CITIZENSHIP AND STATELESSNESS IN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY 2020 Refugees, former refugees and returnees At no point between 1967 and 2011 did the number of refugees in Southern Africa drop below 400,000.405 There were large outflows of refugees from Angola and Mozambique during their civil wars, as well as from DRC into countries further south. Although most of these refugees have now been able to return home, some have remained in the neighbouring countries where they sought refuge. Today, the major refugee-generating situation affecting southern Africa is in the DRC, with almost one million refugees from DRC registered by UNHCR as at the end of March 2020, of which more than a quarter of a million were in other SADC states -- the largest numbers in Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia and Malawi.406 While there were new outflows of refugees from DRC, and some had returned, a substantial minority of those registered with UNHCR had been resident in their host countries for many years: UNHCR estimates that around 5 percent of refugees had, by 2020, been outside of DRC since before 2000, and almost another 10 percent since before 2010.407 Tanzania hosted 167,000 refugees from Burundi, and there were also 7,800 Burundian refugees in Mozambique, 8,300 in Malawi, 9,200 in South Africa and 6,000 in Zambia.408 Central African Republic, Rwanda, and the Horn of Africa were the other main countries of origin for refugees in the region.409 Long-term refugees, and especially their children, may be at risk of statelessness, especially if they have never registered with UNHCR or claimed refugee status through a national process. They cannot obtain the nationality of the country where they have now established their lives and families, while at the same time they have lost all connection to their country of origin, both in fact and as a matter of legal documentation. Among such groups are the Zigua population of Somali Bantu origin in Tanzania, some of whom have been formally naturalised, but others remain undocumented.410 The lack of clarity about their nationality status creates perceptions of security risks for the state authorities concerned, while also ensuring that the members of these groups do not feel secure in their place of residence. It may also hinder repatriation efforts: for example, agreements to repatriate Congolese from Rwanda to DRC have consistently been hindered by the impossibility of clearly identifying those who are entitled to return.411 At particular risk of statelessness are former refugees from countries where the “ceased circumstances” clause of the UN Refugee Convention has been invoked, meaning that the presumption is that it is safe for them to return home. Unless an application for exemption from this rule and continuing protection as a refugee is approved, the former refugee will need recognition from the country of origin that he or she is a national, or naturalisation in the country of residence, if statelessness is not to result. In Southern Africa the 405 Crush and Chikanda, “Forced Migration in Southern Africa”. 406 DRC refugees in SADC States, March 2020: Tanzania - 76,428; South Africa - 59,675; Zambia - 47,356; Malawi - 28,227; Angola - 23,120; Zimbabwe - 11,322; Mozambique - 9,854; Namibia - 4,582; Eswatini – 2,774; Botswana – 220; Lesotho – 191; Madagascar – 13. UNHCR, Refugees and asylum seekers from DRC, DRC Situation Update, 31 March 2020 https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/drc, accessed 24 April 2020. 407 Communication from UNHCR Southern Africa bureau, 21 April 2020. 408 Burundi Situation Update, 31 March 2020, https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/burundi, accessed 24 April 2020 409 UNHCR, Southern Africa Region Fact Sheet, March 2020 http://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/UNHCR%20RBSA%20fact%20sheetMarch%202020_0.pdf 410 See above: Naturalisation or recovery of nationality by long-term refugees and their descendants; additional information from Dignity Kwanza, Dar es Salaam. 411 International Crisis Group, “Eastern Congo: Why Stabilisation Failed” (Brussels, October 2012). UNHCR / December, 2020 96