{"id":165069,"date":"2024-01-18T12:42:11","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T10:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/central-africa\/dr-congo\/malawi-rights-group-expelled-from-refugee-camp\/"},"modified":"2024-01-18T12:42:11","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T10:42:11","slug":"malawi-rights-group-expelled-from-refugee-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/central-africa\/dr-congo\/malawi-rights-group-expelled-from-refugee-camp\/","title":{"rendered":"Malawi: Rights Group Expelled from Refugee Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The\u00a0Malawian<\/a>\u00a0government is jeopardizing\u00a0refugee<\/span>\u00a0rights at Dzaleka refugee camp by expelling an important refugee rights group, Human Rights Watch said today.\u00a0INUA Advocacy<\/a>\u00a0had been providing independent scrutiny of the human rights situation at the camp, which is about 40 kilometers from Lilongwe, the capital.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The media\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that the Malawian Ministry of Homeland Security wrote to INUA Advocacy in November 2023 to terminate its partnership with the group, ordering it to vacate Dzaleka camp. The partnership had permitted INUA Advocacy to have offices within the camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cMalawi authorities should stop targeting those exposing abuses against refugees and advocating for refugee rights,\u201d said\u00a0Idriss Ali Nassah<\/a>, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. \u201cINUA Advocacy and other organizations demanding respect for human rights and accountability in the treatment of refugees should be allowed to operate without fear of being deregistered or targeted by the authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chief executive officer of INUA Advocacy, Innocent Magambi, told Human Rights Watch that the Homeland Security Ministry did not give a reason for ending the partnership. He believes the authorities acted because of the organization\u2019s advocacy around human rights violations that refugees and asylum seekers have suffered during and after the forced relocations to Dzaleka camp in 2023.<\/p>\n

In May, the police, aided by the military, began\u00a0rounding up<\/a>\u00a0thousands of refugees and asylum seekers across Malawi, temporarily detaining them in prisons, then relocating them to Dzaleka camp. This followed a March 27 government\u00a0directive<\/a>\u00a0to enforce its\u00a0encampment policy<\/a>, which restricts the freedom of movement of refugees and asylum seekers by requiring them to live in the camp.<\/p>\n

Some of those arrested reported beatings and destruction or\u00a0theft<\/a>\u00a0of their property. INUA Advocacy and other groups\u00a0published a statement<\/a>\u00a0in August demanding a halt to the forced relocations and deportations of refugees and asylum seekers. The groups called for accountability, including the arrest and prosecution of those involved in stealing or other abuses.<\/p>\n

INUA Advocacy has also\u00a0spotlighted<\/a>\u00a0the dire living conditions inside Dzaleka camp, which is run by the government with support from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). In May, UNHCR had asked the authorities in Malawi to\u00a0rescind the relocation<\/a>\u00a0decision, noting the insufficient health services, water, shelter, and sanitation facilities in the camp, as well as the overcrowded schools. UNHCR also noted that Dzaleka camp currently hosted more than 50,000 people, though it was originally designed for a capacity of 12,000.<\/p>\n

In June, President Lazarus Chakwera\u00a0committed to improving<\/a>\u00a0the living conditions and overall well-being of refugees in the country. The government also pledged to uphold human rights in its treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.<\/p>\n

However, the\u00a0hardships<\/a>\u00a0brought about by the encampment policy have resulted in some refugees opting to leave Malawi. In October, over\u00a0100 Burundians<\/a>\u00a0had left Malawi in what UNHCR\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0were voluntary repatriations. The community leader of the Burundian refugees told the media that some of those leaving had decided to do so due to\u00a0limited resources<\/a>\u00a0at Dzaleka camp.<\/p>\n

A 26-year-old Rwandan woman with two children, all recognized refugees, told Human Rights Watch that she and her husband, also a Rwandan refugee, had moved out of Dzaleka camp about eight years ago to set up a grocery shop and agriculture business in Lilongwe. When armed police raided their home in May during the enforcement of the encampment policy, the family lost their business and their home.<\/p>\n

At Dzaleka camp, where the family arrived empty handed, she was separated from her husband and housed in a tent with her children and several other women. Her children, ages 5 and 7, are out of school because the classrooms in the camp are full.<\/p>\n

Despite their destitute living situation, the woman said she had no option but to stay in Malawi, where she had lived virtually her entire life. She said she was only 3 years old when her mother fled Rwanda and brought her to Malawi.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know anything about the country where I was born,\u201d she said. \u201cMy mother died in this camp, leaving just my brother and me. So, tell me, where will I go? The authorities are saying we could return to our countries if we wish, but even if I returned to Rwanda, who would show me where to go? I don\u2019t know anyone there and wouldn\u2019t even know where to start from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malawi is party to both the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention. Malawi expressed\u00a0reservations<\/a>\u00a0when it ratified the 1951 Convention, stating it considered certain provisions \u201cas recommendations only and not legally binding,\u201d including refugees\u2019 rights to freedom of movement, employment, property, and public education.<\/p>\n

Malawi is also party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, both of which uphold the right of refugee children to an education as well as other rights.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Malawi\u00a0endorsed<\/a>\u00a0the UN\u00a0Global Compact on Refugees<\/a>, which builds on the\u00a0Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework<\/a>. These instruments\u00a0recognize<\/a>\u00a0the importance of integrating refugees into the population and the respect for their socioeconomic rights, also highlighting that access to education and labor markets promotes refugee self-reliance and contributes to local economies.<\/p>\n

Malawi\u2019s 1989\u00a0Refugee Act<\/a>\u00a0provides for procedures to determine refugee status but does not address the rights of refugees. INUA Advocacy has lobbied for amending the law requiring refugees to live in the camp indefinitely and to enshrine refugees\u2019 rights to freedom of movement, work, and education.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Malawian government should fulfill its expressed commitment to respect refugee rights and improve their living conditions, and not obstruct the important work of\u00a0civil society<\/span>\u00a0groups defending these rights,\u201d Nassah said. \u201cThe government should collaborate with local and international rights organizations, ensure their access to Dzaleka refugee camp, and end its encampment policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).<\/i><\/p>\n

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South Africa Today Africa \u2013 Central Africa Democratic Republic of Congo<\/a> News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Download logo The\u00a0Malawian\u00a0government is jeopardizing\u00a0refugee\u00a0rights at Dzaleka refugee camp by expelling an important refugee rights group, Human Rights Watch said today.\u00a0INUA Advocacy\u00a0had been providing independent scrutiny of the human rights situation at the camp, which is about 40 kilometers from Lilongwe, the capital. The media\u00a0reported\u00a0that the Malawian Ministry of Homeland Security wrote to INUA Advocacy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":165070,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/large\/60d80c333445d54","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[278],"tags":[258,256,6835,4696,281,4691,450,279,280,8138,5192,5028,257,6765,5100,254],"class_list":["post-165069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dr-congo","tag-africa","tag-africa-news","tag-camp","tag-central-africa","tag-democratic-republic-of-congo","tag-dr-congo","tag-dr-congo-news","tag-drc","tag-drc-news","tag-expelled","tag-group","tag-malawi","tag-news","tag-refugee","tag-rights","tag-south-africa-today"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/large\/60d80c333445d54","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}