May 24. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed concern on Wednesday due to the forced transfer of a total of 377 refugees, including 117 minors, to the collapsed Dzaleka camp, following a decision by the Government of Malawi. taken in 2021.
“We strongly reiterate our call on the authorities to revoke their relocation decision, as the existing structures in the Dzaleka refugee camp are stretched to the limit and cannot accommodate more refugees in a dignified manner,” said the director of the Dzaleka refugee camp. UNHCR regional office in Southern Africa, Valentin Tapsoba.
The NGO has specified that more than 500 people have returned to the camp since the Malawi government issued the order in 2021, including the 377 refugees and asylum seekers who were forcibly transferred to the camp last week.
The Dzaleka camp has a capacity of 12,000 people and currently does not have adequate sanitary facilities as, as of May 22, it hosts more than 50,600 refugees, mainly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Rwanda.
“UNHCR has only received 9 percent of the $27.2 million needed to adequately support refugees and asylum seekers in Malawi this year,” he said, adding that the funding shortfall has affected its activity in the country.
