Review of the Mali/Niger Repatriation and Reintegration Programme

The evaluation covers UNHCR's involvement in the Mali/Niger repatriation, both in the countries of asylum and the countries of origin of the refugees, from its beginnings in 1995 to its final stages in 1998, with an expected overlap into 1999. Interviews were conducted with staff members who had served in the operation, and in July 1998 a regional evaluation seminar was convened in Bamako which provided much valuable information. This complemented the data gathered during a field trip to some 25 returnee sites in the Timbuktu and Kidal regions of Northern Mali. In each of these sites, gatherings were held to interview returnees on their experiences in the countries of asylum, the circumstances of their repatriation and their living conditions after their return. Meetings were also held with representatives of donors, the government, implementing partners and other UN Agencies, and numerous files and documents were examined, many of them from prior years.