KAMPALA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has urged the East African Community (EAC) states to consider local integration of refugees as a solution to the refugee plight.

    George Kuchio, senior protection officer of UNHCR Uganda, on Tuesday told participants here at an ongoing EAC Peace and Security meeting that the members need to help the refugee agency find durable solutions to the refugee plight.

    "Not much progress has been attained in locally integrating refugees and having some of them resettled. UNHCR calls upon the EAC member states to seriously consider local integration," he said.

    "UNHCR is most pleased with the gesture of Tanzania of providing local integration as a solution to refugee plight, to long staying Burundi refugees," added the UN officer.

    He urged the countries of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi to expedite their protocols on the freedom of movement of not just only goods but persons and reintegration in the region.

    The countries, however, during the common market negotiations, failed to reach a consensus on automatic citizenship of long staying individuals. They instead resolved that national laws should apply.

    Beatrice Kiraso, deputy EAC secretary general in charge of political federation, told reporters on Tuesday that the EAC is working on a framework that will be used to address the refugee and internally displaced persons plight.

    According to the UNHCR, there are about 880,000 refugees in East Africa with majority of them coming from Burundi.