Repatriation in The Great Lakes Region
REPATRIATION OF REFUGEES IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.2 BACKGROUND
The Great Lakes normally referred to as Central Africa's Great Rift Valley' has a problem of where does it starts and where does it ends. Scholars ask whether it should include Maniema and north Katanga or South - Western Sudan and Tanzania. The general agreement is that by all standards it should include Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern Congo and Southern Western Uganda as core areas of this region. Cultural identities, language, and socio economic activities all formed a major component of the way of life of the people of the Great Lakes. However, group loyalties on to this day continue to be skewed towards the colonial masters. This connivance (Chretien, 1986) has seen multiple confrontations and countless encounters in the Great Lakes which have resulted over the years into devastation and bloody conflict.
The search for the root cause of these confrontations can be linked to man made decisions during colonial and post colonial eras and this is been seen in the changes that have taken place in the regional environment. Politics and territorial interests, language patterns coupled with the mode of socialisation and land ownership have all not been fixed onto this present day. Societies once held together by hierarchies of birth, rank and privilege according to Rene Lemarchand have been subjected to insightful disruptions of their social practices, ushering in warlords in search of wealth. The region today suffers from deforestation, wildlife disappearing, erosion and the reduction in cultivation with overwhelming negative effects on the ecosystem.
2.0 THE REFUGEES CRISIS IN THE GREAT LAKES
It makes sense to talk about the array of crisis in this region though historically they are distinct when it comes to national outlook. Nonetheless, crisis in this region have a set of violent chain reactions in all neighbouring states. Common examples include the 1959-1962 Hutu revolution in Rwanda, the 1994 genocide, the partial genocide' of Hutus in Burundi in 1972, the second and sometimes referred to as ethnic cleansing that saw population displacements and civil wars across the Congo etc. However, it has been made to believe that the Rwanda genocide, in which a million of Tutsis were killed account for the highest death toll in the continent. This is far from been true. Reports by the IRC shows that nearly four (4) million people were killed in Eastern Congo, between 1998 - 2006 as a result of war related courses. The plight of people in this unfortunate circumstance is completely ignored by the west as they see it as an African problem requiring an African solution. It is seen as greed and selfishness on the part of rival warlords who see nothing in national development but self actualisation. Therefore western economic interest is boosted through illicit trade in arms in exchange for mineral resources.
The murder of Burundi's first democratically elected president in 1993 led to flight of about 700,000 Hutus into Rwanda, Tanzania and Zaire in order to run away from armed led reprisal killings.
Power struggle in Rwanda started as early as 1961 when the Hutus won an election led by Parmehutu. The Tutsis monarchy was abolished and Rwanda got independence in 1962 with a new president Gregoire Kayibana. Habyarimana in a coup took over in 1973 and his regime used ethnicity as a political strategy in order to secure his political base. Regional divisions increased, with northerners (the president's henchmen) taking over virtually all economic and political power. In all of these, the Tutsis suffered a lot with little or no access to political or economic activities. Disgruntled with the system, Rwandans in the Diaspora formed the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) and invaded the country in 1990. These were predominantly Tutsis who suffered under the rule of Hutu led regimes since 1961. The revolution was a success as the northern region was overrun by the RPF.
On 6th April 1994, President Habyarimana was left with no other option but to sign a peace agreement supported by the international community. On his way back home from Dar-es-Salaam, his plane was shot down and killed near Kigali. The news of this tragic event led to the systematic killings that resulted in the deaths of up to 1 million Rwandan Tutsis in less than 100 days (Terry 2002:155).The RPF closed in and the Hutu led regime was ousted and they took flight to neighbouring countries. In the breathing space of just five days between 14th and 18th July, something like 850,000 refugees crossed into Goma town' (Eriksson 1996:27). Consequently, an additional 300,000 Hutu refugees fled westwards to Zaire following the closure of the French-protected zone in Southwest Rwanda in August (Lischer 2005:78). It is approximated that collectively, two million Hutu sought asylum in Zaire, Tanzania, and Burundi' (Terry 2002:155) by September 1994.
In May 1997, President Mobutu Sese Seko was overthrown by a rebellion led by Laurent Kabilla who was supported by Uganda and Rwanda. The marriage was marred by mistrust and Rwanda and Uganda decide to challenge the Kabilla regime. Zimbabwe, Chad, Angola, Namibia and Sudan intervene to defend the Kinshasa regime and a cease fire was secured. Before the end to hostilities, hundreds of Congolese fled to neighbouring countries where they seek asylum.
