Malawian refugee policy, international politics and the one-party regime.

• Author: Callamard, Agnes
• Position: Refugees and International Population Flows

The peace agreement signed on 4 October 1992 between the Mozambican government and the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) ended a 16-year civil war(2) that has left an estimated 1 million people dead, devastated the country's economic and social infrastructures and compelled more than 1.7 million people -- the largest registered refugee population in Africa -- to seek refuge in neighboring countries.(3) The majority, about 1.1 million in October 1992, have found asylum in Malawi, one of the most densely populated countries in Africa and among the world's poorest nations,(4) as well as a long-time South African ally and Frelimo opponent.(5) Since 1986, the Malawian government has implemented and remains committed to a policy that not only has received international attention and praise from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the U.S. State Department, but also has contrasted sharply with its human rights record(6) and with the number of forced repatriations and mistreatment of refugees occurring in Europe, North America and Asia.

Malawi's response to the refugee crisis follows a common trend among African countries of asylum which, when confronted with political and economic problems and refugee movements of great magnitude, embrace an open door policy and ensure the protection of refugees.(7) Malawi's refugee policy, while firmly rooted on the African continent, remains ill-understood and little-explained, save for the idea offered by both international agencies and African governments of the shared ethnic ties between refugees and hosts.

The objective of this article is to identify the variables which account for the nature and formulation of Malawian policy toward the arrival and settlement of Mozambican refugees from 1986 to 1993. Specifically, it will show that Malawian refugee policy was historically produced; reflected the natural and structural economic constraints of the country; and resulted from the one-party regime's desperate quest to ensure its survival in the midst of increasing domestic and international pressures for democratization following the end of the Cold War and political change in South Africa.

MOZAMBICAN REFUGEES IN MALAWI: AN OVERVIEW

The recent history of Mozambican refugees in Malawi and the response of the Malawian government can be divided into two main periods: the 1970s to 1986, characterized by sporadic and temporary movements of Mozambicans finding refuge and assistance among local Malawians; and late 1986 to 1993, in which a massive influx of refugees led to the implementation of an international program of assistance. Thus, one can differentiate between these two periods by the nature of the influx and the identities of the actors involved.

Sporadic movements of Mozambicans across the Malawian border were reported regularly during the 1970s and the early 1980s in the Mulanje and Dedza districts.(8) During this initial stage, assistance was provided mainly by the community in which the refugees self-settled. The local residents usually shared housing, food, water and land with the refugees, who were displaced by what were then perceived as temporary disturbances. If and when the refugees reported their status to the district police, they were given temporary sheiter and food.(9) At the time, there was no UNHCR presence in Malawi,(10) and the Malawian government had not yet ratified the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol.

By the end of 1986, the number of Mozambican refugees had increased dramatically. Over a six-month period, more than 70,000 Mozambicans sought refuge in five districts inside Malawi (Dedza, Ntcheu, Chikwawa, Nsanje and Mulanje), bringing their estimated total in the country to 100,000.(11) This first large influx of refugees into Malawi resulted from a shift in Malawian policy vis-a-vis Renamo. The mass movement took place a few weeks after the leaders of Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe visited President Kamuzu Banda of Malawi, charging that Renamo was operating from Malawian bases and threatening him with sanctions. (Malawian goods have to pass through Zambia and Zimbabwe to get to South African ports -- see map.)(12) Banda denied the charges, but soon after the visit large Renamo contingents, apparently flushed out of Malawi, overran large parts of the Mozambican province of Zambezia and created the first influx of refugees into Malawi.(13)

This movement had two major implications. First, given the number of refugees, it resulted in the abandonment of a "local" strategy in favor of a national one. The government intervened, calling upon the Malawi Red Cross to coordinate and distribute relief supplies to the Mozambican refugees in consultation with district commissioners.(14) Refugee camps were opened in all receiving districts and transport and communication networks leading to the areas of settlement were constructed or rehabilitated.

