Rwanda, DR Congo Seek Fresh Start On Refugee Crisis
Despite the tensions between the two nations, Kigali and Kinshasa will continue to give international protection to Rwandan and Congolese people seeking asylum.
Despite recent tensions, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have resumed talks to manage refugees.
On May 15, the two countries agreed in Geneva to renew arrangements for the administration of refugees on their respective sides.
Previously, such initiatives failed to elicit collaboration due to claims that the countries were interfering with each other’s domestic affairs.
Despite the tensions between the two nations, Kigali and Kinshasa will continue to give international protection to Rwandan and Congolese people seeking asylum.
In January, at the height of the conflict in Kivu between the M23 and the Congolese army, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said that his country would no longer accept Congolese refugees.
According to the DR Congo, around 80,000 Congolese people are refugees in Rwanda.
“I believe there is a type of refugee that we will no longer accept.
“We cannot continue to accept refugees for which we are later held accountable or even insulted,” he said.
“Constructive Dialogue”
In a joint statement, Congolese Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula, Rwandan Minister in Charge of Emergency Management Kayisire Marie Solange, and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi stated that a “constructive dialogue” had begun.
Read Also: Kenya, Uganda Set To Seek New Alternative Financial Support
According to the communiqué, a “technical meeting will take place in Nairobi within a month to define the practical modalities of the reactivation of all the commitments and structures contained in the tripartite agreements of 2010.”
The tone of the communiqué was encouraging. However, the rhetorical escalation between Rwanda and the DRC is frequently based on military and political tension, which might have an impact on humanitarian difficulties.
The Rwandan president has already urged the DRC to return its people who had fled to Rwanda.
The Congolese government, on the other hand, stated that “Congo does not refuse to receive its children,” but required thorough vetting.
A lecturer at Goma University, Prof Dady Seleh, said: “The Congolese authorities are concerned that among the refugees are spies working for the enemy”.
One issue has been that the refugees are culturally similar and speak the same language.
Instead of being encamped, Rwandan refugees are mixing with Congolese nationals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Congolese authorities, as well as some politicians, are expressing concerns that they may claim Congolese nationality.
Kigali and Kinshasa agreed on measures to repatriate refugees in 2010.
However, concerns that those going home will act as foreign agents for the country that harbored them have hampered accords.
Despite numerous fresh meetings in Geneva, the Congolese government declined to sign agreements on the same subject in Pretoria in 2013.
