Rwandan and Congolese refugees will now be able to freely express their desire to be repatriated to their countries of origin. This was announced by the Deputy High Commissioner of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in charge of operations.
According to Raouf Mazou, around 80,000 Congolese are currently in Rwanda and around 200,000 Rwandans are refugees in Congo. Repatriation will be on a voluntary basis, which means that those who do not wish to return to their country will be able to stay. It should be noted that this announcement comes three weeks after the Geneva tripartite, where the Rwandan and Congolese governments reaffirmed their desire to allow the voluntary repatriation of refugees.
An additional meeting should be organized to discuss modalities for supporting the voluntary repatriation of refugees who wish to return to their country of origin.
Refugees have been a point of tension between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo for decades and have been described as a contributing factor to the security crisis between the two countries.
This is good news for refugees who will finally be able to express their desire to return home in safety and dignity.