Burundi: Urgent Need for a Consensus on Repatriation and Reintegration

Burundi’s new peace deal could bring very large numbers of refugees back home within three months, but there are no preparations for their repatriation and reintegration. The issue was ignored in the negotiations leading to the ceasefire accord signed on 16 November 2003, but such an omission endangers the peace process itself. It is crucial that the November accord not be implemented at the expense of refugees and the internally displaced. Numbering over one million, Burundian refugees and internally displaced have been the prime victims of the conflict, and their situation has deteriorated in the past three years. This is according to a report from the International Crisis Group.