On this page, you will find:
To find organisations working for LGBTQI+ rights, visit our Malawi LGBTQI+ Resources page.
For Malawi country of origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents visit our Malawi COI page.
Refugee protection
Click here to see the numbers and origins of refugees hosted by Malawi.
The following sections contain information on the most important international treaties and agreements of which Malawi is signatory, as well as national legislation relevant to the protection of refugees.
Malawi acceded to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees as well as its 1967 Protocol, following accession on 10 December 1989. On 4 November 1987, the country ratified the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa.
Refugees and asylum-seekers are mainly hosted in the Dzaleka refugee camp, close to the capital city of Lilongwe. The Government of Malawi has an encampment policy which restricts refugees from certain rights such as access to tertiary education and formal employment. The Dzaleka refugee camp accommodates over 44,000 people of concern as of November 2020. Originally established to host 10,000 individuals, the camp is therefore congested and overcrowded. This congestion impacts the water and sanitation, general well-being and livelihoods opportunities for the refugees in the camp. The Government has provided additional land space (adjacent to the existing camp) called Katubza and Dzaleka Hills ,aimed at reducing congestion. Malawi continues to receive asylum-seekers, but at a reduced rate of less than 100 per month since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, notably due to restrictions on crossing international borders.
Click here for Malawi’s Refugee Act of 1989.
Legal aid organisations
Website
Address: P.O. Box 2340, Lilongwe, Area 47, Sector 3, Opp. Annie’s Lodge
Tel: +265 (0)1 761 700
Email: chrr@chrrmw.org
Contact Person: Mr. Undule Mwakasungura, Executive Director
The Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation was established in 1995 to promote respect for human rights in Malawi through education, training, research, legal assistance, advocacy, and networking. The following are the specific objectives of the Centre: to provide adequate objective, balanced and unbiased human rights information in the rural communities and among the general public; to mobilize and empower rural and urban communities to defend their rights and freedoms and demand what they are entitled to; to consciously build its internal capacity in order to effectively implement the activities.
In order to accomplish its mission statement and overall objectives CHRR conduct certain activities including: proactive human rights monitoring and reporting, public awareness programmes, community empowerment, research and documentation, training, advocacy and lobbying and litigation.
Website
Address: 8th Floor, Kang’ombe House, Robert Mugabe Crescent, City Centre, Lilongwe, Malawi
Tel: +265 177 2155
Email: mlwli@unhcr.org
Click here for the most recent UNHCR reports on their work in Malawi.
Organisations providing other support to refugees
Website
Address: 31733, Chichiri, Blantyre 3, Malawi
Tel: +265888509732
Director: Gift Trapence
Email: cedep_org@yahoo.com or gtrapence@yahoo.co.uk
Administrative contact: Dunker Kamba
Email: cedep_org@yahoo.com
Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP) is a registered human rights organisation under the Trustees Incorporation Act of 1962. The organization was established in order to address the needs and challenges of minority groups in Malawi in the context of human rights, health, and social development. Such minority groups are LGBT people, Prisoners, Sex workers, Street Children and other such minority groups whose rights are often neglected.
The main goal of CEDEP is to create a legally and socially accepting environment where minority groups have an improved livelihood. The organization objectives are; to advance the human rights of minority groups through advocacy and lobbying, to promote human rights and health of minority groups through civic education, training, capacity building, networking and research, and provide support services for the improvement of the welfare of minority groups in accordance with their needs.
Website
Address: Red Cross House Presidential Way Area 14 Lilongwe
Tel: (265-1) 775 590
Email: mrcs@redcross.mw
Contact Persons:
- Innocent MAJIYA, President
- MacBain KANONGODZA, Secretary General
- Doris CHIDZANJA, PA
The IFRC is the world’s largest humanitarian network, comprising 192 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies working to save lives, build community resilience, strengthen localization and promote dignity around the world.
See the website for IFRC’s latest projects in Malawi.
Website
Address: IOM Malawi Off Presidential Road Area 14, n°156 Lilongwe Malawi
Tel: +265 999 975 805 | +265 995 457 607
Email: ropretoria@iom.int or IOMLilongwe@iom.int
The Organization works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, be they refugees, displaced persons or other uprooted people. The IOM Constitution gives explicit recognition to the link between migration and economic, social and cultural development, as well as to the right of freedom of movement of persons.
It also operates in the four broad areas of migration management: migration and development, facilitating migration, regulating migration, and addressing forced migration. Cross-cutting activities include the promotion of international migration law, policy debate and guidance, protection of migrants’ rights, migration health and the gender dimension of migration.
Malawi LGBTQI+ Resources
Find organisations working for refugee LGBTQI+ rights in Malawi.
Malawi COI
Find Malawi Country of Origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents.
We are always looking to expand the resources on our platform. If you know about relevant resources, or you are aware of organisations and/or individuals to include in our directories, please get in touch.
Last updated May 2023