ReliefWeb

Introduction

The political crisis and ensuing destabilization and deterioration of the economic situation in Burundi has since April 2015 led to the outflow of more than 400,000 Burundian refugees to neighbouring countries, primarily the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. During 2017, the refugee population increased by more than 60,000, bringing the total Burundian refugee population (including a smaller population who had sought asylum prior to April 2015) to 427,784 as of 31 October 2017. Security incidents in Burundi, continuing political tensions, and a stalled peace process coupled with rising food insecurity has resulted in the deterioration of the humanitarian situation including ongoing population displacement and refugee outflow. Refugees are no longer being granted refugee status on a prima facie basis in Tanzania, Uganda, and DRC, while the policy remains in place in Rwanda.

Out of the refugee population 230,000 are children, representing approximately 54 per cent.
In response to this crisis, and in light of the serious impact on children, UNHCR and child protection partners have come together to jointly agree on a Regional Plan of Action for the Protection of Refugee Children for the period January to December 2018. The regional partners who have contributed to the Plan of Action include: UNHCR, UNICEF, Save the Children, Plan International, IRC, Legal Aid Forum, and World Vision. National partners have contributed to the process at the country level. This Regional Plan of action sets a common vision for the protection of Burundian refugee children and outlines three regional priority areas for child protection.

These regional priorities are aimed to enhance the child protection response in areas where gaps have been identified but also where there is potential for maximizing the impact of programmes for better outcomes for children. The regional priorities complement and amplify country specific priorities and strategies. A regional perspective on key areas of child protection are also intended to enhance learning between operations, to harmonize and create synergies for more effective programmes. The participating agencies are committed to strengthen interventions in these areas during the coming year. The Regional Child Protection Network, chaired by UNHCR, will collectively support the child protection response in the Burundi situation in particular in these identified priority areas. The Regional Plan of Action for the Protection of Children, is fully aligned with and complements the Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) for the Burundi situation for January to December 2018.

Regional Overview

Tanzania is the largest host of Burundian refugees in the region with 256,000 refugees as of October 31, 2017, of whom 236,000 are camp based. In Rwanda, there are 88,000 Burundian refugees mostly hosted in Mahama camp, with others residing in urban areas. The DRC hosts 45,000 Burundian refugees, predominantly in Lusenda camp in South Kivu, with the remaining families in transit centres or hosted by communities in Katanga, Maniema and North Kivu provinces. In Uganda, there are 39,000 Burundian refugees, hosted in the previously existing Nakivale settlement. Regionally, 86 per cent of Burundian refugees are hosted in camps, with 14 per cent living in urban areas.

In 2016 and 2017, some refugees began to return to Burundi by their own means, predominantly from Tanzania as well as Rwanda. A ministerial tripartite meeting was held between the Governments of Burundi and Tanzania with UNHCR at the end of August 2017 where modalities were put in place to assist an estimated 12,000 Burundian refugees to return to Burundi from Tanzania in the last quarter of 2017. The 2018 Burundi RRRP anticipates up to 60,000 Burundian refugees may choose to return voluntarily in 2018.