HOME Affairs and Internal Security Minister Jack Mwiimbu says the increase in the refugee population has exerted immense pressure on the country’s capacity to efficiently and effectively care and protect them.
Mr. Mwiimbu said the population of asylum seekers, refugees and other persons of concern being hosted in Zambia, now stood at 102,127 almost double the figure of 2016 when the country hosted 53,972 people.
He said the situation therefore, called for greater burden and responsibility sharing, especially given the US$12.3 million funding shortfall for Zambia experienced in 2021.
Mr. Mwiimbu said this during the week when he addressed the 72nd session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme (EXCOM) virtually, Mr. Mwiimbu said
“There is also a greater need to raise the bar in the quality of services offered to refugees and host communities. to achieve this, we will need support to diversify sources of funding and find more creative ways to fulfil our responsibilities to displaced populations,” he said.
Mr. Mwiimbu said as a country that rolled out the implementation of the Comprehensive refugees Response Framework (CRRF) in 2017, it had continued to be inclusive in programmes by placing national resources at the disposal of refugees, including land, social services and economic opportunities, using the whole of government approach.
He said Zambia remained committed to offering durable solutions for protracted caseloads of former refugees from Angola and Rwanda.
Mr. Mwiimbu said however, various policy, administrative and financial challenges have prevented the successful completion of this initiative since it began in 2014.
“we are searching for additional support from the UNHCR and other donor partners and the international community in order for us to realise this initiative and make progress in the local integration process,” he said.
Mr. Mwiimbu said the Government was, therefore, continuing to consult widely on the possible solutions to the challenges that it was facing in providing alternative legal status and ensuring socio-economic inclusion for the more then 23,000 former refugees.
He said Corona virus (COVID-19) had also continued to impact the provision of protection to refugees and asylum seekers as this population grapples with the loss of income, food shortages and a feeling of abandonment due to health restrictions necessary to control the spread of the disease.
Mr. Mwiimbu said it had been quite challenging for refugees and those entrusted to take care of their welfare to cope with displacement and a health crisis at the same time.
He said Zambian Government aligned the covid-19 responses with district initiatives and ramped up health services in refugee settlements and that with support from partners, it managed to avert serious disease outbreaks and have now embarked on vaccination campaigns to tackle vaccine hesitancy among the refugee population.
To prevent statelessness, Mr. Mwiimbu said efforts were being made to ensure all refugees and former refugees have access to civil registration documents and are included in the new civil registration strategic plan.
He said progress had also been made in the completion of the national action plan to deal with statelessness, in addition to taking the necessary steps to accede to the 1961 convention on the prevention of statelessness in support of the UNHCR’s I Belong campaign.
And in Response, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Fillipo Grandi encouraged to continue working towards ratify the 1961 convention on the prevention of Statelessness.
Mr. Grandi said there was also need to support Zambia with more resources to ensure successful local integration of all former refugees.
“Zambia mentioned in its statement that it continues to be open to cooperation on finding durable solutions in its country and we would like to second its appeal for more resources to ensure this locally integration,” he said.
