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The EU and UNHCR in Burundi signed the project agreement for Burundian returnees

ByWebmaster

Feb 4, 2022

MUYINGA February 3rd (ABP) – The Ambassador of the European Union to Burundi, Mr. Claude Bochu, and the Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Burundi, Mr. Abdul Karim Ghoul, in collaboration with the government of Burundi, signed on Monday January 31, 2022, in Muyinga province, the project agreement “Protection and assistance of 60,000 Burundian returnees” for a period of 24 months, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.

That project of 8 million euros, or 18 billion Burundian francs, is co-financed by the EU to the tune of 4 million euros to support the UNHCR in its activities of protection and assistance to Burundian returnees, according to a joint press release issued on the sidelines of the signing of this project agreement.

The UNHCR greatly appreciates the contribution of the EU, which strengthens the privileged relationship between UNHCR and one of its most important partners. “We hope that this contribution will be a catalyst to ensure further support and enable UNHCR and its partners to respond to the great humanitarian needs arising from repatriation and promote a durable solution for Burundian returnees”, said the UNHCR representative to the Burundi.

That joint press release clarified that this EU funding will contribute to UNHCR’s activities regarding the protection monitoring of returnees in areas of return, the provision of durable shelter to the most vulnerable, the improvement of transit centers, distribution of basic necessities, medical care, transport, registration and documentation.

The EU Ambassador to Burundi said that this support will create the right conditions for the return of returnees in safety and dignity, and will contribute to their sustainable reintegration, in addition to the support provided to local communities.”

The EU is an important partner of UNHCR in its mission to protect and assist refugees in Burundi and around the world, the press release noted, noting that since 2017, UNHCR has facilitated the voluntary repatriation of 187,698 Burundian refugees, mainly from Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, but also from Kenya.

With that in mind, the EU Ambassador to Burundi and the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Burundi visited this Tuesday, February 1, 2022, the Musasa camp in Kiremba commune of Ngozi province and that of Kinama in Gasorwe commune of Muyinga province, bringing together Congolese refugees and in which the EU supports protection, renewable energy and social cohesion activities between refugees and Burundian host communities, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.

Those activities are part of two EU-funded projects, namely the project “Protection, health and empowerment of refugees in Burundi”, funded to the tune of 5 billion Burundian francs and the project “Umuco w’Iterambere » funded to the tune of 2.1 million euros, or 4.7 billion BIF. Since November 2020, those projects target urban refugees and refugees in the 5 camps as well as host communities, concluded the joint press release between the EU and UNHCR.