VZCZCXRO5526
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHDR #0607/01 2580510
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 150510Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8852
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 2960
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 3496
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI 1422
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0326
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 1370
RUEHDS/USMISSION USAU ADDIS ABABA
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0504

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAR ES SALAAM 000607 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E JTREADWELL, INR FEHRENREICH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PHUM PREF RW CG TZ
SUBJECT: REFUGEE UPDATE: MEETING GOT'S 2010 DEADLINES 
 
REF: A: DAR ES SALAAM 413, B: DAR ES SALAAM 525 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: In separate meetings on August 31, UNHCR and IOM 
updated Poloff and Refcoord on the progress of refugee resettlement 
and camp closure. While camp closure continues, UNHCR 
Representative, Yacoub El Hillo, expressed concern about a group of 
young Burundian refugees in the Mtabila camp who are refusing to 
return to Burundi. Further, he noted with concern the GOTQs stated 
interest in invoking the cessation clause for Burundian refugees. 
IOM and UNHCR officials also provided input on the closure of the 
Kibondo processing facility, specifically strategies to ensure 
continued access to key equipment for future resettlement cases 
following the closure of Kibondo. UNHCR indicated resettlement 
referrals are continuing and that it expects to have referred almost 
2,500 refugees by year end. END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (U) On August 31, the Nairobi-based Refugee Officer for Refugee 
Admissions (RefCoord) met with UNHCR and International Organization 
for Migration (IOM) officials to review the status of refugee 
resettlement and the closure of the refugee camps. Accompanied by 
PolOff, RefCoord met with Yacoub El Hillo, Representative, UNHCR; 
Indrika Ratwatte, Deputy Representative, UNHCR; and Sandrine 
Desamours, Resettlement Officer, UNHCR. Separately, PolOff and 
RefCoord met with Par Liljert, Chief of Mission, IOM and Rana Jaber, 
IOMQs Regional Head of Operations, based in Nairobi. 
 
Closure of Refugee Camps: Concerns with 2010 Deadline 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
¶3. (SBU) El Hillo detailed recent progress made by UNHCR in closing 
and consolidating refugee camps in Tanzania. The relocation of the 
Congolese refugees in the Lugufu camp to the Nyarugusu camp started 
two weeks ago. UNHCR was organizing four convoys per week and at 
this pace hoped to complete the relocation process by the end of 
September. El Hillo noted that although there was a slight increase 
in repatriation of Congolese refugees recently, UNHCR is keeping a 
close eye on the situation in North and South Kivu. 
 
¶4. (SBU) In June, UNHCR secured the GOT's approval to keep the 
Nyarugusu and Mtabila camps open until September 2010, but El Hillo 
raised some concerns about this deadline. Specifically, the 35,000 
Burundians in Mtabila camp are reluctant to return (ref a). El Hillo 
described them as well-organized and "very defiant" about returning. 
El Hillo noted that more than 50 percent of these refugees are males 
and under the age of 18. According to El Hillo, the rate of 
repatriation among this group is disappointingly low. He believed 
leaders within the refugee population were advising the refugees not 
to register for repatriation. 
 
¶5. (SBU) El Hillo also expressed concern about the GOT's interest in 
invoking the cessation clause for Burundian refugees, an issue 
raised during the Tripartite meeting in Bujumbura (ref b). He did 
not rule out the possibility that the GOT would invoke the clause 
unilaterally if the deadline for camp closure was not met. He 
believed, however, that if the cessation clause was discussed during 
the upcoming UNHCR Executive Committee meeting, the GOT might give 
UNHCR additional time to complete camp closures. El Hillo said no 
one wants to see refugee issues become a political issue during 
Tanzania's 2010 elections, scheduled for October. 
 
