REFUGEES IN RWANDA - A CHALLENGE FOR GOVERNMENT,

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000985

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2017
TAGS: PREL PREF PGOV RW
SUBJECT: REFUGEES IN RWANDA - A CHALLENGE FOR GOVERNMENT,
UNHCR


Classified By: DCM Cheryl Sim, reason 1.4 (B/D)


1. (SBU) Summary: The refugee operation in Rwanda is having
difficulty keeping pace with the growth of the Congolese
refugee population. In the past six-months, over 3000
Congolese have entered Rwanda, fleeing fighting in North
Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Over 60 percent of
the present population is made up of young people less than
18 years of age. The most pressing limitation in local
capacity is land. Rwanda is grappling with land issues for
returnees, and deportees from Tanzania and Uganda. Making
land available for refugees is increasingly difficult. UNHCR
and the American Refugee Committee (ARC) are working
effectively with the Government of Rwanda (GoR) to alleviate
the pressure from new arrivals. Despite a good working
relationship, UNHCR has failed to transfer PEPFAR funds to
ARC in a timely way. The resulting delays have caused a gap
in PEPFAR service delivery in eastern Rwanda. Presently,
UNHCR has met the minimal needs of the current population.
End summary.

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UNHCR-GoR Cooperation
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2. (C) The level of cooperation with the GoR can be judged
by three key questions: 1) firewood distribution in the
camps, 2) GoR distribution of ID cards to the refugees. 3)
The allocation of land for camp expansion. For the past
three years, UNHCR has raised these issues with the GoR with
little positive result. Firewood distribution is not
sufficient for the needs of the present refugee population.
Much of the fault lies with the way the GoR has administered
the contractor assigned the distribution duties. As a
result, refugees use their rations as a currency to buy
firewood, often from the same contractor used by GoR.
Refugee women and girls have been raped by local farmers
while searching, illegally, for firewood.


3. (SBU) UNHCR Country Representative Annette Nyekan expects
the GoR to issue ID cards by early 2008. The GoR permits
refugees to access basic services outside of the camp on
presentation of GoR issued ID cards. These services include
HIV/AIDS medical and counseling services and referral
services for serious medical conditions that can not be
treated in the camps. As of this reporting, refugees in
Rwanda do not have valid ID cards. In October 2006, the
government authorized the issuance of ID cards. UNHCR
offered to finance the operation that would deliver the
cards.


4. (SBU) UNHCR and the GoR are also working together to
resolve land problems for refugee camps. According to UNHCR
protection officers, the GoR is considering expanding camps
in 2008-09, but is not planning to open new camps to
accommodate newly arrived refugees.

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UNHCR-ARC Cooperation
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5. (SBU) With the arrival of Nyekan as the new Country
Representative, the relationship with ARC seems to be
stronger than was previously the case. The two teams meet
frequently and exchange information. When faced with common
obstacles, like the acquisition of lands for camp expansion,
the organizations work in concert to approach the government.


6. (U) ARC fully met its obligations to rehabilitate and
improve facilities at the camps under its supervision. New
construction is underway to keep pace with the growth of the
camps and the increased sanitation needs of the present
refugee population.


7. (SBU) As of October 17, 2007, UNHCR had not released the
PEPFAR funds allocated through the UN organization for ARC
for FY 2007. Because of the delay in funding, ARC has been
forced to use other funds to maintain the required level of
PEPFAR services. This funding delay has placed a strain on
the relationship between UNHCR and ARC.

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ARC Operations Under the Present Grant and Future Planning
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8. (U) The refugee population is growing in Rwanda. The DRC
crisis is driving ethic Tutsi refugees from DRC into Rwanda;
some are passing through Uganda on their way to asylum. The
rate of increase is not dramatic. However, the outcome of
the North Kivu crisis will dictate how many more refugees
flee into Rwanda and how many will feel safe to return home.
All new arrivals are assigned to Nyabiheke camp, the only
remaining open camp.

9. (U) On October 17, RefCoord and Embassy Poloff visited
Nyabiheke camp. The facility is overcrowded and growing. In
response to this, ARC reorganized the camp to make use of
every available space. New shelters and sanitary facilities
are going up to accommodate the new arrivals. On the day of
RefCoord's visit, the year long UNHCR effort to acquire new
land for the camp bore fruit, and the GoR gave the okay for
ARC to clear and build on adjacent farm land.


