BUJUMBURA, March 3 (Xinhua) -- The Burundian government and United Nations agencies have signed an 82-million-U.S.-dollar response plan to support the repatriation of about 104,600 Burundian refugees by June 30.
The signing was held on Monday in the commercial capital, Bujumbura, with Burundian Minister of Interior, Community Development and Public Security Leonidas Ndaruzaniye, UN Resident Coordinator in Burundi Violet Kakyomya and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representative to Burundi Brigitte Mukanga-Eno in attendance.
The plan aims to issue a joint appeal to assess and address the needs of returnees upon their return, said Mukanga-Eno, stressing that repatriation must extend beyond border reception to sustainable reintegration in their home communities.
"Every week, we welcome more than 8,000 returnees, whereas tripartite accords talk about a maximum of 3,000 returnees to be received. Though it is a good thing, it is a real solution only if it is accompanied by the reintegration of those returnees," she said.
Ndaruzaniye thanked UN partners for mobilizing funds to ensure smooth operations and called for additional support from other partners.
"The main objective of this response plan is to support the Burundian government in the operational management of returnees from countries of asylum in general and Tanzania in particular," said the minister.
Of the estimated 104,600 Burundian refugees living abroad, about 93,000 are hosted in Tanzania. Most of them reside in the Nduta and Nyarugusu refugee camps, which are scheduled to close by March 31 and June 30, respectively. ■
