Tanzania

November 2006

  
UNHCR Appeals for Expelled Rwandans, (The New Times, 2006-11-11):-The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is in preparations to launch an appeal to the international community to mobilise support for emergency relief to the recently expelled Rwandans from Tanzania. According to a press release by the High Commission in Kigali, a team of experts is currently designing "a global appeal which will be launched by the Government of Rwanda to the international community." "This appeal will detail the needs assessed, the involvement of the different actors (UN agencies, Government of Rwanda and NGOs) and the necessary budgets to cover present and future needs of the evicted people," said the release. The experts are members of the Disaster Management Task Force (DMTF), which is a joint initiative between UNHCR and the Rwandan government, set up to "coordinate the efforts of the Government, other UN agencies, national and international NGOs to respond to the expulsion of the Rwandans from Tanzania." Within the DMTF framework, some 10 commissions have been created to face the challenges regarding the needs of the people expelled from Tanzania, according to the communiqué released last on Wednesday. So far, some 10,400 Rwandans have been expelled from Tanzania, and another 60,000 would be expelled next year. Quoting the UNHCR Country Resident Representative, Tane M. Bamba, the release said, "We hope that once the appeal is launched by the Government of Rwanda, we hope to find the necessary international support to face this crisis.' Bamba is also quoted as having said that "the Rwandans evicted were not refugees in Tanzania, therefore they are not under the mandate of UNHCR but as a humanitarian organisation, and we have the responsibility to advocate for a timely and adequate response to the crisis." "UNHCR reacted immediately to the problem calling the Government, NGOs and other UN agencies to join the DMTF to find a durable solution for these people after they have been received in Rwanda and to ensure that the process of expulsion is done in dignity and safety," the release quotes Bamba as saying. The UN diplomat, according to the communiqué, further added, "UNHCR is doing everything possible to mobilise the necessary resources to provide the people expelled with proper assistance after their arrival at the Kirehe transit centre and to ensure adequate reintegration within the Rwandan society," The communiqué recalls that in May, the officials from Rwanda accompanied by a UNHCR officer made a first evaluation mission to the Kirehe transit centre and jerry cans and emergency kits were immediately delivered to 570 evicted people by UNHCR. "We carried out a second evaluation mission to Kirehe transit centre in September which allowed us to make an informative report on the situation on the site and on the general operation of expulsion. The report was shared with donors, NGOs and other UN agencies to make them aware of the necessity to take urgent action," Bamba said in the statement. The DMTF commissions on food, water, sanitation, health, education, shelter, protection, registration and reintegration; according to the UNHCR statement, have been doing field assessments in order to design a joint action plan to provide adequate short and long term responses to the crisis. "One of the main current challenges of the operation is water supply to the resettlement areas, and since May 2006, UNHCR and UNICEF have provided trucks to transport water to these sites. Additionally, 350 people evicted from Tanzania, who have been integrated within Rwandan families in the Southern districts of Gisagara and Nyaruguru, are also being assisted by the United Nations Country Team ( UNCT) programme of assistance to Rwandan returnees," it adds. The expulsions started early in the year with the Tanzanian authorities claiming that the Rwandans, most of whom were staying in the vast Tanzania's western region, were illegal settlers. Majority of the deportees claim that during the "crude" process their properties including thousands of livestock were confiscated by Tanzanians. A joint commission of inquiry between the two governments was consequently set up to investigate the claims and to suggest possible solutions, but it is yet to release its report. The move to expel Rwandans was part of a wider crackdown by Tanzanian authorities to expel "illegal foreigners" from their country. The expulsions, according to observers, reminded that African countries were still more bent on country boundaries than the concept of regional integration. Tanzania is a member of the East African Community (EAC), a three-member country regional community which Rwanda and Burundi are expected to join in the near future.  
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp