RWANDA/BURUNDI: LETTERS REFLECT RENEWED CONCERN AT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 GENEVA 001454

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2015
TAGS: PREF RW BY UNHCR
SUBJECT: RWANDA/BURUNDI: LETTERS REFLECT RENEWED CONCERN AT
UNHCR

REF: GENEVA 1380

Classified By: RMA Counselor Piper Campbell, reasons 1.4 b and d


1. (C) Summary: Following up on his immediate interest in
Rwanda/Burundi (ref A),the incoming United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees has written to the Presidents of
Rwanda and Burundi expressing concern about their actions and
intentions regarding Rwandan asylum seekers. UNHCR staff are
extremely concerned about the situation on the ground and
predict wide-scale refoulement may occur in the coming days.
According to UNHCR officials reporting to a group of
diplomats June 10, the GOB Minister of Interior stated that
the GOB would take stronger action on the asylum seekers, and
the Minister of Public Security said that his government
contemplated muscular action ("nous mettrons du muscle") to
return the asylum seekers to Rwanda. UNHCR is concerned
that, with Burundi elections over and Rwanda fearful that
renewed flight will derail the Gacaca process, a large-scale,
forced repatriation may be imminent. HC-elect Guterres is
now planning to travel to Uganda for World Refugee Day (June
20),with travel to Burundi and Rwanda to occur only if
meetings with Chiefs of State appear to be possible. End
summary.


2. (C) The June 10 briefing in Geneva was organized by UNHCR
to cover a broad range of topics on refugee issues in Africa,
including Sudan-Chad, Somalia, and Togo (septel). However,
UNHCR invited participants to raise questions on any issue,
evoking a request for an update on the current situation of
Rwandan asylum-seekers who have fled to Burundi since April.
UNHCR reviewed the sequence of recent events, highlighting
developments over the past two days: a letter from High
Commissioner Elect Guterres to Presidents Kagame and
Ndayizeye, presence of armed soldiers at Songore camp on June
8, and blunt talk by Burundi's Minister of Public Security.


3. (C) USMission subsequently saw a copy of the June 8
letter, in which Guterres stated that it is in the interest
of all concerned that the joint Rwanda-Burundi sensitization
campaign be replaced by a UNHCR effort to provide "detailed
information to the asylum seekers about the situation in
Rwanda" and promote "confidence building measures to enable
them to make informed decisions." He also attached a
non-paper on "Steps to Address the Current Situation of
Rwandan Asylum seekers in Burundi." See text at paragraph 6.


4. (C) UNHCR Geneva also reports that on June 8 its staff at
Songore Transit Center left the camp in response to
intimidating force exhibited by armed soldiers (nationality
not specified). They report that one local staffer was
arrested but later released. Despite the display of force,
the Burundi Red Cross later reported that no asylum seekers
had been taken back to Rwanda that day.


5. (C) According to sources in Geneva, UNHCR, OCHA and the
DSRSG in Burundi briefed the Minister of Interior June 9 on
the prior day's events at Songore. The Minister reportedly
stated that the events were unacceptable, but confirmed that
the GOB was taking "stronger actions." Later that day, the
Minister of Public Security reportedly told UNHCR and the
DSRSG that no person had been returned involuntarily and that
Burundi was abiding by international conventions. However,
he sated that the situation in Rwanda was stable and
persecution was not occurring; that none of the asylum
seekers would be granted refugee status in Burundi; and that
he was of the opinion that most of them were fugitives from
justice in Rwanda. He also said that the GOR had provided
the GOB with a list of 400 suspected criminals and
genocidaires and that the GOB would turn them over to the
GOR. He reiterated that all must return to Rwanda and said
that the GOB will inform UNHCR of its position regarding the
asylum seekers after the June 10 GOB-GOR meeting in Muyenga.


6. (C) UNHCR Geneva expressed concern that the result of the
Muyenga meeting will be instructions to it, from the GOB and
GOR, to return the asylum seekers to Rwanda immediately. As
UNHCR cannot and will not do that, they fear that a
large-scale refoulement may be developing. Earlier
expectations that the situation would defuse, they said, have
been overcome by Burundi's apparent willingness to take
stronger action now that municipal elections are over, and
GOR "panic" that an exodus could derail the Gacaca process.


7. (C) Text of UNHCR Non-paper on "Steps to Address the
Current Situation of Rwandan Asylum seekers in Burundi"
follows:

-- With the completion of the transfer of Rwandan
asylum-seekers to Songore Transit Centre in Burundi, UNHCR
will conduct a thorough verification and registration
process, which will lead to more reliable information on the
numbers and areas of origin of Rwandan asylum-seekers.

-- UNHCR's office in Burundi will conduct interviews with the
asylum-seekers concerned to fully ascertain their reasons for
fleeing Rwanda and their eventual reluctance to return. At
the same time, UNHCR's office in Rwanda will gather more
detailed information on the situation in the areas of origin
of the asylum-seekers in order to determine the validity of
these claims. Any concern which may arise in the monitoring
of the situation and which may require the attention and
possible intervention of the Rwandan authorities will be
shared with them.

-- In pursuance of UNHCR's mandate to seek durable solutions
for person of concern, UNHCR will be actively involved in
sharing objective information on the situation in Rwanda with
the asylum-seekers, and in engaging in a positive dialogue on
their possible return. For those asylum-seekers who wish to
return voluntarily to Rwanda, UNHCR will facilitate their
return movement, and provide individual targeted assistance
upon return, as required. For this purpose, and in the
spirit of confidence building, UNHCR's office in Rwanda will
strengthen its returnee monitoring capacity.

-- Taking into consideration the urgency and importance of
the matter, the teams on the ground will be reinforced to
undertake the above steps. Both offices concerned have been
requested to closely coordinate their activities in this
respect.

-- UNHCR proposes the convening of a tripartite meeting at an
appropriate level between the Governments of Rwanda and
Burundi and UNHCR to discuss the situation in further detail.
Moley