ReliefWeb

Zambia received 716 new arrivals during the month of January. 449 came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 249 from Burundi, and 18 from other states.

A total of 260 refugee and host community farmers (subtotal of 50) in Mantapala settlement were provided with agriculturally productive assets, enabling cultivation during the 2019/2020 farming season.

Resettlement Registration Forms (RRFs) of 62 cases (comprising 239 individuals) were completed for review for possible acceptance into the Finnish quota.

Working with Partners

• UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, works closely with the Office of the Commissioner for Refugees (COR) in the Ministry of Home Affairs and key government line ministries.

• It also works in partnership with the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) and NGOs, such as Action Africa Help,
  Plan International, Caritas Czech Republic, CARE International and World Vision Zambia.

• Most of the NGOs and UN agencies provide support to Congolese refugees, the majority of whom live in Mantapala Settlement, in northern Zambia.

• Together with the government, UNHCR also provides basic social support to persons of concern in the older refugee settlements of Meheba and Mayukwayukwa, in Western and North Western provinces, respectively.

Main Activities

Protection

• Zambia received a total of 716 new arrivals in January 2020. 449 came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 249 from Burundi and 18 are of other nationalities. The number of Burundian arrivals constitutes a steady increase, with 249 Burundians newly registered in January, the majority of which in Lusaka. This increase could be attributed to latent registration. Of the 449 newly registered Congolese, 313 arrived prior to 2020, continuing the trend of arrivals presenting themselves for registration some months after arriving in the country. In December 2019,
  Zambia registered 538 new arrivals. 2019 saw a total of 7,914 new arrivals through various entry points, the majority of which consisted of Congolese, followed by Burundians.

• UNHCR organized the Roundtable on the Urban Refugee Programme together with the Ministry of Home Affairs and NGOs working in the urban context, on the implementation of UNHCR’s 2009 Urban Refugee Policy, communitybased protection, access to services and inclusion into national systems, enhancement of partnerships and data gathering. The outcome of the roundtable serves to improve the delivery of services and define areas in need of advocacy, mapping, and information to enable evidence-based programming. Challenges identified include the encampment policy, documentation, outreach, and obstacles to inclusion into national services. Zambia participated in the global survey on the implementation of the Policy in 2012 and the Building Communities of Practice for Urban Refugees initiative in 2015.

• In Mantapala settlement, UNHCR and Child line staff continue to operate at the Protection Help Desks offering counselling, receiving request of different Core Relief Items and providing advice on diverse protection matters.

• UNHCR and Care International held a meeting with the refugee leaders in the Mantapala settlement to sensitize and roll out the “Zero Tolerance Village Alliance” Project (ZTVA), a community-based model which employs community members to monitor and combat SGBV in the settlement, funded by the Population Council. It will be rolled out in Mantapala starting from January to September 2020. After the meeting, Stakeholders Forum members were elected to assist mobilizing beneficiaries and thereby spearhead its implementation.

• In Meheba Refugee Settlement, UNHCR, together with the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS), convened a multi-functional team (MFT) meeting to approve the list of appointed guardians of unaccompanied children to collect CBI on behalf of the children until the unaccompanied are eligible to collect cash on their own at the age of 16 years old. The MFT approved a total of 20 children through ten households. ■ In Mayukwayukwa Refugee Settlement, MCDSS completed the introduction of prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) monitoring and supervision to key leaders in the settlement.