Malawi, aware of its international obligations to assist refugees, will continue assisting new arrivals from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Rwanda by granting them refugee status.
Homeland Security Minister Nicholas Dausi said this when he visited a refugee vetting centre in the northern border district of Karonga on Monday, 9 September 2019.
The minister said his country was working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to assist the foreign nationals to settle down in the country.
“We are trying to assist our brothers and sisters in accordance with our international obligations,” Dausi said during an inspection tour of the centre.
Karonga District borders southern Tanzania, the last country the refugees travelled through before entering Malawi.
Dausi said the refugees are running away from conflict in their countries and chose to seek refuge in Malawi because they know “we are a peaceful country.”
Great Lakes refugees, who are said to arrive in Karonga daily, are screened for Ebola and other issues before proceeding to the main refugee camp in Malawi’s central district of Dowa, some 400 km away.
Malawi hosts 42 000 refugees, mainly people from the three Great Lakes states.
– APA
