Zambia hosted nearly 120,000 refugees at the end of 1997, including 100,000 or more from Angola, 13,000 from Congo/Zaire, and about 5,000 from other countries. Small numbers of refugees from Congo/Zaire entered Zambia during 1997, many only temporarily, while small numbers of Angolan refugees repatriated. Refugees from Angola Nearly 150,000 Angolan refugees remained in Zambia at year's end, according to UNHCR, including an estimated 120,000 self-settled refugees. Self-settled Angolan refugees in Zambia lived mostly in areas near the Angolan border and had little or no contact with UNHCR or other aid agencies. In part for this reason, estimates of their number were highly speculative. About 24,000 Angolan refugees lived in the sprawling, 700 square kilometer Meheba settlement, in Northwestern Province, while some 3,500 others lived in the more remote Mayukwayukwa settlement, in Western Province, according to UNHCR. Of the nearly 28,000 Angolans living in assisted settlements, fewer than 5,000 received food assistance at year's end. A 30-month repatriation and reintegration program for Angolan refugees, including those in Zambia, proposed by UNHCR in 1995 remained largely unimplemented at the end of 1997 because of continued instability in Angola. Despite the postponement of the formal repatriation program, UNHCR's office in Angola has registered as returnees tens of thousands of Angolans claiming to have repatriated from Zambia. UNHCR's office in Zambia has generally been unable to confirm such reports. UNHCR-Zambia reported that about 3,000 Angolans were believed to have repatriated from Meheba during 1997; 11 others were known to have repatriated from Lusaka. Press reports in December indicated that Zambia had agreed to allow Angolan government forces to traverse Zambian territory in operations against Angolan rebels. The Angolan government reportedly believed that the rebels received support from Angolans living in Zambia. Refugees from Congo/Zaire Some 13,000 Congolese/Zairian refugees lived in Zambia at year's end, including about 4,000 who lived at the Meheba settlement, according to UNHCR. An estimated 6,000 or more Congolese/Zairians arrived in Zambia during 1997, primarily during the first half of the year. It was unclear how many of the recently arrived Congolese/Zairians remained in Zambia at year's end, but most were believed to have repatriated. Following the outbreak of fighting in eastern Zaire (later renamed Democratic Republic of Congo) in late 1996, several thousand Congolese/Zairians began fleeing to Zambia. The influx continued in early 1997. Many Congolese/Zairians traveled by boat on Lake Tanganyika, disembarking at Mpulungu in Zambia's Luapula Province. After disembarking, the Congolese/Zairians were held at a transit facility and assisted by the Zambian Red Cross. Other Congolese/Zairians entered Zambia via crossing points farther west; some eventually made their way to Lusaka. Still others merely sought to transit Zambia to reach portions of Congo/Zaire as yet unaffected by the conflict. Zambian officials reportedly screened the newly arrived Congolese/Zairians to determine if any were affiliated with armed groups. After the government's security test was satisfied, authorities appeared to extend refugee recognition on a group basis, UNHCR reported. Most of the newly arrived Congolese/Zairians who passed the government's screening were transferred to a transit site near Kasama. Some 28 were then transferred to Meheba, while the remainder apparently opted to repatriate spontaneously following the fall of the Mobutu regime in Congo/Zaire in May, UNHCR reported. No Congolese/Zairians remained at the Kasama reception center at year's end, according to UNHCR; about 100 Congolese/Zairians remained at a reception center near Mufulira. Other Refugees The nearly 5,000 other recognized refugees in Zambia were from Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, and other countries. Many lived in the Lusaka area. Several hundred Rwandans and Burundians arrived in Zambia from neighboring Congo/Zaire in 1997. No special screening procedures were instituted for Rwandans or Burundians, according to UNHCR. Asylum Procedure Zambia formally grants refugee status through its Eligibility Committee, chaired by Zambia's refugee commissioner. In practice, however, the refugee commissioner, using discretionary powers, may also grant refugee status without consulting the committee. Legal consultants attached to the refugee commissioner's office first interview asylum claimants. In some cases, UNHCR also interviews claimants. Cases of persons who appear to qualify for refugee status based on either the UN Refugee Convention or the OAU convention on refugees are forwarded to the refugee commissioner, who then summons applicants for a hearing before the Eligibility Committee. During 1997, Zambia granted refugee status to 112 persons, according to statistics provided to UNHCR by the Zambian government. Most grants of refugee status in 1997 were apparently made outside the framework of the Eligibility Committee, UNHCR reported.
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