UNHCR SEEKS $30.8 MILLION FOR ANGOLAN REFUGEES

22 March 1996

Press Release
REF/1138

UNHCR SEEKS $30.8 MILLION FOR ANGOLAN REFUGEES

19960322 GENEVA, 22 March (UNHCR) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today appealed for $30.8 million for its repatriation programme this year for some 300,000 Angolan refugees.

Since the signing of the peace accord in November 1994, more than 14,500 Angolan refugees have returned spontaneously to their country.

The return movement is expected to gain momentum once significant progress is achieved in the demobilization of troops and clearance of land- mines on major routes. Despite cease-fire violations, there are hopeful signs that the peace process is irreversible.

More than 600,000 people died and over 3 million others were forced from their homes during 20 years of civil war in Angola.

There are some 200,000 Angolan refugees in Zaire, 96,000 in Zambia, 12,000 in the Congo and 1,000 in Namibia. Another 15,000 are in 32 other countries.

Last June, the UNHCR launched a programme for the repatriation of the refugees. Except for about 82,000 refugees who will require transportation assistance, most of the others in the asylum countries are expected to return spontaneously. The repatriation organized by the UNHCR is scheduled to begin in June or July, depending on security conditions in Angola.

The $30,862,394 needed this year will cover the cost of transportation, provision of water, sanitation, health, shelter and education facilities in areas where the refugees are likely to return to, as well as repair of roads and bridges.

Over the past eight months, the UNHCR has opened eight field offices in Angola. Vehicles and trucks used in the repatriation of Mozambican refugees have been moved to Angola, to augment the agency's transport capacity.

The repatriation of the Angolan refugees is the second major operation conducted by the UNHCR in southern Africa. It follows the successful repatriation of 1.7 million Mozambican refugees to their country. Completed last June, the Mozambican repatriation was the largest ever undertaken by the UNHCR in Africa.

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