UNHCR: The UN Refugee Agency

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The State of the World's Refugees 2006 - Chapter 4 Responding to emergencies: Box 4.3 A host-country perspective: the case of Tanzania

State of the World's Refugees, 19 April 2006

At the end of 2004, Tanzania was host to more than 400,000 refugees spread over 11 refugee camps in western Tanzania and an estimated 200,000 in refugee settlements in the areas of Mishamo, Ulyankulu and Katumba. The majority of the refugees in Tanzania are Burundians and Congolese. As Africa's leading refugee-hosting country, Tanzania is a key actor in the global refugee regime. Since independence, it has received refugees from more than nine countries and was widely praised for its hospitality to refugees who, until the emergencies of the 1990s were hosted under a rural-settlement approach that served as a model across the continent. However, under the political and material pressures arising from these emergencies, the settlement approach was replaced by a camp-centred and repatriation-focused model that continues today. More than a decade later, the political, economic and operational/organizational legacies of this period continue to weigh heavily on all aspects of refugee policy in Tanzania.

Instability in the programmes recurs despite the absence of large-scale and rapid refugee inflows. Continued movement of refugees both in and out of the country combines with a highly fluctuating capacity and/or willingness of both the host country and international actors to respond to the simultaneous challenges of new arrivals and the longer term presence of refugees. The Government of Tanzania believes that concerted efforts to find a solution to the refugee problem should focus on addressing the reasons that have led to displacement. To this end, it is supporting peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi. These efforts culminated in the signing of the Arusha Peace Accord of 2002; this formed the basis of the Transition Government in Burundi and paved the way for the repatriation of Burundian refugees, albeit on a limited scale. Political changes within Tanzania, most notably decentralization and greater liberalization, add to a situation in which political, humanitarian and economic imperatives are frequently seen as conflicting.

Security policies and improved regional relations

Increasing tension between Burundi and Tanzania in the early years of the decade was significantly eased by a number of diplomatic initiatives, including a mission by the UN Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs to Tanzania and the establishment in 1999 of the so-called 'security package'. This programme funds special Tanzanian police and up to three UN field safety advisers to strengthen law and order, improve the safety of refugees and local communities and maintain the civilian and humanitarian character of the camps. Independently, the Tanzanian military increased its presence along the border. Another innovation, based upon experience in Latin America, sought to involve refugee representatives in the Burundi peace negotiations, but this met with limited success.

While the most pressing concerns related to international security could therefore be tempered, new issues emerged. These included difficulties arising from a growing 'securitization' of refugee issues in Tanzania, where policy is perceived almost exclusively through the lens of crime and law enforcement. The government's reaction to security incidents has been to tighten restrictions on the movement and economic activity of refugees. The programme has also struggled with the issues of sexual exploitation and sexual and gender-based violence. The security package is ultimately a temporary measure that cannot replace the important role of the police, judiciary and immigration authorities in ensuring the security and effective protection of refugees at the district level.

Basic needs and minimum standards

In the past, the long-standing nature of the refugee programme in Tanzania made it a place in which new, innovative methods could be explored. More recently, however, continued budget cuts and repeated breaks in the supply of food have fostered a sense of instability. Although refugees continue to have a fair level of access to primary education, healthcare, water and sanitation, there has been a shortage of food and some non-food items. This, coupled with restrictions on refugee movement, lack of sufficient farmland and employment opportunities has meant that basic operational challenges persist and very little movement away from the immediate post-emergency phase has been possible. Within the framework of the Strengthening Protection Capacity Project, of which Tanzania is one of the four pilot countries, the government has agreed to consultations on the feasibility of introducing share-cropping and/or agro-forestry to increase refugee self-reliance.

To help deal with this situation, donor coordination has been re-energized. Donors now participate in the annual WFP-UNHCR joint assessment mission. Similarly, a grouping of national and local NGOs has strengthened its efforts to achieve mutually beneficial solutions for both the refugee and local populations as well as meet the concerns of the government. Recently, the group funded and publicized a study of the refugee impact on the country.

Policy change and continuity

Although Tanzania is a supporter of the Agenda for Protection, it has also campaigned for a revision of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, whereby 'safe havens' in the countries of origin can replace the need for asylum. In 2003, the government issued its first-ever national refugee policy. This provides for asylum seekers to be admitted to the country for one year, within which time arrangements should be made to take them back to established safe zones in the countries of origin. The policy makes local integration very difficult.

Tanzania's legislative and policy framework concerning refugees is not fully consistent with the provisions of the 1951 Refugee Convention. They provide only for temporary asylum, restrict refugee movement and do not allow for judicial review when asylum applications are rejected. The government has indicated that it is in the process of reviewing the policies. In a bid to improve refugee reception and status-determination procedures and avoid refoulement, in 2005 the government established ad hoc committees to interview new arrivals from Burundi and the DRC. Rejected cases were to be referred to the National Eligibility Committee, which conducts refugee-status determination. But implementation varies from district to district, and concerns have arisen about the continuing validity of prima facie refugee status in the country.

Refugees are often portrayed as a burden to Tanzania. The government frequently says there has been no tangible benefit from hosting them, only a drain of its limited resources. In the government's view the differences in the quality of refugee protection in the country are provoked by a failure of global burden sharing and insufficient efforts to address the root causes of displacement.

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