REFUGEES

CHAPTER 15:04
REFUGEES

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

    SECTION

    1.    Short title

    2.    Interpretation

    3.    Establishment of Refugee Committee

    4.    Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee

    5.    Meetings of the Committee

    6.    Functions of the Committee

    7.    Evidence and procedure

    8.    Persons not to be considered as refugees

    9.    Obligations of refugees

    10.    Prohibition of expulsion or return of refugees

    11.    Appeals to the Minister

    12.    Cessation of refugee status

    13.    Regulations

3 of 1989
30 of 1991

    An Act to give effect to refugee conventions as defined in the Act; to make provision relating to refugees; and to provide for matters incidental thereto or connected therewith

1.    Short title

    This Act may be cited as the Refugees Act.

2.    Interpretation

    (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

    “border” includes any point of entry into Malawi, whether by air, land or water;

    “competent officer” means any immigration officer, border officer, police officer or security officer;

    “country of nationality”, in relation to a person who has more than one nationality, means each of the countries of which that person is a national;

    “family member” means any spouse or spouses, unmarried children under the age of twenty-one and any other dependant relatives of the refugee;

    “refugee” means a person who—

    (a)    owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to that country; or

    (b)    owing to external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order in either part or the whole of his country of origin or nationality, is compelled to leave his place of habitual residence in order to seek refuge in another place outside his country of origin or nationality;

    “Committee” means the Refugee Committee established under section 3;

    ”refugee conventions” means—

    (a)    the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, done at Geneva on 28th July, 1951;

    (b)    the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees of 13 January, 1967; and

    (c)    the Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, adopted at Addis Ababa on 10 September, 1969.

    (2) A person who has several nationalities shall not be considered to be lacking the protection of the nationality of the country of which he is a national if, without any valid reason based on well-founded fear, he has not availed himself of the protection of one of the countries of which he is a national.

30 of 1991

3.    Establishment of Refugee Committee

    (1) There is hereby established a committee to be known as the Refugee Committee consisting of the following members—

    (a)    the Secretary to the President and Cabinet, or his designated representative;

    (b)    the Attorney General, or his designated representative;

    (c)    the Chief Immigration Officer, or his designated representative;

    (d)    the Inspector General of Police, or his designated representative;

    (e)    the Secretary for Community Services, or his designated representative;

    (f)    the Secretary for External Affairs, or his designated representative; and

30 of 1991

    (g)    the Secretary for Health, or his designated representative.

    (2) The Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Malawi or his designated representative or, in his absence, a representative of the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Malawi shall be invited by the Committee to attend every meeting of the Committee as an observer but shall not have the right to vote.

    (3) The Minister may appoint to the Committee, for such period as the Minister may determine, such other persons, not exceeding three in number, as the Minister considers suitably qualified to assist the Committee in its work and deliberations and such persons shall not have the right to vote at any meeting of the Committee.

4.    Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee

    (1) The Minister shall designate one member of the Committee to be Chairman thereof.

    (2) The Committee shall elect a Vice-Chairman from amongst its members, who shall discharge the functions of the Chairman whenever the Chairman is absent or is for any reason unable to discharge the functions of his office.

5.    Meetings of the Committee

    The Committee shall meet at such times and places as the Chairman shall determine and shall have power to determine its own procedure.

6.    Functions of the Committee

    (1) The Committee shall receive…