Points at weaknesses in the international mechanisms for the protection of refugee rights using the example of the repatriation of Burundian refugees from Kigoma Region in western Tanzania. The purpose of this repatriation operation was to control smuggling in border areas, however large numbers of internationally recognised refugees were rounded up as well as illegal immigrants. The author raises several practical issues for refugee protection that would help eliminate this kind of inadvertant victimization. -after Author