FDU-MN-INKUBIRI: STATEMENT ON RWANDAN REFUGEES IN EASTERN DR CONGO
By Eugene Ndahayo
Chair, FDU-National Movement INKUBIRI
Lyon, France
December 28, 2014
These new figures end
a situation
in which Rwandan refugees had
been left in total oblivion by the UN refugee agency for
decades since 1997 when Rwandan refugee camps in
Eastern DRC were destroyed and an estimated 300,000 Hutu refugees slaughtered by a combined
force of Rwandan government army and its regional allies.
Shockingly, the UNCHR figures had
consistently been reporting Rwandan refugees
to be totaling 100,000 in
all.
Official estimates of Rwandan refugees in the DRC reported by the UNCHR were 38,783 only in October
2014. Furthermore, only 129,000 people of concern
from
Rwandan origin are expected
to be
present on the DRC soil
by
January 2015, of
whom
only 20,000 would be
assisted in the UN refugee agency’s
country operations profile.
Even more worrying
is that the same
agency’s forecasts for Rwandan
refugees are estimated
at
109,000 people
by December
2015.
These disparities raise questions
about the concerned UN agency’s good
will when it comes to assisting Rwandan refugees in DRC,
especially after the tragic episode of the
years 1996-97.
We would
like to recall
that these refugees
are survivors of targeted and deliberate massacres
of Hutu citizens committed
by Rwandan government forces in DRC. It
is
worth mentioning that the UN Mapping Exercise Report on
the
Gross Violations of International
Humanitarian Law committed
in DRC between 1993 and 2003 reported
that some elements
« if proven before a
competent court could be characterized
as crimes of genocide
».
Today, we are aware that
there are plans to launch
fresh military operations in the East of DRC by January
2, 2015 the consequences of which, on
these refugees, would
result into another slaughter
of innocent
Hutu civilians. In 1996, such plans designed to please the current
Rwandan government led to the worst
crime of all -genocide.
A repeat of such
an approach would be both
politically and ethically
unjustifiable and would constitute yet another gross miscarriage of justice
on the part of the International
Community, especially in regard to the fact that
19 years after its creation, the International Criminal Tribunal
for Rwanda has closed its
doors without accomplishing its second mandate of prosecuting and
trying crimes committed
by individuals within
the
former rebel group now
in control of the central
government in Rwanda.
We wish
to recall that the planned 1996 Canada-led UN Humanitarian Multinational Force’s deployment whose declared
mission was to provide
humanitarian assistance and secure corridors for voluntary repatriation
never saw the light of day, because strategic
considerations in
favor of a consolidation of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front government by military means were given
priority
over any other considerations, in
total disregard of the UN
primary mission of protecting
civilians,
preventing conflicts
and promoting peace.
It is because of these miscalculations that of the 1,500,000 Hutu refugees present in the East of DRC at the time, only a couple of hundreds of thousands survived from a possible crime of genocide, to finally be ignored by the UN and its specialized agencies for close to two decades.
In light of these circumstances, we urge the concerned UN authorities, especially its refugee agency, to uphold their respective core values and missions of providing protection and assistance to vulnerable persons during or after armed conflicts by, among other things:
(1) abstaining from/ and dissuading any other stakeholder/ from any resorting to the use of armed violence when its intended or unintended end-situation would be to enforce involuntary repatriation of Rwandan refugees ;
(2) engaging representatives of Rwandan refugees themselves for the sake of putting in place mechanisms of dialogue intended to address their concerns ;
(3) facilitating dialogue between the Rwandan refugees themselves and the DRC government in order to resolve urgent issues relating to proper identification, protection, assistance and voluntary repatriation ;
(4) addressing the issues of security and justice resulting from the facts established and recommendations made by the UN Mapping Report, especially taking into account the fact that most Rwandan suspects are protected by the current Rwandan government ;
(5) providing adequate protection and assistance to those who might not opt for immediate voluntary repatriation through facilitating their settlement and their integration into the national economic spheres, education and health schemes;
We call upon the DRC government to uphold its obligations as contained in all national or international legal instruments relating to protection and assistance to refugees they are party to, by continuing to extend its hospitality and improving its protection and assistance to Rwandan refugees.
We further urge the DRC government to resist any calls to act against established mechanisms, just because of political expediency to advance certain vested interests by negative internal or external state or non-state actors.
Failure to protect and to assist Rwandan refugees in Eastern DRC in January 2015 would amount to denying once again their humanity. We strongly believe that the United Nations will not and should not fail again, like in 1994 or two years later in 1996.
It is because of these miscalculations that of the 1,500,000 Hutu refugees present in the East of DRC at the time, only a couple of hundreds of thousands survived from a possible crime of genocide, to finally be ignored by the UN and its specialized agencies for close to two decades.
In light of these circumstances, we urge the concerned UN authorities, especially its refugee agency, to uphold their respective core values and missions of providing protection and assistance to vulnerable persons during or after armed conflicts by, among other things:
(1) abstaining from/ and dissuading any other stakeholder/ from any resorting to the use of armed violence when its intended or unintended end-situation would be to enforce involuntary repatriation of Rwandan refugees ;
(2) engaging representatives of Rwandan refugees themselves for the sake of putting in place mechanisms of dialogue intended to address their concerns ;
(3) facilitating dialogue between the Rwandan refugees themselves and the DRC government in order to resolve urgent issues relating to proper identification, protection, assistance and voluntary repatriation ;
(4) addressing the issues of security and justice resulting from the facts established and recommendations made by the UN Mapping Report, especially taking into account the fact that most Rwandan suspects are protected by the current Rwandan government ;
(5) providing adequate protection and assistance to those who might not opt for immediate voluntary repatriation through facilitating their settlement and their integration into the national economic spheres, education and health schemes;
We call upon the DRC government to uphold its obligations as contained in all national or international legal instruments relating to protection and assistance to refugees they are party to, by continuing to extend its hospitality and improving its protection and assistance to Rwandan refugees.
We further urge the DRC government to resist any calls to act against established mechanisms, just because of political expediency to advance certain vested interests by negative internal or external state or non-state actors.
Failure to protect and to assist Rwandan refugees in Eastern DRC in January 2015 would amount to denying once again their humanity. We strongly believe that the United Nations will not and should not fail again, like in 1994 or two years later in 1996.
Contacts: +32465551485; inkubiri1@fdunm.com
posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 4:01 PM
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