ZCLU COMMENDS GOVT FOR HARMONIZING REFUGEE LAWS IN ZAMBIA

WE commend the New Dawn Administration for committing itself to not only harmonizing laws that are not speaking to each other on the matter of refugee protection in Zambia, but has also taken practical steps to modernize host communities and settlement areas, and more recently passed the first ever national refugee policy, Zambia Civil Liberties Union (ZCLU) Board Chairperson Peter Mpande has said.

Speaking to The Scoop on the sidelines of an engagement meeting with Members of Parliament on the statelessness and the state of refugees in Zambia, Mr. Mpande said the search for long-term solutions for refugees, especially for children born of refugee parents, and who know only their host communities like Zambia to be their only home was now a global issue.

“As ZCLU we believe that if we consider certain rights as good for ourselves, then we have a duty to make these rights available for everyone and our engagement as a Union on refugees will continue to be driven by our commitment to safeguarding human rights for all, promoting constitutionalism and the pursuit of justice,” he said.

Mr. Mpande said the Members of Parliament had done an admirable job in adjusting the laws to make Zambia as welcoming as possible to those fleeing for their lives and seeking a place of safety.

“The 2017 refugees Act, progressive as it was, has not yet been brought into force so that refugees can in fact access the benefits which are provided in that law. it now falls to this thirteenth national assembly to do its part to ensure that the current administration implements the law and in devising how best it can be implemented to realize the long-term solution of assimilation and naturalization for refugees,” he said.

Meanwhile United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) country representative Preeta Law said law makers had a crucial role in ensuring that practices, policies and laws governing forcibly displaced populations complied with international best practices and international refugee and humanitarian laws to protect them.

“Without national legal frameworks that support the vulnerability and problems of forcibly displaced communities cannot be addressed, and solutions will continue to elude us,” she said.

Ms. Law further added that the meeting was an important opportunity for the UNHCR to gain insights and information on the laws and policies that both promoted and hindered the meaningful inclusion of refugees and former refugees in Zambia.