Second, the 1986 refugee influx set the stage for international intervention. Until then, Renamo fighters had found a safe haven as well as logistical, military and medical support in Malawi, a situation which ruled out the involvement of international agencies and the presence of international observers in the areas of settlement. Malawi's alignment in 1986 with the policy taken by its immediate neighbors, namely Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique, resulted in the dismantlement of most Renamo bases in Malawi, the subsequent departure of Renamo fighters from the Malawian territory and, ultimately, the participation of international agencies in the relief activities.

UNHCR and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) became more involved in Malawi in January 1987, when the Malawian government officially requested their intervention, at a time when a major offensive in northern Mozambique by combined Zimbabwean, Tanzanian and Mozambican troops had led to a second major flow of Mozambican refugees into Malawi.(15) In February 1987, the government signed a memorandum of understanding with UNHCR, thereby officially requesting a UNHCR presence in Malawi(16) Then, in November 1987, Malawi ratified the 1951 Convention, its 1967 Protocol (relating to the status of refugees) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa. By that time, more than 300,000 Mozambicans had sought asylum in Malawi and their numbers continued to increase at the rate of 20,000 per month in 1988. The 1989 to 1992 period saw a relative stabilization of the number of refugees at around 900,000 up until the end of july 1992, when the peace talks between Renamo and Frelimo allowed thousands of Mozambicans, facing starvation in Renamo-held areas because of a devastating drought, to find refuge in Malawi, mostly in Nsanje district.(17) Since the signature of the Mozambican peace accord in October 1992, however, no new refugee flows into Malawi have been reported. In fact, according to the UNHCR sub-office in Tete province, as of June 1993, over 260,000 refugees had returned from Malawi.(18) Such instances of spontaneous repatriation, which have multiplied in the fall and winter of 1993, are occurring along with the implementation of a reconstruction and reintegration plan of action in Mozambique(19) and signal the disintegration of the program of refugee assistance in Malawi.

ADMISSION POLICY: AN OPEN DOOR APPROACH

As outlined previously, Malawi's implementation of international refugee law began in November 1987, when the government signed the 1951 Convention, the 1967 Protocol and the OAU Convention. These ratifications merely confirmed a well-established practice regarding the admission of Mozambican refugees, for even prior to 1987, the government was pursuing an "open door" policy, accepting the presence of all Mozambicans on the national territory.

Before turning to an explanation of this approach, it should be emphasized that Malawian practices regarding the status of Mozambicans differ from the 1951 Convention definition of refugee on one fundamental point: According to the latter, refugee status is determined on an individual basis, whereas Mozambican access to safety, and later to refugee status in Malawi, is conducted on a group basis. All asylum-seekers from Mozambique are recognized as prima facie refugees by virtue of the continuing civil strife in that country.(20)

Malawian refugee admission and status determination policies follow a usual pattern found among most African countries of asylum, a pattern formally established by the expansion of the High Commissioner's mandate through the development of the "good offices" function in the late 195Os(21) and by the 1969 OAU Convention.(22) The latter especially includes external aggression, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order, as causes of refugee movements. It therefore recognizes as refugees all persons compelled to escape violence, regardless of whether they personally are in danger of political persecution,(23) and mandates a group-defined standard for determination. This approach is conceptualized by Zolberg, Suhrke and Aguayo, who distinguish between three sociological types of refugees: the activists, defined as "dissenters and rebels whose actions contribute to the confhct and eventually force them to flee;" the targets, "individuals who through membership in a particular group, are singled out for violent action;" and the victims, who are "randomly caught in the cross-fire or are exposed to generalized social violence."(24) The majority of Mozambican refugees fall within the last category (accounted for in the OAU Convention but ignored in the 1959 definition), since their flights and subsequent refugee status do not result from personal political activities but from their mere physical location in areas of conflicts.

HISTORICAL DYNAMICS

The interpretation most commonly held by both the United Nations and the Malawian government...