Government Leads Zimbabwean Repatriation Operation, UN Provides Full Support for Dignified Return and Reintegration

At a packed hall in Harare’s National Disaster Management Centre on Wednesday, the roll call of names told its own story. Officials from multiple ministries, uniformed services, district leaders, UN agencies, churches, foundations and philanthropic groups, NGOs went around the room introducing themselves. 

Behind the formality was an urgent, human reality that thousands of Zimbabwean women, men and children are returning home from South Africa—often suddenly, sometimes traumatized, and almost always facing an uncertain future.

Presiding over the meeting, Government officials spoke plainly about the scale of the challenge. Transport costs from the main reception centre in Beitbridge to districts across the country are high. Some returnees are dropped hundreds of kilometers away from their final destinations with no money in their pockets. Others arrive with skills and qualifications, but without any system to connect them to jobs or support. The risk, as one official warned, is that without proper reintegration, many could drift into informal and sometimes dangerous livelihoods, including drugs and substance abuse.

Yet what emerged from this inter-ministerial meeting was not a picture of helplessness, but of a determined, Government-led effort to turn a challenge into an opportunity for people and communities.

“Behind every statistic is a person”

Addressing the meeting, the UN Resident Coordinator in Zimbabwe, Dr. Rosemary Kalapurakal, brought the focus firmly back to people.

“Our focus today extends far beyond numbers, procedures, or border crossings,” she said. “At its heart are Zimbabwean women, men and children whose return home has often been shaped by uncertainty, hardship, and circumstances beyond their control.”

Quoting UN Secretary-General António Guterres, she reminded participants that migration is an integral part of the human story—but that too often, migrants are “scapegoated, dehumanized in public discourse, and denied their rights and dignity.”

“For many Zimbabweans returning home today,” she continued, “the challenge is not only the journey itself. It is the loss of livelihoods, disruption to family life, uncertainty about the future, and the painful experience of feeling unwelcome in a place where they had hoped to build opportunity and security.”

Her message was clear that dignified return is not just about crossing a border safely; it is about what happens next. “Behind every statistic is a person—a son or daughter, a parent, a student, a worker, a neighbour,” she said. “Our responsibility is not simply to facilitate a safe return, but to help create the conditions for stability, inclusion, and renewed opportunity.”

Government-led, UN-supported

Since the onset of the latest influx of returnees, the Government of Zimbabwe has taken the lead in organizing the national response. The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, through the Department of Civil Protection (DCP), is coordinating efforts with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Ministry of Skills Audit and Development and many other institutions at national and local level.

The United Nations is supporting this response as strong partner to the Government and People of Zimbabwe. “The United Nations appreciates the leadership demonstrated by the Government,” Dr. Kalapurakal emphasized, “and we are here to support a people-centred response, anchored in Government leadership and focused on practical solutions that can help returning Zimbabweans rebuild their lives and contribute to their communities.”

Different UN entities are already engaged across the response chain—from the border to the village:

• Reception assistance at points of entry and temporary reception centres
• Protection support for vulnerable groups, including women, children and persons with disabilities.
• Food assistance and basic services for those with no immediate means of support
• Water, sanitation and hygiene services for returnees and host communities
• Family tracing and reunification in complex cases

International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Government officials have processed thousands of returnees at Beitbridge, often under difficult circumstances. Everyone around the table agreed, better data is essential. Without knowing who is returning, from where, with what skills and vulnerabilities, planning for reintegration becomes guesswork.

From immediate relief to reintegration

What distinguishes the current effort is a growing recognition that relief assistance alone will not be enough. “As you will hear from colleagues,” Dr. Kalapurakal noted, “different UN agencies (IOM, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF,  UNOPS, WFP, WHO to mention a few) are supporting different aspects of the Government led response. Together, these efforts reflect the breadth of needs facing returnees and receiving communities alike. At the same time, we must look beyond immediate assistance.”

Sustainable reintegration, Dr. Kalapurakal stressed, depends on:

• Stronger data and information systems
• Effective referral and case-management mechanisms
• Robust social protection and safety nets
• Skills profiling and recognition of qualifications
• Pathways to livelihoods, jobs and enterprise support

In this context, the Government’s work to strengthen national social protection systems—particularly through the Zimbabwe Social Registry—takes on added importance. The Registry is being developed as a unified database to identify vulnerable households and link them to the right services and support.

“Strong national systems provide the bridge between immediate support and longer-term resilience,” the Resident Coordinator said. “They help identify those most in need, connect households to services, and ensure that assistance contributes to lasting outcomes rather than temporary relief.”

Returnees as agents of development

A recurring theme in the discussion was the need to view returnees not only as people in need, but as people with assets: skills, experience, networks and determination.

Many have worked for years in South Africa. Some are qualified artisans, health workers, teachers or entrepreneurs. Others are young people who have learned trades on the job. With the right support—skills recognition, business start-up assistance, access to finance, and links to local value chains—these returnees can contribute to the country’s industrialization, services and local economic development.

Government officials from the Ministry of Skills Audit and Development called for returnees to register their skills with district offices so that these assets can be identified, documented and better matched with opportunities.

Here again, the UN is working with Government and partners to think beyond the emergency phase, linking reintegration to youth employment programmes, skills training, enterprise development and financial inclusion.

A whole-of-government and society effort

The meeting hall itself was a reflection of the “whole-of-Government” and  “whole-of-society” approach that dignified return and reintegration demands.

Alongside Government and the UN, there were representatives from churches, foundations, private sector, civil society organizations, and community-based groups. Some had already been quietly supporting returnees with food, water and basic services. Others were ready to help with psychosocial support, child protection, education or livelihoods.

The Resident Coordinator underscored the importance of such partnerships. “The scale of this challenge requires a broad coalition of partners,” she said. “Government leadership will remain central. But durable solutions will also depend on the combined efforts of the United Nations, development partners, international financial institutions, civil society, local authorities, communities, and the private sector.”

She highlighted ongoing conversations with private sector companies that could support jobs and skills placement, impact investment, and community resilience—recognizing that helping returnees to rebuild their lives is not only a humanitarian action, but also “an investment in social cohesion, local economic development, and Zimbabwe’s future.”

Measuring success by human outcomes

As the meeting drew to a close, one point resonated above all that success will not be measured only by how efficiently buses are organized or how quickly border queues are processed. “The true measure of our response,” Dr. Kalapurakal concluded, “will not be how efficiently we manage arrivals, but whether those who return are able to build stable and productive futures for themselves and their families.”

“This challenge is larger than any one institution can address alone. It calls for coordination, solidarity, and sustained commitment.”

On behalf of the United Nations system, she pledged continuing support, including convening partners, strengthening collaboration, and advocating for the resources and solutions needed to match the scale of the challenge.

For the thousands who have already come home—and for those who may soon follow—the work now under way offers a critical message: you are not just being brought back. You are welcomed back, with an effort—led by your government and supported by partners—to ensure that return is not the end of a journey, but the beginning of a new chapter of dignity, safety and hope.