BURUNDI: NUMBER OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS IN CAMPS HALVED

BURUNDI:  NUMBER OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS IN CAMPS HALVED

NEW YORK, 14 May (OCHA) –- There are as half as many people in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Burundi as there were two years ago, according to a new survey led by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).  The results of the survey show that the number of the displaced dropped from 281,000 in 2002 to some 140,000 today.

The survey was conducted with the Ministry for the Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Displaced and Repatriated Persons, as well as the National Commission for the Rehabilitation of Disaster-affected People.  The aim of the survey was to give the humanitarian community some data on the IDP situation, its demographic profile and the intent of people to return, as well as to produce a comprehensive analysis on the needs of IDPs, within the framework of either settling them at their present sites or returning them to their homes.

The survey only covered IDPs who were in camps during March and April.  Those displaced temporarily because of fighting, especially in Bujumbura Rural Province and IDPs living with host families, were not surveyed.  It is, of course, essential to take into consideration these two groups when a response strategy is mapped out for IDPs nationwide.

According to the report, the return of some 140,000 people increased at the end of 2003, mostly in the southern provinces.  Some 44 per cent of the people still living in IDP camps are in the provinces of Gitega, Kayanza, Kirundo, Muyinga, Muramvya, Ngozi and Karuzi.  The OCHA reported that 58 per cent of the 28,679 displaced families surveyed expressed their willingness to return home in the near future.  Most of those wanting to return home were in the south and eastern province rather than in the central and northern provinces, OCHA reported.  The reasons they gave for wanting to return were the poor living conditions in the camps; the Government's prodding for them to go home; the IDPs desire to reclaim their properties before the arrival of Burundian refugees from the United Republic of Tanzania; and because of the improved security situation in their home areas.

Close to 40 per cent of the IDPs said they wanted to settle in the current IDP camp sites, especially in the centre and south of the country.  However, approximately 80,000 persons said they plan to go home when the security situation improves.  Others were waiting for the repatriation of refugees, for the start of the farming season or for legal decisions on property ownership.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA New York, tel.: 917 367 5126, mobile: 917 892 1679; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel.:
41 22 917 2653, mobile: 41(0) 79 473 4570.

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