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Lubbers discusses Burundi returns from Tanzania
10 Nov 2003 High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers has urged the Tanzanian government to continue its long tradition of hospitality towards refugees as UNHCR gets ready to expand its programme to help more Burundian refugees return home soon. -
UNHCR mounts campaign for return of 80,000 Rwandan refugees
6 Nov 2003 The UN refugee agency has launched a campaign to promote the voluntary return of what are believed to be the last groups of Rwandan refugees in the region. Convoys from Uganda will start soon while repatriation from the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be completed next year. -
Burundians return through new crossing to much fanfare
26 Sep 2003 More than 1,000 Burundian refugees in Tanzania have returned home through the new border crossing at Gahumo, eastern Burundi, where the latest group received a warm and festive welcome. -
Festive homecoming for Burundian refugees
10 Sep 2003 More than 260 Burundian refugees from camps in western Tanzania return home with UNHCR via a newly-opened border crossing in eastern Burundi and receive a cheerful welcome of song and dance by a local women's group. -
More routes to open for spontaneous Burundian returnees from Tanzania
21 Aug 2003 The governments of Burundi and Tanzania have agreed to open three new border crossings between the two countries to make it easier for Burundian refugees who wish to return home on their own. -
New agreement helps Rwandan refugees in Uganda to go home
25 Jul 2003 Some 25,000 Rwandan refugees in Uganda now have the option of repatriation, thanks to a new agreement on voluntary returns signed between the UN refugee agency and the governments of Rwanda and Uganda. -
Jumpstarting World Refugee Day in Tanzania
19 Jun 2003 Congolese refugees at Tanzania's Lugufu camp have started celebrating World Refugee Day with vibrant performances of song and dance. Celebrations aside, they also presented skits and poetry to highlight pressing issues like the shortage of food aid at the camp and the importance of education. -
Returns to Burundi rise amid fears of pressure in Tanzanian camps
2 Jun 2003 The UN refugee agency is concerned that more Burundian refugees may be going home now because of increasingly difficult conditions in Tanzanian camps as a result of declining assistance and mounting pressure from local authorities. -
First Rwandan refugees fly home from Zambia
1 May 2003 After nearly a decade in exile, Rwandans who fled their country in the wake of the 1994 genocide and the subsequent civil war have now started to fly home from Zambia, under an agreement between the two African countries and UNHCR.