Calling upon your support to close this refugee deportation center in Goma-DRC

Advocacy note to end forced repatriation of Rwandan refugees in the Democratic of Congo back to Rwanda spearheaded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) through the funding from the United States of America and the European Union.

Aim: We want UNHCR in DRCongo to stop the forced repatriation of Rwandan refugee back to Rwanda and show commitment towards the protection of Rwandan refugees in DRC.

Background information

We estimate Rwandan refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo at 4million, among them more than 2million are hosted in North Kivu Province. Most of these refugees came in 1994 during the genocide in Rwanda. However only 200,000 Rwandan refugees in DRCongo are registered by UNHCR main those in North Kivu. We have used the word refugees because of the circumstances which forced them to leave their country of origin, and not because they are already recognized by both UNHCR and the DRC Government.

The CCLK Transit Center should be closed

The whole world resisted against the deal between UK to send refugees and asylum seekers to Rwanda, but the whole world is quiet about millions of refugees being send regularly to Rwanda from the Democratic Republic of Congo, through CCLK Transit Center in Goma.

This advocacy note focuses only on Hutu Refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo, currently now we fully know that Hutus refugees in DRC are in all the 26 Provinces of DRCongo. 

Introduction

UNHCR in the Democratic Republic of Congo maintains the only center in the world for repatriation of Hutu Rwandan refugees called “CCLK Transit Center” located in Avenue Policlinic 3, Kyeshero Local Council, Goma Division, North Kivu Province, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This center was established in 1998 purposely to repatriate Hutu Refugees based in Congo when North Kivu was controlled by Rwandan Army. Two main Officers who have managed this center have attracted our attention: Felix Musanganya, the current Government officer in charge of refugees in North is a Hutu who is believed to be close to Rwanda, he managed this center for so many years since 1998 and repatriated so many people to Rwanda, the second is the current manager of the Center only known as Deo who is described as Tutsi residing in Rwanda by the local community.  

From this we are concerned that only Hutu refugees are targeted by this programme of repatriation yet we also have other refugees including Tutsi Rwandan Refugees, the fact of being managed by people perceived as close to Rwanda also raises so many questions related to credibility, conflict of interest, neutrality, professionalism among others.

Once refugees are introduced in the center they have no freedom to move outside anymore, the gates are guarded by armed people which makes the center to appear like a Prison and raises questions about how free those refugees inside are, if they cannot move out and come back. Once they are deported to Rwanda, soldiers and police officers are mobilized in order to ensure that no one can escape, and they are driven up to the border where they are handed over to Rwanda.  

Most of the people in the host community are concerned about this center because they have no information about it and are not even allowed to visit it, including the local leaders who were also blocked from accessing the center. This center is built on a land which belongs to Honorable Theo Binamungu who was a former member of parliament, he is a Hutu perceived as close to Rwanda and now one among the key persons representing the Political Party Ensemble pour la Republic of Moise Katumbi, a party which is also believed to be close to Rwanda.

Visiting the Transit Center

For the whole one year now, we have written three letters to UNHCR/CNR in order to seek for access but in vain, since last year we wrote 5 letters seeking for a meeting but in vain, we called several times but up to now CNR no longer respond to our calls.

Who are the people in UNHCR Goma who make decisions?

In this region where two main factors are key in order to ensure the protection of refugees: Which tribe and what is the relationship with Rwanda?

As mentioned, UNHCR here is not working on the refugee protection but focuses on implementing Rwanda’s Policy based of repatriation of refugees back to Rwanda.

Basing on what we have observed we can share this regrettable situation in Goma.

More than 40% of UNHCR Goma staffs and who are influential are Rwandans mainly Tutsi and Rwandophone mainly Hutus, these are the ones who make decisions. About 20% of UNHCR Goma staff are international from countries which close to Rwandan, and generally all of them stay in Gisenyi Rwanda while working in Goma, DRC, in terms of decision they do not influence so much, and now the remaining 40% are local staff from other tribes in DRC who are there just to execute what has been decided.