We are please to produce this report which we believes is the foundation for more work to be done in order to understand the situation and the environment of vocal refugees in the region. Refugee Leaders are many and assume leadership at various levels therefore it may pose a challenge to come up with clear statistics, however in each refugee community there are those refugees who are often resourceful persons and support others, and these are people we call refugee leaders. Some are not well identified as such but when we observed the roles they are doing, we agreed that they are leaders at their levels.
Support Refugee Leaders here: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/emergency-funds-to-refugee-human-rights-defenders/
This report affirms our convection that we cannot argue about the protection of refugees, we cannot talk about refugee rights and solutions to refugees if those who shoulder the more than 75% of the load work are not focused upon.
For the last four years the zeal of independent and vocal refugee leaders has greatly reduced among refugees in all countries because many have been targeted and once in trouble no one comes to help them. We have witnessed the increase and the promotion of refugee leaders highly affiliated to the refugee regime in each country whose role is to facilitate the refugee regime to oppress more fellow refugees, and alongside them we have also observed other refugee leaders coming and exploit other refugees in total impunity.
While Uganda should have been a model, the country has only three vocal refugees and one among them is currently detained, the existing refugees initiatives which could have been a starting point have themselves became a hub of refugee rights violations and have done existed in total indifference of the donor community which support them. The Refugee Led Organizations Network known as RELON which at first incarnated the vision to empower refugee leaders was turned into a group who exploit other refugees in order to enrich themselves and donors have failed to hold them accountable.
This poses us a challenge to come with ideas which may restore back the refugee leadership not only in this region but in the whole Africa and from that leadership then solutions to refugees can be realized, and if that is not done then we are likely to observe little progress.
Please find our Annual Report 2024 on the situation of Refugee Leaders on this link here: https://www.cojeskinordkivu.org/global-refugee-leaders-forum-annual-report-on-the-situation-of-refugee-leaders-in-the-region/
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