Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10LUSAKA110
2010-02-22 15:12:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Lusaka
Cable title:  

REFUGEES AT MEHEBA OCCUPY UNHCR OFFICES TO PROTEST

Tags:  PREF PREL PGOV PBTS AO CG ZA 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO9864
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLS #0110/01 0531512
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 221512Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY LUSAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7678
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0001
RHMFISS/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 000110 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2020
TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV PBTS AO CG ZA
SUBJECT: REFUGEES AT MEHEBA OCCUPY UNHCR OFFICES TO PROTEST
CORRUPTION

Classified By: Amb. Booth, for reasons 1.4 (b) (d) and (g).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 000110

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2020
TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV PBTS AO CG ZA
SUBJECT: REFUGEES AT MEHEBA OCCUPY UNHCR OFFICES TO PROTEST
CORRUPTION

Classified By: Amb. Booth, for reasons 1.4 (b) (d) and (g).


1. (C) Summary: In early February, 200 refugees began
occupation of the offices of UNHCR and Government of Zambia
(GRZ) staff at Meheba refugee camp to protest wide-spread
corruption by GRZ camp officials. The GRZ is considering
deporting the instigators against UNHCR wishes. While the
protests are non-violent, the action has, as intended,
underscored mismanagement and other challenges at Meheba, the
largest refugee camp in Zambia. End Summary.


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Refugees camp out in Meheba's offices
--------------


2. (C) Meheba Refugee camp, spread over 720 sq. km in
Northwestern Province, houses over 15,000 refugees.
Approximately half the refugees are Angolans but 10 other
nationalities are present including approximately 3,000
Congolese. In early February, approximately 200 Congolese
refugees began an occupation of the offices of the GRZ
Refugee Officer and UNHCR staff to protest corruption. They
also demanded resettlement outside of Africa. In particular,
the instigators of the protests are seeking the removal of
the newly installed GRZ Refugee officer who had been brought
in to replace the one fired for corruption. The GRZ is
sending police from nearby Solwezi to maintain security.
However, the non-violent occupation of offices continues.


3. (C) UNHCR resident Representative James Lynch and the GRZ
Commissioner for Refugees, Jacob Mphepo, visited the camp
January 26-27. A raucous group of protesting refugees
followed the dignitaries throughout their visit, holding
signs, banging cars, and slinging verbal insults. During a
five-hour meeting with the refugees, Lynch and Mphepo
attempted to diffuse the situation by explaining what steps
had been taken to address the corruption concerns. A brief
brawl broke out, although Lynch speculates it may have been
orchestrated.

--------------
Investigating corruption at Meheba
--------------


4. (C) According to UNHCR, refugees at Meheba have raised

complaints of corruption over the past couple of years but
more serious accusations surfaced in October 2009. According
to the allegations, the GRZ Refugee Officer (RO) and the GRZ
Registrations officers changed refugees' names, nationality,
and other records to enhance resettlement opportunities for
specific refugees, registered Congolese nationals as refugees
using the identities of refugees who had left the camp, sold
gate passes, and added ineligible refugees to food
distribution. In light of these allegations, a joint team
comprising the GRZ Office of the Commissioner of Refugees
(COR) and UNHCR conducted an investigation between November
30 and December 10. The team found that new refugee arrivals
entered without normal adjudication, including refugees
coming from Kinshasa. Refugees reported buying refugee
documents from the RO and buying gate passes from COR staff.
UNHCR also conducted an electronic audit of the refugee
database, which had been created by UNHCR but entirely
managed by COR, and discovered hundreds of cases where data
had been manipulated. While some cases of data changes were
likely the result of laziness - reusing existing cases to
create news ones - other cases suggest deliberate fraud.


5. (C) As a result of the investigation, the GRZ Commissioner
for Refugees fired the top GRZ officers at Meheba including
the RO and two Registration officers. There is no evidence
of wrong-doing by UNHCR staff other than a lack of oversight,
but UNHCR chose not to extend the contract of their top staff
member at Meheba. Although UNHCR cannot expand the number of
positions in Zambia due to budgetary constraints, it is
transferring staff members to Meheba to increase oversight.
UNHCR has realized it must vigilantly monitor the database,
which from now on will be thoroughly scrubbed along with food
distribution lists. Police are investigating document
purchases. Cases of recent arrivals will be re-evaluated.

--------------
Deport the instigators?
--------------



6. (C) Faced with a decision on what do with the instigators
of the unrest at Meheba, the GRZ is moving forward with
deportation, under Article 32 of the 1951 Refugee Convention
(maintaining order),against the advice of UNHCR. Aside from

LUSAKA 00000110 002 OF 002


ensuring that Zambia continues to abide by conventions
against forced returns, UNHCR is concerned that these forced
returns will increase pressure by the remaining Congolese who
will argue that they must be resettled outside of Africa to
avoid deportation by the GRZ. While UNHCR has argued that
instigators should instead be tried under the Zambian legal
system, the GRZ expressed no desire to expend the money, nor
risk making the perpetrators heroes when they are later
released and returned to the camp. Comment: While the GRZ
has historically abided by its refugee responsibilities, GRZ
officials may not have endless patience for the Congolese
refugees at Meheba. End comment. Following the brief brawl
during the UNHCR / GRZ meeting with the protesting refugees,
the army's Deputy Regional Commander of Northwestern Province
reportedly told the refugees, "If the military had its way,
you will go out faster than the way you came in." According
to a police report about the corruption scandal, 90 percent
of the Congolese refugee cases at Meheba are not legitimate.
UNHCR's Lynch met separately with the new Provincial
Permanent Secretary (PS) for Northwestern Province who noted
disapprovingly that Congolese refugees do not engage in any
productive work and steer clear of agriculture.
Interestingly, in a departure from previous provincial
ministers, the PS expressed support for the integration of
Angolan refugees, noting they are industrious and
hard-working.

--------------
Comment
--------------


7. (C) Tensions at Meheba are already high. Meheba camp
officials are dealing with a number of uprooted Angolan
refugees who were ready to return to Angola only to be told
on the day of departure that they had to remain due to a
change in Angolan restrictions. (Angola made a new
requirement that all refugees, ostensibly for safety reasons,
must travel on buses rather than trucks -- but there are no
buses capable of handling the roads between Zambia and
Angola). Meheba will be further stressed this year if the
Government of Zambia, in conjunction with UNHCR, goes forward
with plans to close the primarily Congolese refugees camps of
Kala and Mwange and relocate any remaining Congolese refugees
to Meheba.


8. As the Embassy continues to engage the GRZ on corruption
and refugee issues, post will monitor whether the incidents
at Meheba affect the erstwhile highly successful recent
voluntary repatriations of Congolese refugees, along with the
climate for Angolan refugee repatriation or integration.
Most importantly, UNHCR will need to increase its oversight
of GRZ staff at all points of refugee processing at Meheba.
BOOTH