrants from Tanzania. Several weeks prior to the Tripartite Commission meeting, the GOT expelled several hundred people alleged to be Congolese illegal immigrants. UNHCR and GDRC asserted that recognized Congolese refugees were included in this group and that the GDRC was not notified in advance of the intent to expel these individuals. The conversation on this issue continued during the Tripartite Commission meeting, with strong statements from both the DRC Ambassador to Tanzania and the Governor of South Kivu. However, both GOT and GDRC representatives agreed to the language included in the final communique reaffirming Tanzania's right to deal with illegal immigrants according to its laws and through its bilateral relationship with the GDRC. The statement also readdressed GOT's obligations under international law toward recognized refugees. (NOTE: In an unusual public move, UNHCR Tanzania Country Representative Yacoub El Hillo stressed that presence of refugees outside of the refugee camps without a permit is not an offense punishable by expulsion under Tanzanian law. Regional and District Commissioners in the refugee hosting areas have included recognized refugees in the recent groups of Congolese expellees under the pretext that they were outside the camps without permission.) ¶5. (U) The GOT remains convinced that the primary rationale preventing Congolese refugees from returning home is concern about the socio-economic situation in DRC rather than ongoing insecurity. Deputy Minister Kagasheki expressed this sentiment, citing a recently-completed report from UNHCR-DRC describing the environment in the largest area of anticipated refugee return in South Kivu. (Note: UNHCR Head of Sub-Office Bukavu, Millicent Mutuli, said that the report does not draw conclusions, but simply describes the current state of affairs.) GDRC representatives at the Tripartite Commission did not disagree that these concerns play a role in delaying refugee return; however, they also cited the refugees' expressed concern about the possibility of the spread of the conflict from North Kivu and the potential for reprisal violence from the Forces Democratiques pour la Liberation de Rwanda (FDLR) in the region, as a result of the planned launch of Operation Kimia II DAR ES SAL 00000379 002 OF 003 designed to eradicate the FDLR. ¶6. (U) On May 14 the Tripartite Commission delegations traveled to the two remaining camps for Congolese refugees in Tanzania, Lugufu in Kigoma District and Nyaragusu in Kasulu District. The delegations announced the planned consolidation of Lugufu into Nyaragusu camp beginning June 30 and set to conclude September 30, ¶2009. (Note: this is a change from the prior agreement which would have closed Lugufu camp by the end of June 2009.) Response from the refugees was mixed. Most of their questions centered on security in eastern Congo and on elements of the repatriation incentive package that they would receive (particularly on the food ration). ¶7. (U) At each camp, the Governor of South Kivu provided an update on security in the province and in eastern DRC in general. Refugee audiences on both camps clearly expressed disbelief at the Governor's assertion of Laurent Nkunda's arrest in Rwanda and showed concern about the possible consequences of Operation Kimia II for the general population. One questioner in Nyaragusu Camp asked why, if there is peace in DRC, the United Nations Security Council approved 3,000 additional peacekeepers for the country. In a poignant moment, a female refugee asked what measures were in place to protect women from sexual assault by both the rebel groups and the peacekeepers in the region. In both camps, refugees asked whether they would receive a six-month food ration upon repatriation to DRC rather than the three months that is current practice. (NOTE: During a visit by the Regional Refugee Coordinator to South Kivu in early May, the WFP eastern Congo representative said that she had refused a request from UNHCR to provide an additional three-month food ration to Congolese returnees. During the Tripartite Commission meeting, the WFP-Kigoma representative also reiterated to the Refugee Coordinator that WFP Tanzania will not provide additional food to increase the incentive package.) ¶8. (U) There are 64,676 Congolese refugees in Tanzania, distributed between Lugufu in Kigoma District (25,288),Nyaragusu in Kasulu District (38,312),and Kanembwa Refugee Processing Center (1,076). Of the refugees in Lugufu and Nyaragusu, 58,434 come from the province of South Kivu in eastern DRC, predominantly from Fizi territory. In 2008, UNHCR assisted 15,490 Congolese refugees to repatriate from Tanzania. Although as of May 10, 2009, only 199 refugees had repatriated, May to October is considered the traditional peak period for refugees to return from Tanzania to DRC. There are approximately 100 families in the two refugee camps who are already in the process of consideration for resettlement, many to the United States, and who will be moved to Kanembwa refugee processing center by the end of June 2009. UNHCR believes that the presence of these families in the camps encourages other refugees to delay their repatriation in the hope that they, too, will be considered for resettlement. ¶9. (SBU) COMMENT: GOT representatives at this Tripartite Commission continued to espouse a firm line on refugee repatriation while at the same time showing some flexibility on the actual timeline. The absence of the Regional Commissioner for Kigoma from this session may have contributed to the cordial atmosphere and the rapid arrival at a final communique. The Regional Commissioner and the District Commissioners from the refugee-hosting districts have been particularly outspoken on the timelines for camp closure during prior Tripartite sessions, primarily because they are eager to take advantage of the infrastructure that will remain in the former camp sites. It is also worth noting that a recent reshuffle of commissioners by President Kikwete saw the arrival of a new District Commissioner to the area. UNHCR encouraged the consolidation of the Congolese refugees into a single camp in part because this reduces the number of district commissioners with whom they have to negotiate regarding the refugees, massively simplifying this often complicated task. ¶10. (SBU) COMMENT (CONT'D): This Tripartite Commission meeting was also the last for UNHCR Tanzania Country Director Yacoub El Hillo who will depart Dar es Salaam this summer to take up a regional UNHCR position in Saudi Arabia. El Hillo developed a close working relationship with GOT Minister for Home Affairs Lawrence Masha and prioritized a smooth relationship with the Tanzanian Government. He has been very accommodating to GOT requests for rapid refugee repatriation timelines, consolidation of refugees into smaller numbers of camps, and issues related to the relocation of the locally-integrating 1972 Burundian refugees. He lobbied strongly with the international donor community to support these initiatives DAR ES SAL 00000379 003 OF 003 - both politically and financially - often in the face of criticism from USG and major European donors. HANNAN