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Asylum system in Burundi established with UNHCR's support

News Stories, 16 April 2009

A UNHCR refugee status determination specialist (left) trains a staff member of Burundi's new asylum office in interview techniques.

BUJUMBURA, Burundi, April 16 (UNHCR) – Burundi, an important host country for refugees over the past four decades, has just established a specialized office for asylum with help from the UN refugee agency. The development comes a year after the country passed its first asylum law.

"The refugee agency welcomes these important steps towards improving refugee protection in Africa's Great Lakes region," said Bo Schack, the UNHCR representative in Burundi. "The government will now be clearly in the driver's seat," he added.

The cabinet approved the creation of the National Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons on April 2 and the new body started interviewing asylum seekers on Tuesday. It will be responsible for the 27,800 refugees and asylum seekers living in camps or urban areas in Burundi.

"The authorities will in the medium term deliver all documents to refugees and asylum seekers themselves. Today, this is still partly in UNHCR's hands," Schack explained. "We also hope that once the new asylum office is fully operational, Burundi's asylum procedure will become quicker."

In its dealings with asylum seekers, Burundi has referred to laws governing the entry and stay of foreigners. Decisions on asylum claims have been made by non-specialists. There is a backlog of some 5,000 cases awaiting a decision, some of them years old, because of the slow pace of processing the applications.

The UN refugee agency had previously supported the government in drafting a new legal framework for dealing with asylum seekers and refugees – the country's first asylum law entered into force in 2008. UNHCR then helped set up the National Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons by providing expert advice and guidance as well as office equipment and vehicles.

UNHCR experts in March held a training course for the new office's staff on issues such as refugee status determination, international refugee protection norms, human rights and UNHCR's mandate.

"They are young and motivated, but they do not have any previous experience in refugee status determination," said Periklis Kortsaris, one of the experts who led the week-long course. "We trained them in the refugee definition and basic standards for an asylum procedure. They will now be able to decide on asylum applications in accordance with international standards."

The project has been funded by the European Commission under its Strengthening Protection Capacity Project, which helps non-European Union countries to develop fully functional asylum systems, thereby enhancing the protection of asylum seekers and refugees worldwide.

Most of the refugees and asylum seekers hosted by Burundi come from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. UNHCR has been present in Burundi since the 1960s, helping the government to protect and support refugees.

By Andreas Kirchhof in Bujumbura, Burundi

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Burundian humanitarian worker Maggy Barankitse received the 2005 Nansen Refugee Award for her tireless work on behalf of children affected by war, poverty and disease. The Nansen medal was presented at a grand ceremony in Brussels by H.R.H. Princess Mathilde of Belgium and UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Wendy Chamberlin.

Accepting the award, Barankitse said her work was inspired by one single goal: peace. "Accept your fellow man, sit down together, make this world a world of brothers and sisters," she said. "Nothing resists love, that's the message that I want to spread."

Sponsored by UNHCR corporate partner Microsoft, the ceremony and reception at Concert Noble was also attended by Belgium's Minister for Development Co-operation Armand De Decker, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel, renowned Burundian singer Khadja Nin, Congolese refugee and comedian Pie Tshibanda, and French singer and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Julien Clerc. Among others.

The Nansen Refugee Award 2005

The makeshift camp at Patras

Thousands of irregular migrants, some of whom are asylum-seekers and refugees, have sought shelter in a squalid, makeshift camp close to the Greek port of Patras since it opened 13 years ago. The camp consisted of shelters constructed from cardboard and wood and housed hundreds of people when it was closed by the Greek government in July 2009. UNHCR had long maintained that it did not provide appropriate accommodation for asylum-seekers and refugees. The agency had been urging the government to find an alternative and put a stronger asylum system in place to provide appropriate asylum reception facilities for the stream of irregular migrants arriving in Greece each year.The government used bulldozers to clear the camp, which was destroyed by a fire shortly afterwards. All the camp residents had earlier been moved and there were no casualties. Photographer Zalmaï, a former refugee from Afghanistan, visited the camp earlier in the year.

The makeshift camp at Patras

From the corners of the globe, the displaced converge in northern France

Hundreds of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees have created a number of makeshift camps in northern France. Drawn from a diverse range of countries, the men are hoping that from France they will be able to enter the United Kingdom.

Locals call it, "The Jungle" - a squalid warren of shanties made out of cardboard, plywood and bits of plastic that has mushroomed among the sand dunes and brambles outside Calais. Hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers from such faraway places as Afghanistan, Somalia and Vietnam have traveled for months and over rough terrain to camp out and eventually cross the 34-kilometre stretch of sea that separates Calais from England's White Cliffs of Dover.

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Since early June, the UN refugee agency and its local partner, France Terre d'Asile, have been present in Calais, informing and counselling hundreds of people about asylum systems and procedures in France and the UK.