Robert Mukombozi
30 July 2007
Kigali — THE governments of Ugandan and Rwanda have agreed to have all Rwandans illegally living in Uganda repatriated by end of next month.
During the fifth meeting of the Tripartite Commission for the Voluntary Repatriation of Rwandan Refugees in Uganda in Kigali on July 26, Uganda asked Rwanda to arrange the return of its 5,000 nationals settling illegally in her boundaries before the end of August.
The group, which is currently settling in Nakivale camp in Isingiro District, is widely known as "Kibati". "In cooperation with the government of Rwanda, Uganda shall facilitate the repatriation of the "Kibati" caseload within one month," reads the statement signed by Minister in charge of Refugees Tarsis Kabwegyere and Rwanda's State Minister of Social Affairs Christine Nyatanyi.
The Ugandan government insisted that the exercise must not exceed the stipulated timeframe of one month. If it does, the group risks being deported.
Prof. Kabwegyere told Daily Monitor after the meeting that Uganda's position remains clear "to act on deadlines and end the concept of refugees in the region".
Both governments have agreed to cooperate in the repatriation process, with Rwanda committing itself to transport its nationals back, while the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees accepted to provide support on humanitarian grounds.
Although the three partners seemed to reach consensus on cooperation, Uganda remained non-committal on the role it would play in the massive repatriation in terms of resources.
Apart from the 5,000 Rwandans of the "Kibati" group, Uganda also announced that the voluntary repatriation of about 20,000 Rwandan refugees already registered and profiled in Uganda should be completed by the end of September 2007. But the UNHCR warned against forcible repartition.
Such a process, the body said, would culminate into enormous violations of the refugees' rights-something that contravenes the OAU declaration on refugees as well as the Geneva Conventions among other regional and international legal satutes.
Daily Monitor has learnt that UNHCR in Kigali has set aside $2.5 million this year, out of which about $250,000 would be spent on refugees.
However, the organisation said the resources would only be spent on genuine causes.
A section of Rwandan officials who preferred anonymity expressed disappointment over the deadlines.
"This time we are being rushed to pull out our nationals but when Ugandan elections come around, they will be needed and they will be taken back in big numbers as their nationals," a source said, arguing that this has complicated the issue of refugees between the two countries.
The Tripartite meeting, that attracted over 30 senior officials from Uganda, Rwanda and UNHCR, was a follow-up of the Tripartite meeting in Mbarara, on September 27, 2005.
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