23 Jun 2024

Ministry of Justice has received a low number of applications of refugees who wanted to be integrated into local communities.

As such, Minister Machana Shamukuni has appealed to refugees to consider local integration as an option.

He said this at a Refugee Day commemoration in Dukwi on Thursday. He said local integration would give them an opportunity to apply for land and settle anywhere they wished, as they would have acquired citizenship.

He said government was committed to ensuring that refugees’ stay in Botswana was safe and conducive until a permanent solution was found for them.

Mr Shamukuni said it was widely known that refugees flee their homes in fear of conflict and persecution with the primary goal being to protect life.

Thus, he said Botswana was committed to providing refugees with a safe home adding that government continued to engage in dialogue with different stakeholders in effort to give refuges hope, ease their plight and a home that created an opportunity for durable solutions to their situation.

Last year, the minister said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the government of Switzerland hosted the second Global Refugee Forum where Botswana made four pledges directly aimed at making refugee lives easier; amongst them Review of the Refugee (Recognition and Control) Act cap 25:01, Inclusion of refugees in the National Development Agenda as well as Issuance of identity and travel documents and local integration of protracted cases, unaccompanied minors and individuals at risk of being stales.

He said the ministry with the support of key stakeholders had made significant strides toward attainment of these pledges.

“The fundamental and first instance opportunity to welcome refugees is to have a legislative framework aligned to the United Nations Convention relating to their status,” he said.

He therefore said in the next session of Parliament, he would present a Bill that sought to amend the Refugees Recognition and Control Act in order to align it to the international practices.

Minister Shamukuni also appreciated the resettlement to other host countries that had been on going with 289 individuals undergoing resettlement procedures.

Refugee Welfare Committee chairperson, Mr Lukusa Bakampeta appreciated that government heeded their request they made at last year’s commemoration where they asked to be given permission to seek some temporary employment outside the camp.

Though the thanked the ministry for acceding to their plea, he pleaded with government to consider giving those with qualifications to be given permits to apply for employment so that they could be useful to the community that had been hosting them for many years.

Most of the refugees, he said had been in Botswana for more than 20 years and their children only know Dukwi as their home.

Also, he appealed to government to speed up the process of local integration for those who had applied so that they could be start rebuilding their lives in Botswana. ENDS