The Former Refugees Repatriation Association Namibia is demanding the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to release funds meant to repatriate over 43 387 refugees.
Association president Mathues Nangolo says they want the same compensation the UNHCR gave to the Caprivi secessionists who were repatriated from Botswana to Namibia.
“The Namibian refugees who were at Dukwe Refugee camp and were repatriated by the UNHCR from Botswana were given all kinds of assistance, they were resettled,” he says.
He was speaking at a meeting between the association and UN resident co-ordinator Hopolang Phororo in Windhoek on Wednesday.
Spokesperson Mathues Stefanus alleged the UNHCR has failed to implement its resettlement and rehabilitation programmes in Namibia under United Nations Resolution 435 of 1978.
“What happened to the resettlement and rehabilitation budget of these programmes, why are such programmes not implemented in Namibia by the UN, especially the UNHCR and its implementing partners?” he asked.
The UN Resolution 435 called for the withdrawal of South African forces from Namibia and for the transfer of power to the people of Namibia.
The resolution also established a United Nations Transition Assistance Group to supervise and assist the independence of Namibia through free elections.
Stefanus added that refugees repatriated from Angola, Zambia and 40 other countries have been living in poverty since 1989.
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