UNHCR and partners have facilitated voluntary repatriation of Burundian refugees since 2017, with the majority being from Tanzania, and smaller numbers assisted to return from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Kenya. Until recently almost all returns from Rwanda and Uganda were self-organized. Following the conclusion of elections in Burundi in May 2020, increased interest in voluntary return has been expressed by refugees living in several countries. Based on tripartite consultations and assessments to ensure the voluntariness of return, UNHCR began to facilitate returns from Rwanda in August 2020, and recommenced returns from the DRC in September 2020. There are ongoing plans to initiate facilitated returns from Namibia and potentially other countries in East and Southern Africa in 2021.