In December 1998, another upsurge of violence in Angola led to a displacement of about 330,000 people while 255,000 were refugees in Zambia, the DRC, Congo Brazzaville and Namibia.
Zimbabwe suffering from economic problems over the years has been a place hosting about 800 Rwandan refugees camped at Tongogara refugee Camp in Chipinge, southwest of the country.
From all of the above, it is very much glaring that the complexity of the troubled Great Lakes in the 21st century stem from one conflict to the other either directly or indirectly instigated by states against one another in a bid to create safe heaven for power hungry politicians whose primary motive lies within the thick and thin of selfishness and greed.
3.0 REPATRIATION: A DURABLE SOLUTION TO REFUGEE PROBLEM
Repatriation is the return of refugees to their place of origin. This is done either voluntarily or involuntarily. The later is usually referred to as forced repatriation which is usually against the wishes of the refugees. Where repatriation is voluntary, it is organised and refugees are well informed about the political and socio economic situation of the country of origin. In this regard, voluntary repatriation becomes a reality when Physical, Legal, Material and Reconciliation structures are fully put into motion and acceptable to all parties. When this is done, the UNHCR will then be actively involved in return operations.
The DRC is still hosting about 155,000 refugees from Sudan, Rwanda, Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo and Uganda. Most are in the rural areas and move freely. Refugees from Tanzania and Zambia are gradually returning home while those from Rwanda and Burundi continue to encounter problems. Any forced repatriation from Rwanda according to UNHCR will have the tendency of jeopardising the peace process in eastern DRC. It is interesting to note that in 2007, Angola declared end to repatriation while there are still thousands of Angolans refugees still living in the DRC.
Rwanda though stable is still having some security threat from neighbouring DRC with the presence of some rebel groups. However, with renewed diplomatic relations, it is now expected that 52,000 Congolese refugees could be repatriated in 2010. It could be recalled that in 2009, the governments of Rwanda and the DRC launched a joint military operations in order to dismantle, demobilised the members of the Democratic Forces for the liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) in Eastern Congo and ensure a forced repatriation to Rwanda. Over 2,000 FDLR members are now said to have been demobilised, repatriated and reintegrated into the Rwanda society. About 10,000 refugees have voluntarily returned to Rwanda and gradually reintegrated into their communities.
In 2002, Rwandan authorities and representatives of RCD Goma, a congolese armed group that was holding power in the region of Kivu DRC, informed refugees on the 23rd of August to return to their place of origin. Unilaterally without providing appropriate and credible information to the refugees, the Rwandan Government embarked on forced repatriation of refugees, thus infringing on article 32 and 33 of the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees.
"right not to be expelled from a country (unless the refugee poses a threat to national security or public order)" (art 32) "no Contracting State shall expel or return (refouler') a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion" (art 33)
In Byumba where the pace of repatriation was high, about 450 refugees per day had to abandon the camp of Gihembre during that period. The point of arrival designed for the refugees in RDC (Kitchanga) lack basic facilities like accommodation, poor sanitary conditions and so on. Similarly, out of 15,000 at Kiziba camp, only 2,300 refugees were repatriated while over 8,000 refugees had to abandon the camp. The repatriation exercise was stopped because the outcome was not encouraging.
In Burundi, there is a massive voluntary repatriation exercise taking place in the region. This is as a result of the re establishment of sustainable peace. About 6% of those residing in Burundi are today former refugees who were in neighbouring countries for the past six years. With the help of the UNHCR, a dialog has been reached between the DRC and Burundi on the voluntary repatriation of Burundians and Congolese refugees.
Tanzania for the past decades has been hosting refugees fleeing from violence in conflict regions of the Great Lakes. In some camps in Tanzania, refugee numbers could rise as much as 700,000 at a point in time. The Tanzanian policy of naturalisation and voluntary repatriation today is yielding fruitful results. In the early days of 2007, UNHCR was running 11 refugee camps; today there are only about four remaining in Kigoma. In addition, about 162,000 Burundian refugees who fled violence in 1972 have been requested to apply for Tanzanian citizenship, their applications are been processed and it is expected that this will continue through 2010. Already, 28,000 have been granted Tanzanian citizenship and can exercise their citizen's right at all levels.
