UNHCR protests at deportations of Mozambicans from Tanzania – AIM report

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UNHCR protests at deportations of Mozambicans from Tanzania – AIM report

9:56 CAT | 19 May 2021

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has protested at Tanzania’s practice of deporting Mozambicans fleeing over the border to escape from terrorist violence in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday, UNHCR spokesperson Boris Cheshirkov said the UNHCR and its partners have received alarming reports, including eye-witness testimony, that several thousand Mozambicans have been denied refuge in Tanzania. This includes reports of over 1,500 returned from Tanzania this month alone.

A mission from the UNHCR and its partners visited the Negomano border post in the Mozambican district of Mueda in April, and found that the Mozambicans sheltering there had hoped to be granted refuge in Tanzania, after fleeing from the jihadists who attacked the town of Palma on 24 March.

Survivors of the Palma attack fled northwards to the Rovuma river, which forms the border between Mozambique and Tanzania. But when they crossed the river by boat, the Tanzanian authorities, far from welcoming them, simply sent them back.

A UNHCR press briefing said that that in Negomano, “people told UNHCR they had become separated from family members while fleeing from their villages in Mozambique, while some were separated upon arrival in Tanzania. Many reported being detained, transported to a local school, and interrogated by Tanzanian officials. Those unable to provide evidence of Tanzanian nationality were returned to Mozambique through a different border point from the one used to enter the country – including individuals or families of mixed nationalities”.

The UNHCR added that “the situation is particularly desperate for single mothers, now staying in Negomano without family support. The conditions at Negomano are dire and needs are acute for food, water and sanitation, and health services, but only limited humanitarian assistance is reaching the remote area”.

While some people said they wanted to stay in Negomano or move further south to Montepuez or Pemba (the two main cities in Cabo Delgado), “most of the people interviewed told us they wanted to go back to Tanzania for safety”.

The UNHCR says it is alarmed at the reports that Mozambicans “have been forcibly returned, and prevented from seeking asylum”, the briefing continued. “We call on all parties to allow free movement of civilians fleeing violence and conflict, in search of international protection, safety and assistance, including to respect and fully uphold the right to cross international borders to seek asylum”.

The UNHCR says it has been providing protection and basic assistance to 50,000 people in northern Mozambique since last year and plans to assist an additional 250,000 people by the end of this year. It puts the numbers of people displaced by terrorism in Cabo Delgado at 724,000.

Source: AIM