Operational environment
The peace process between the Government of Mozambique and the opposition party RENAMO continued. While the country remained relatively stable and peaceful, the attacks by un-identified armed groups in the northern region of Cabo Delgado evolved into a serious security threat.
UNHCR continued to engage closely with the Government of Mozambique and provide assistance in the management of refugees and asylum-seekers. Approximately a third of refugees and asylum-seekers were hosted in Maratane refugee camp in Nampula Province, while the remaining were living in urban areas across the country. Mozambique expressed its support and cooperation for applying CRRF.
There are some 12,000 asylum claims recommended for refugee status by National Eligibility Commission that have been pending signature by the Minister of Interior since 2011.
Some 2,600 Mozambican asylum-seekers who were remaining in Malawi returned spontaneously to their places of origin in late 2018.
Population trends
At the end of 2018, Mozambique was hosting some 50,020 people of concern to UNHCR, including 4,910 refugees, 21,140 asylum-seekers, 8,850 returnees and 15,130 IDPs. The majority of the refugees and asylum-seekers were from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Key achievements
In 2018, UNHCR:
- Biometrically verified and registered close to 3,350 refugees and asylum-seekers in Nampula, the capital of Nampula Province;
- Strengthened identification and response to SGBV, through improved intake forms and developed referral pathways;
- At least half of the people of concern who accessed counselling sessions were women;
- Upgraded the refugee camp library and classroom with child friendly learning materials;
- Provided assistance to the Mozambican returnees from Malawi together with a partner.
Unmet needs
Due to funding constraints:
- Income generation opportunities for participants of a livelihoods project aimed at improving self-reliance and reducing aid dependency of vulnerable people were not established;
- Installation of communal latrines, replacement of the main water tank and recruitment of WASH promoters in Maratane Refugee Camp were not undertaken;
- Lack of adequate staff for adequate project implementation and monitoring.