Humanitarian Border Management Assessment in Burundi

Rutana, Burundi

In February 2014, following a presidential order of July 2013 based on which thousands of Burundian, Ugandan and Rwandan migrants were expelled from Tanzania, the ACBC conducted a rapid humanitarian border management (HBM) assessment in Burundi.

HBM denotes border operations before, during and after a man-made or natural disaster which triggers cross-border population movements. HBM ensures that during such migration crises, borders are managed in a way that protects the national territory, while at the same time safeguarding human rights of those fleeing the disaster.

The purpose of the HBM assessment was to assess circumstances under which Burundian migrants were expelled from Tanzania and entered into Burundi. The assessment team visited several border crossing points between Burundi and Tanzania; regional immigration offices; as well as transit camps where some of the Burundian migrants are currently residing. On the basis of interviews with relevant stakeholders and migrants themselves, recommendations were formulated to assist the Burundian and Tanzanian governments with migration management in the future. In the coming months, IOM Tanzania will organize a series of training workshops and a regional dialogue conference involving the affected countries, during which these recommendations will be discussed.