Uganda, Burundi to hold meetings over refugees

By Steven Candia and Jacquiline Emodek
                             
The governments of Uganda and Burundi and the UNHCR are to hold technical meetings that will add inertia to earlier efforts to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of Burundian refugees in the country.

The decision to hold the meetings that will discuss the modalities for the repatriation of the refugees was reached at a joint meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), bringing all the three together.

The meeting followed a five day visit by a Burundian delegation to the three refugees camps–Nakivale and Orukinga, in Isingiro district and Kyaka in Kyaka district to sensitize refugees on the impending exercise.

Speaking at the meeting on Friday, Apollo Kazungu, the commissioner for refugees in the OPM reiterated the government’s commitment to the exercise but said there was need to discuss the finer details of how the exercise will be conducted.

“There is need for technical team meeting to discuss the modalities,” Kazungu who represented state minister for disaster preparedness Musa Ecweru said. However, it emerged in the meeting that Burundi will host the first technical team meeting.

“When we agree on a date we will let you know,” Reverien Simbarakiye, a Director General in the ministry of National Solidarity and head of the Burndian delegation said.

Giving a status report of their five day mission, Simbarakiye said the general feeling among the refugees in the three camps was that of eagerness to return home.

“Though there were some who had misgivings because of misinformation about the issues obtaining at home but that has been cleared. The other problem was the politicization of the exercise,” he said.

Kazungu said it was crucial that all the refugees who want to return do so at their own will. “If it is necessary, where there is doubt and some of them want to first visit before so as to enable them make informed decisions that can be arranged,” he said.

“What is important is that it must be voluntarily,” he added. The development comes after both the governments of Uganda and Burundi and the UNHCR signed a tripartite agreement for the voluntary repatriation of the refugees in March this year. Presently there are about 13,000 Burundian refugees in Uganda.

  The agreement among others establishes a framework for the voluntary return of Burundian refugees in Uganda; specifies a right of return of the refugees without any preconditions; defines the responsibilities of the parties and establishes a tripartite commission and a technical working group.