Preparation for refugee returnees underway

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Zambia will on Wednesday start registering the first of an estimated 90,000 Angolan refugees for their voluntary repatriation. During Angola's 27-year civil war, hundreds of thousands of refugees fled into Zambia's Western and North Western provinces, as well as to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Namibia. About 120,000 of these have since spontaneously returned to Angola, but the UNHCR is currently preparing to help many others home. UNHCR Resident Representative Ahmed Gubartalla told IRIN that after registration, 500 of the 91,000 refugees in Zambia would be repatriated to a transist centre in Cazombo, in Angola's eastern Moxico province, under a pilot programme coordinated by the Zambian and Angolan governments and the UNHCR. The first 500 returnees were originally from Cazombo. The pilot programme, to be launched in June, will help organisations assess the logistical and other requirements for their repatriation. Information gleaned from the registration process will be shared with UNHCR and government counterparts in Angola, to ensure that the refugees return to places which are safe and have basic amenities, Gubartalla said. It is hoped that 60,000 refugees will be repatriated from Zambia this year, and the remaining people next year. "We are adopting a phased approach, taking into account the capacity in Angola," Gubartalla added. Fidellis Swai, UNHCR regional spokesman, explained that each refugee would be registered electronically on a voluntary repatriation form. This information would be shared with the Angolan government, enabling returnees to cross the border into Angola and eventually to register for Angolan identity documents. Border crossings have been facilitated by the relaxation of certain customs rules, allowing people to bring personal goods with them. On arrival they will be taken to a reception centre and then move on to the area they choose to settle in. Families will receive a repatriation kit consisting of three months' maize for each family member, blankets, soap, sleeping mats and plastic sheeting. NGOs would monitor their progress and a workshop currently underway in Zambia was raising awareness among field workers on the special needs of women travelling with children, Swai said. A similar process of registration to assess how many refugees are in the DRC began on Monday in two camps – Nkondo and Kilueka – in the eastern province of Bas Congo. Later this week, the registration will extend to Angolan refugees in camps in Katanga province, followed by those based in the capital, Kinshasa, and those who have settled in Congolese towns and villages. Registration is expected to start in Namibia in the second week of June. The UNHCR has already opened seven offices in northern Angola, where many of the refugees are expected to return. The new offices are in Cazombo, Luau, Luena and Lumbala N'Guimbo (all in Moxico province), Menongue (Cuando province), Maquela do Zombo (Uige province) and Mbanza Congo (Zaïre province). According to the UNCHR there are 163,000 Angolan refugees in the DRC, 200,000 in Zambia, 24,500 in Namibia and 16,000 in the Republic of Congo. Eighty percent of the Angolan refugee population in these countries would like to return home. Some 66 percent would like to go home this year.