UNHCR increases returns for Angolan refugees ahead of end June deadline

Briefing Notes, 8 June 2012

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 8 June 2012, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Later this month, on June 30th, group refugee status will formally end for people who fled Angola during the country's 1965-75 war of Independence from Portugal and during the subsequent civil war which ended in 2002. UNHCR launched a new assisted return programme in late 2011 to help Angolans return home from nearby countries, and we are now accelerating that programme. As of June 2nd some 13,700 Angolans had gone back with our help including over 11,000 from Democratic Republic of the Congo. Some 35,000 more have asked for help in getting back before refugee status ends.

The recommendation to end group refugee status for Angolans was made in January this year on the basis of fundamental improvements in the country situation. Many of the roughly 600,000 people who fled Angola to neighbouring countries have already returned home.

Since mid-May, we have doubled the size of repatriation convoys from DR Congo for refugees returning to northern Angola. Currently 1,200 people are being returned weekly. These refugees are travelling from the capital Kinshasa, as well as from nearby Kimpese in Bas-Congo province and Dilolo in Katanga province in southeast Congo. They are heading to Uige province in northern Angola, where most of the refugees are originally from.

UNHCR has also ramped up efforts to promote voluntary repatriation of Angolans from other African countries. Namibia relaunched return convoys last month, with over 3,000 Angolan refugees having registered to repatriate. Meanwhile returns from Zambia are being done by chartered planes. In Botswana, a recent go-and-see visit was organized to return areas to help hesitant refugees make informed decisions about returning. We are also working with governments to increase the number of road convoys and to use bigger planes to repatriate people, particularly for those returning from the DRC and Zambia.

In Angola, the logistical challenges are substantial. In some areas, returns by land are extremely difficult due to poor road conditions and washed out bridges. Our staff and those of our partners are working in difficult circumstances to ensure that convoys run smoothly and that people with specific needs, such as pregnant women, children and the sickly, reach home safely and in dignity.

Currently some 120,000 Angolans remain in exile, with the largest refugee populations in DRC (81,000) and in Zambia (23,000). UNHCR is working with host governments to consider local integration options for those refugees who do not choose to return, in particular those with strong ties to their country of asylum.

For more information on this topic, please contact:

  • In Kinshasa, Celine Schmitt on mobile +243 81 700 9484
  • In Pretoria, Tina Ghelli on mobile +27 827 70 41 89
  • In Geneva, Leo Dobbs on mobile +41 79 883 6347
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