The Assistant High Commissioner for Protection with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), Volker Türk, made the remarks on Thursday as he completed a four-day visit to Tanzania, which hosts more that 340,000 refugees and asylum-seekers.
“Refugees need to have a meaningful choice about whether they wish to return based on the facts and realities on the ground. There should not be any direct or indirect pressure exercised on refugees to choose whether to return,” he said.
He also said that the Government of Tanzania had assured the UNHCR that the decision to return would be up to refugees themselves.
During his stay in the East African country, Türk met with the Tanzanian authorities and partners to discuss protection challenges and solutions for the refugees and asylum seekers who have found shelter in the country, having fled conflict and persecution in their homelands.
Majority of the refugees in Tanzania hail from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with nearly 90 per cent living in three camps in the Kigoma region, located in the west.
The UN official also visited the Nduta Refugee Camp where he met with residents. He also witnessed the voluntary return process for Burundian refugees.
According to UNHCR, more than 42,000 Burundians have returned home so far.
