Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) has expressed concern with the use of police officers in relocating refugees and asylum seekers from the country’s towns and cities to Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa District.

In a statement yesterday, CHRR executive director Michael Kaiyatsa said the move by the Ministry of Homeland Security will subject refugees and asylum seekers to police brutality and abuse.

Dzaleka refugee camp

“People fleeing war, conflict and persecution deserve compassion and empathy. Using police to force such vulnerable people out of their homes is the opposite of how things should be done,” he said.

While Kaiyatsa said his organisation appreciates that government’s decision to relocate all refugees to the camp is within the confines of domestic law, it is opposed to the use of force in the relocation exercise.

“Therefore, as the November 30 deadline approaches, we urge police officers to exercise restraint in the relocation exercise. We further urge the Ministry of Homeland Security to comply with the High Court determination [in the case of Abdul Nahimana and Mkumbira v Minister of Homeland Security] that the relocation process must be done peacefully, in phases and be human rights compliant,” he said.

Kaiyatsa: We urge police officers to
exercise restraint

CHRR’s sentiments follow the advice by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to reconsider its position on relocating self-sufficient and productive refugees to Dzaleka Camp.

In a statement issued on Saturday, UNHCR country representative Cyr Modeste Kouam observed that critical underfunding is impacting service provision for refugees and asylum seekers in the country.

He said: “UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, deeply regrets the decision taken by the Malawi Government on Thursday November 24 to proceed with the execution of its directive to relocate refugees living in rural and urban centres across the country, back to Dzaleka Camp.” Minister of Homeland Security Jean Sendeza could not be reached for her reaction to the CHRR statement yesterday by press time.

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