Africa-Press – Angola. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will close its offices in Angola as from the last quarter of this year, due to the shortage of funds, caused by the decrease of donations and/or funding.
The information was provided on Monday, in Dundo, by the UNHCR representative in Angola, Emmanuelle Mitte, who accompanied by the United Kingdom ambassador to Angola, Baharat Joshi and representatives of the embassies of China and France, held a meeting with the deputy governor for the Social, Political and Economic sector of Lunda-Norte, Frederico Barroso.
A delegation from the UNHCR and the embassies of the United Kingdom, France and China visit Lunda-Norte, to learn about the current situation of the refugees settled in Lóvua and, subsequently, to define funds for their assistance.
Regarding the closure of UNHCR offices in Angola, specifically in the provinces of Luanda (Capital) and Lunda-Norte, Emmanuelle Mitte clarified that it is due to the global situation, as the organization is struggling with financial limitations, which significantly affect its actions to assist refugees and its full operation.
He assured that the closure of the offices will not condition UNHCR’s support to the Angolan government, regarding assistance to the more than 56,000 refugees as it is planned to open an office in South Africa that will supervise UNHCR’s activities in Angola.
He added that some funds are also being mobilized to create a small office in Angola, with two national officers, after the closure of the current offices.
The settlement of Lóvua controls more than 6,000 refugees, of the 35,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who, in May 2017, sought refuge and safety in Angola, fleeing acts of violence in the Kasai area, a crisis that led to the declaration of an emergency situation.
In Angola, UNHCR controls a total of 56,000 refugees of various nationalities, mostly from the DRC.
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