WORLD Refugee Day has significance for many Namibians who lived in refugee camps in exile during the liberation struggle and this year’s theme should inspire those who had fled countries where the situation was stabilising to return home, a Cabinet Minister said.
Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Rosalia Nghidinwa told Parliament that International Refugee Day was commemorated at the Osire Refugee Camp on Thursday.
The date set by the United Nations (UN) is for Sunday, June 20.
The theme is ‘They took my home but they can’t take my future – working towards a world without refugees’.
‘The Ministry will remain focused and committed to ensure that all refugees and asylum seekers hosted in Namibia are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve and their rights granted as provided for in the Namibian Constitution,’ Nghidinwa said.
‘The Ministry also expects that all refugees and asylum seekers will abide by general obligations as provided in UN and African Union conventions.’
She wanted to send a message to all refugees and asylum seekers in Namibia that Namibia ‘and the whole world’ was supporting them in their plight, the Minister added.
‘We believe the time has come to encourage refugees – particularly Angolans and Rwandese – whose countries have consolidated democracy, to make use of voluntary repatriation organised by both Government and the UNHCR, so they can be reintegrated together with their families and be able to contribute to the development of their countries,’ she said.
Some of the refugees who had been repatriated to Angola were now contributing to the reconstruction of their home country, she said.
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