Refugees International will conduct a humanitarian assessment mission in Burundi and Tanzania from March 4-28. The focus of the mission is on the situation for internally displaced persons inside Burundi and whether conditions there are appropriate for the internally displaced and refugees in Tanzania to return to their home communities. While RI has regularly assessed the situation in the camps in Tanzania, this is RI’s first mission to Burundi since 2001.

Burundians are desperate for peace after a decade of war that killed 300,000 people. The political instability and pervasive insecurity have caused displacement, with about 280,000 Burundians displaced internally and another 800,000 refugees outside the country, most of them in Tanzania. An internationally-brokered peace agreement has brought some stability to the country, though one major rebel faction refuses to accept the terms of the accord.

Owing to its geographical position in a conflict-ravaged region, and its history of stability and traditional generosity, Tanzania has been host to thousands of refugees from neighboring countries since 1959. The government of Tanzania has grown weary of the burden of hosting so many refugees and Tanzanian officials are putting pressure on the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the government of Burundi, and on the refugees themselves to accelerate the repatriation process.

Since January 2004, an estimated 2,000 Burundian refugees have returned home even though the humanitarian situation remains tenuous. RI is calling on Tanzania to continue its hospitality to Burundian refugees pending the possibility of organizing a safe return. RI advocate Andrea Lari and McCall-Pierpaoli Fellow George Kun will travel to two provinces in Burundi and three districts in Tanzania to analyze the protection and humanitarian needs of actual and potential returnees.