Government has not rolled out its Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) aimed at empowering refugees, eight years after committing to implement it.
Rights bodies have warned that this could have serious implications as it amounts to a withdrawal from the framework.
But senior administrative and operations manager in the Department of Refugees, Hilda Katema Kausiwa, insisted in an interview on Wednesday that government has not changed its policy on the issue.
She said: “Government has not withdrawn its commitment but we are just consulting further with a number of stakeholders while reviewing the law.”
In 2016, Malawi Government designed the CRRF which has five pledges, to provide more sustainable and inclusive approaches to refugees and asylum-seekers’ management, focusing on long-term solutions.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in 2018, former president Peter Mutharika pledged government’s continued commitment to hosting refugees and roll out the CFFR.
Government also made the same commitment the following year during the First Global Refugee Forum held in Geneva, Switzerland, where it told the world it had developed a roadmap for the implementation of CRRF, with a number of deliverables to be implemented by 2022.
This commitment was an expression to allow social, economic and educational integration of refugees into the country’s community.
The pledges made in the framework include integration of refugees into the national development agenda, facilitation of legal and policy reform by supporting the finalisation and adoption of the National Migration Policy and subsequent review of the Refugees Act.
The others are, to enhance registration and documentation of refugees and asylum-seekers through the national identification (ID) system upon amendment of the National Registration Act (2010), introduction of a settlement approach and self-reliance to enhance integrated development of the refugees and local community and enhance reception and admission through consideration of group determination (Prima Facie) for specific cases.
However, last year—three years after the change of government—the Ministry of Homeland Security issued a directive for all refugees living in urban or rural areas to relocate to the overcrowded Dzaleka Camp in Dowa.
The rights bodies, including the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) and Civil Society Coalition on Migration, warned that the stepping back would, for example, result in reduced support from donor agencies and partners.
MHRC director of civil and human rights Peter Chisi said in an interview that the decision would, for example, make donor partners hold back the monthly rations and handouts of refugees and asylum-seekers.
The organisations also say the development thwarts efforts to effectively deal with challenges created by the increasing numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers in the country.
Chisi noted that the decision to maintain the current approach to manage refugees and asylum-seekers would also have an impact on the proposal to move the location to Chitipa.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reporting officer in Malawi Gloria Nyang’iye did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.
Civil Society Coalition on Migration chairperson Victor Mhango observed that the delay to implement the framework was a real concern as it is forcing government to rely on costly, short-term measures such as forced relocations of refugees, which end up draining public funds.
“By not adopting the CRRF, Malawi misses out on an opportunity to implement more sustainable solutions like promoting refugee self-reliance, community integration, and enabling refugees to contribute positively to the economy, which could significantly reduce the financial burden on the government,” observed Mhango.
