Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the announcement made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on 27 October that 60,000 refugees are voluntarily returning home to Burundi this year, what steps they will take to support (1) the UN, and (2) the refugees' return, and (3) integration in that country.

The UK Government welcomes the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in conjunction with governments in the neighbouring region, to facilitate the voluntary return of refugees to Burundi. Working with its development partners, the Government of Burundi launched the 2021 Joint Refugee Return and Reintegration Plan, which aims to support the safe and dignified return home of some 143,000 Burundian refugees in the sub-region and beyond, and to promote their sustainable reintegration. We continue to urge the Government of Burundi to ensure that the needs and rights of refugees, other displaced people and host communities are recognized and factored in to socio-economic planning, as this is vital for underpinning sustainable returns and reintegration. The UK Government is supporting these efforts, including through funding to the UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration, and bilaterally for the reintegration and other humanitarian initiatives to support the refugee population. The UK has provided a total of £17 million of humanitarian support to Burundi between July 2017 and November 2021.