Dealing with Clandestine Lives: National Refugee Policies and the Freedom of Movement

During my doctoral research among Congolese, Burundese and Rwandese refugees in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), I was confronted with the illegal status of the overwhelming majority of this urban refugee population. Even as the refugees of these countries are recognized by the Tanzanian government as prima facie refugees (1969 OAU protocol), the 1998 Tanzanian refugee policy prescribes that all refugees reside in camps in rural, Western Tanzania. This policy contravenes international laws stipulating that persons having received the authorisation to enter a country, enjoy a freedom of movement within its national borders. The implication of the Tanzanian refugee policy (similar to that of many other countries worldwide) is that urban refugees—while recognized as refugees—are forced to a clandestine life in Dar es Salaam and, for lack of legal documents, run the permanent risk of refoulement. The practical implications concerning my research project were the difficulties in locating and meeting people, gaining their trust and guaranteeing the confidentiality of their information. Its most important conclusions includes a policy recommendation to refugee agencies (amongst others) to lobby at the international level for a revision of national refugee policies forbidding freedom of movement within the country of asylum.status: publishe