Malawi has been both a producer and recipient of refugees from its neighbours in the last
three decades. In the early 1960s and 1970s, followers of the Jehova’s witness religion were
forced to flee the country, mostly into Zambia after their religious beliefs clashed with the
ruling Malawi Congress Party ideologies. Scores of people also left Malawi fleeing political
persecution to neighbouring countries during the same period of one party rule under the
Malawi Congress Party. On the other hand, Malawi has been receiving refugees from
Mozambique, initially during the struggle against Portuguese colonial rule, and hosted over
one million Mozambican refugees between the 1980s and early 1990s when the Frelimo
government and Renamo opposition movement were engaged in a highly destructive civil
war.1 The influx of Mozambican refugees is believed to have forced Malawi to rush the
process of ratifying the relevant international refugee instruments as well as drafting the
Refugee Act, which came into force in 1989. Currently, Malawi continues to receive
refugees, mainly from the Great Lakes region and the horn of Africa, and issues of refugee
rights which were relevant during that period when it hosted over a million refugees remain
important.
This paper highlights the situation of refugee rights in Malawi, including the refugee status
determination (RSD) mechanisms and process. The first part of the paper presents an
introduction including country background and a brief overview of the legal system. Section
two focuses on the refugee conventions and international human rights instruments that
Malawi has ratified. The section also discusses the impact of international law on the
domestic legal system. The domestic refugee framework is discussed in full detail in section
three. The section highlights the provisions of the 1989 Refugee Act as well as RSD
mechanisms. It also discusses the impact of reservations to international instruments and the
outdated Refugee Act on the enjoyment of rights by people who seek protection in Malawi.
Section four submits recommendations and conclusions.