Angolans’ refugee status in Zambia ends in June

Service (ZANIS).
The recommendation to declare the end of the Angolan refugee status was reached after a joint consultative meeting held here recently with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the two governments, Home Affairs Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Max Nkole was quoted by ZANIS as saying.
The minister, speaking at Meheba refugee camp in Solwezi district in northwestern Zambia, said the voluntary repatriation is not negotiable since the situation in Angola has been normalised in the last 10 years. He warned that the Zambian government will not recognise any Angolans as refugees after June 30 and those who will not have gone will be treated as illegal immigrants. UNHCR Representative in Zambia Joyce Mends-Clore also urged the Angolan refugees to voluntarily register for repatriation as there is no need for them to remain refugees when things have changed in their country. — Xinhua.