Minister Kayisire concerned over "lack of progress" in talks to repatriate Congolese refugees

The Minister in charge of emergency management, Marie Solange Kayisire has expressed concerns about the continuous lack of progress in talks to repatriate Congolese refugees hosted in Rwanda. ALSO READ: Why I want to go back to DR Congo, my home She made the remarks on Thursday, April 27 at Mahama refugee camp, during an official visit by various government dignitaries and foreign diplomats. She noted that Rwanda hosts more than 75,000 Congolese refugees currently, and on different occasions in the past years, they have expressed their intention to return but in vain. I would like to inform you that the government of Rwanda, the DR Congo and the UNHCR undertook different tripartite, ministerial and bilateral meetings to discuss the implementation of refugee repatriation as well as roles and responsibilities of each party, however, no progress was made so far, she said. ALSO READ: Refugees in Rwanda quiz diplomats on terrible situation in DR Congo's east We will continue to work together and possibly we will reach this long awaited agreement to effect Congolese refugees' voluntary return, she added. Rwanda currently hosts more than 126,000 refugees across the country. Of these, 59 percent are Congolese, while 40 percent are from Burundi. Kayisire pointed out the need to tackle the root causes of the forced displacement of people, and finding durable solutions for refugees including voluntary repatriation. We wish to stress that refugee response is a shared responsibility, she said. She noted that of all the Congolese refugees in Rwanda, 88 percent are from north Kivu, and only 8 percent are from South Kivu. The insecurity situation that persisted in eastern DR Congo due to the presence of militia groups including FDLR and others has led to killings of many Tutsi Congolese and forced those displacements and their families to flee to Rwanda and other neighbouring countries, she said.

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Minister Kayisire concerned over "lack of progress" in talks to repatriate Congolese refugees