Kibondo Processing Center 
------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Refcoord discussed the planned closure and handover of the 
processing facilities at Kibondo with both UNHCR and IOM officials. 
RefCoord noted the USGQs interest in handing over the Kibondo 
Processing facility by the end of September 2010 (although not all 
refugees may have departed by then) as well as the USG's interest in 
maintaining access to the x-ray machine following the handover. Both 
UNHCR and IOM agreed that the goal is to cease processing from 
Kibondo by September 2010.Both also expressed support for a proposed 
plan to relocate the x-ray machine to the district hospital, with 
the understanding that the x-ray machine could be used for 
subsequent refugee medicals. However, Liljert cautioned that the 
transfer of equipment can be a sensitive issue. He noted that one 
facility handed over by UNHCR to regional officials is currently 
going unused. Liljert suspected that the Regional Commissioner is 
blocking the use of the facility because he believes equipment was 
removed by UNHCR before the handover. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Liljert noted that IOM had spoken to the Principal 
Commissioner of Immigration Services about establishing a regional 
 
DAR ES SAL 00000607  002 OF 002 
 
 
training center for immigration officials in the vicinity of 
Kibondo, similar to the one in Moshi. The Principal Commissioner and 
several of his officers were impressed with the Moshi facility when 
they toured it with Liljert. GOT Immigration Officials and IOM 
expressed interest in establishing a second training center and a 
processing facility for illegal migrants in Kibondo. Liljert noted 
that due to the sensitivities of regional officials, it would be 
important to keep any such effort quiet until an agreement was 
finalized. 
 
Naturalization of the 1972 Burundian Population 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶8. (SBU) El Hillo reported that the GOT has upheld its commitment to 
naturalizing the 1972 Burundian refugees. As noted in ref b, 3,568 
Burundians have received citizenship and are awaiting their 
naturalization certificates. UNHCR submitted a second batch of 
applications for naturalization to the Ministry of Home Affairs in 
late August and expected to submit two more in the next few weeks. 
El Hillo suggested that the international community should continue 
to support the GOT's naturalization and local integration efforts, 
especially as it faces criticism from the opposition that these 
initiatives compromise national security. 
 
Status of Resettlement 
---------------------- 
¶9. (U) UNHCR's Desamours reported on the status of referral 
submissions to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). UNHCR-TZ 
claims to have finished processing the Kanembwa caseload Q a total 
of 1575 referrals Q and submitted them to the UNHCR Regional 
Resettlement Hub in Nairobi. Desamours expects UNHCR to submit an 
additional 500 referrals from the Nyarugusu camp by mid-October and 
another 500 in December. The total by year-end should thus exceed 
the target of 2,000 referrals for the year. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Desamours raised several concerns about the referral 
process. First, she noted that a group of 871 refugees at the 
Kanembwa camp had been cleared for departure to the U.S. but had not 
left Tanzania (Note: IOM subsequently confirmed that 572 had already 
departed and 239 additional departures were expected by the end of 
September). Second, because the caseloads of vulnerable refugees 
will be very similar, UNHCR requested PRM approval to extend the use 
of the abridged referral form (previously approved for the Kanembwa 
caseload) to the remaining caseloads. UNHCR said, if approved, it 
will submit revised population profiles for each population for 
which the referral form is used. Finally, Desamours expressed 
concern about the manner in which families are presented the option 
of filing separate resettlement petitions for non-biologically 
related children on their cases. She indicated that by not 
expressing clearly the option for the child to be cross-referenced 
with the case or to be treated as a separate case, the OPE (Overseas 
Processing Entity) is causing anxiety among the families. The 
families believe the fostered children will be taken from them when 
they arrive in the U.S. RefCoord said he has plans to encourage the 
OPE to use more appropriate language to explain the options. In 
turn, RefCoord noted the concerns of the Consular Section about 
refugeeQs ability to obtain permission to leave the camps to attend 
visa interviews (Visa 92/Visa 93). UNHCR offered to work with the 
Embassy to facilitate the movement and assist the refugees in 
securing accommodations while in Dar es Salaam. 
 
CUNNANE