3.1 UNHCR'S ROLE IN THE GREAT LAKES
The role of the UNHCR is to promote durable solutions, including the voluntary repatriation of refugees, to Angola, Burundi, the DRC and Rwanda. Those who opt to remain in their country of asylum, the UNHCR usually work with stakeholders including governments to find comprehensive solutions aimed at local integration. Where repatriation or local integration is not possible, resettlement will be pursued for individuals and groups with specific protection needs. UNHCR provides technical assistance to governments to strengthen national asylum frameworks, especially in Burundi, Cameroon, The Republic of the Congo, the DRC and Gabon. In CAR and the DRC, where UNHCR leads the protection clusters, the Office continue to provide protection and coordinate activities to stem sexual and gender-based violence.
Furthermore, UNHCR provides temporary shelter to vulnerable IDPs. It gives priority to its lead role in camp coordination and management and in support of the return and reintegration of IDPs. To that end, reintegration action plans will focus on community-based activities to foster sustainable return and reconciliation.
3.2 NEEDS ASSESSMENT
In all the countries where refugees are returning, there is an increase in population. Access by the returnees to jobs, agricultural land and some other economic activities seem to be limited. Therefore some returnees seem very disillusioned as they continue to be wary of their future in the once more new environment.
At transit camps and reception centers, sanitary conditions seem to be very appalling. Social Services like health, education and so on are in short supply. Information on daily activities in the home country some times before return are either not fort coming or very inaccurate.
Assistance from NGOs are some times insufficient, thus returnees are faced with hash living conditions.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Refugee crisis in theGreat Lakes is man made with Rwanda playing a dominant role in creating increased refugee flows in the region. As far back as the colonial era, refugees have been cris crossing boarders in the region as a result of armed violence. Ethnic, religious and political factors are said to be the Conner stone for these conflicts which has led to displacement and human sufferings.
The region suffer from immense poverty as the fields are been abandon, thus reducing national productivity. Rwanda with the most experienced army continues to dictate at ease the direction of power for neighboring countries. This is done with the view of protecting its sovereignty from Hutus who are still sheltered in camps in the DRC, Burundi, Angola and the Republic of Congo.
Repatriation is therefore seen as a durable solution when once it is voluntary rather than when it is involuntary. It can lead to peace and avert further violence. Where repatriation is force as in the case of the combined operations of Rwanda and DRC in 2009 to forcefully repatriate Rwandans, it wasn't a success. Refugees had to abandon their camps and took flight to some other locations. Besides the cost incurred in such operations, it violates the 1951 convention on the status of refugees.
Refugees must be fully informed about the political and socio - economic situation in the country of origin where refugees are to be repatriated. Therefore, adequate provisions in terms of infrastructure that accommodates refugees must be in place, they must have access to farm lands and some other economic activities and above all must be allowed to freely participate in the democratic processes of the state.
Where repatriation seems impossible, the alternative as seen is integration. Tanzania in the great lakes for the past 50years has hosted millions of refugees from all neighboring states with very little resources but yet remain peaceful. The justification for this might not be far removed from the fact that it has never been the policy of Tanzania to forcefully repatriate refugees. In collaboration with the UNHCR, repatriation from Tanzania has been peaceful and very successful. The move to naturalise the 1972 refugees besides their economic contribution to the economy lend credence to the respect for human dignity as explained by the 1951 convention and the 1967 Protocols for which Tanzania is a signatory. As of January 2010, only 58,100 refugees were now left in Tanzania. The government continues to support voluntary repatriation and other recognised and acceptable solutions in order to end refugee situation in the Great Lakes.
References:
Amnesty international 1996, the refugee crisis in the Great Lakes Region
http//www.unhcr.org
Kristen Wagner, 2009, UNHCR's involvement in the Great Lakes Refugee Crisis
Prof. Gaudens P. Mpangala February 2004, origins of Political Conflicts and Peace Building in the Great Lakes Region
Ren Lemarchand 2006, The Geopolitics of the Great Lakes Crisis
Sara Nso Alphonse Maindo, 2005 Uniscinew Perspectives of the Conflict at the Great Lakes
Victoria Passant 2009,the Great Lakes Refugee Crisis and the Dilemma
of Contemporary Humanitarianism
Repatriation in The Great Lakes Region
By: Turad Senesie
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