Since the war ended in 2002 nearly 4 million internally displaced people (IDPs) and 333,000 refugees have returned home, or settled in their host communities.

According to UNHCR, the vast majority of refugees still living abroad are in camps in Zambia. In July 2005 they numbered 37,700. A joint assessment carried out earlier this year by the United Nations and the government found there are more than 91,000 IDPs still living in limbo. They are mainly in Cabinda, Huila, Kuando Kubango, Luanda and Moxico provinces. Few are living in camps, though. Most have found temporary shelter with relatives, friends or in villages on their way home.

People returning home face huge obstacles. Most have few assets (including seeds and tools to farm). They also have limited opportunities for earning an income and little access to basic services including schools and clinics. In addition, many returnees have lost knowledge of local farming practices after decades of absence from their land.

According to Amnesty International, an inadequate system for issuing identity papers left many returnees without access to social services and vulnerable to extortion and ill-treatment by police and soldiers carrying out identity checks. In particular refugees returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo have been accused of being illegal diamond smugglers.

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