Information on the treatment of repatriated refugees, specifically, the government's treatment of returning FRELIMO and RENAMO supporters [MOZ14310]

The government of Mozambique encourages the voluntary return of Mozambican refugees, and to reinforce this policy, a tripartite agreement was signed in 1989 with Malawi and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (World Refugee Report September 1991, 7-8). According to the same source, another agreement was signed with Zimbabwe in 1990. This agreement resulted in the repatriation, under UNHCR guidance, of 5,600 refugees from Zimbabwe and another 25,800 from Malawi. The government of Mozambique and the UNHCR cared for these voluntary repatriates. The same source also noted that the success of the repatriation programme will depend on a general cease-fire between the warring factions in Mozambique (Ibid.).

Country Reports 1992 states that the government readily accepts and helps repatriates, and although voluntary repatriation was minimal for most of 1992, the signing of the peace accord and favourable rains encouraged the return of an estimated 70,000 refugees to Mozambique between September and December 1992 (1993, 180). The political affiliations of returning refugees were not disclosed by the source. A source at the UNHCR office in Ottawa corroborated the view that repatriates are received and helped by the government, and stated that the UNHCR has no evidence the government discriminates among repatriates according to their political affiliations (31 May 1993).

The UNHCR has also announced that an official repatriation program will begin in mid-1993, to consist of transportation and vaccination for returnees, and improvement of roads, water sources and facilities within Mozambique (1993 World Refugee Survey 1993, 67). For more information on Mozambican displaced persons and the efforts to repatriate and/or resettle them, please refer to the attachment from 1993 World Refugee Survey.

Country Reports 1992 notes that abuses of human rights continued in Mozambique in 1992, with the most blatant abuses coming from the on-going civil conflict between the National Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) and the Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO) (1993, 180).

Additional and/or corroborative information on the requested subject could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB in Ottawa.

References

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992. 1993. U.S. Department of State. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Ottawa. 31 May 1993. Telephone interview with the spokesperson.

U.S. Committee for Refugees. 1993. 1993 World Refugee Survey. Washington: U.S. Committee for Refugees.

U.S. Department of State, Bureau for Refugee Programs. September 1991. World Refugee Report. Washington: U.S. Department of State.

Attachments

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992. 1993. U.S. Department of State. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.

U.S. Committee for Refugees. 1993. 1993 World Refugee Survey. Washington: U.S. Committee for Refugees.

U.S. Department of State, Bureau for Refugee Programs. September 1991. World Refugee Report. Washington: U.S. Department of State.