10. (U) ARC is building new shelters and preparing new land
in a systematic and effective manner. Shelters are planned
in quarters, or neighborhoods along with the services and
sanitary facilities that will serve the new residents.
Locations are mapped, and the distance between new shelters
and health facilities, water and other stationary facilities
are measured to ensure SPHERE standards are met.


11. (SBU) The new land acquisitions may be the source of new
conflict. The camp is built largely on land too rocky for
farming. The newly acquired land is fertile farm land that
has been under cultivation for decades. Local farmers,
already annoyed by refugee firewood incursions into the
nearby forest, may react badly to the camp expansion at their
expense.

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Reception of Deportees from Uganda
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12. (SBU) On October 15 and 16, RefCoord met with officers
of UNHCR, the World Food Program (WFP),and the Rwandan Red
Cross to discuss the deportation of 2000 Rwandans from Uganda
to Rwanda. All interlocutors described the efficiency and
speed of the deportation/reintegration operation. The
picture that emerges is of a bilateral Uganda-Rwandan
operation, funded by World Bank funds, and executed in record
time.


13. (C) Rwanda used funds allocated by the World Bank for
the demobilization of armed groups to fund the logistical
requirements of the operation. Rwandan diplomats in Kampala
worked out the details with Ugandan officials based on
discussions that took place on the margins of the
Rwanda-Uganda-UNHCR tripartite meeting held in Kampala.
Shortly before launching the operation, the GoR informed
UNHCR in Kigali of their plans. Uganda informed UNHCR-Uganda
at the same time.


14. (SBU) Both UNHCR offices agreed to monitor the
deportation operation for humanitarian purposes only, and to
ensure there were no persons of concern included in the
deportation. UNHCR-Rwanda recommended that the GoR notify
the donors and other IOs should they require assistance. The
operation was launched on October 4, and the GoR notified the
Rwandan Red Cross and WFP on that same day.


15. (U) The Rwandan authorities moved the deportees to the
Rutgamo transit center, where they were quickly identified,
and assigned transportation to communities of origin, or to
centers for reintegration. Within 48 hours, all of the
deportees had left the transit center. When the Rwandan Red
Cross arrived at the center to conduct a needs assessment,
they found it deserted.

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Burundian Refugees Eager for Resettlement
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16. (U) On 16 October, RefCoord accompanied by embassy
Poloff visited Kigembe refugee camp. The camp population is
Burundian refugees who have arrived in Rwanda in the last

five years, or who have been transferred from other camps.
UNHCR and the GoR are the partners in the camp with very
little NGO participation.


17. (U) During the camp visit, UNHCR staff divided the camp
leadership into interest groups so that they could speak with
visiting donors. RefCoord went to hear from the youth group,
while the Poloff sat down with the refugee leadership
council. In both meetings the refugees spoke of the need for
resettlement in a third country as the only possible durable
solution. In the youth group, the young people, some of whom
were born and raised in the camps system, dismissed as false
any notion that security in Burundi had improved.
Interestingly, the refugees all recited the claim that their
claims of persecution in Burundi were individual, and they
should be considered by third countries on a "case by case
basis." Among the youth group, this was the only English
phrase that many of the men and women could utter. No matter
what subject the donors raised, each group returned to the
subject of resettlement.


18. (SBU) Camp environmental health and healthcare services
appeared to be up to SPHERE standards. However, some basic
services and supplies were not provided as required. The
distribution of firewood was irregular and insufficient for
refugee needs. As a result, refugees traded their food
ration to buy firewood, or they left the camp and foraged in
local forests.


19. (SBU) The GoR camp staff had not distributed personal
hygiene supplies, provided by UNHCR, to health workers or to
women in the camp. In general, the camp appeared to suffer
from an over all lack of planning and supervision. UNHCR
Country Representative said she would ensure that her staff
were more assertive in overseeing camp services and
activities.


20. (SBU) Comment: ARC is working effectively in the camps
and has a good relationship with the GoR. The ability of the
operation to absorb new refugees is limited by land
availability. Rwanda might be hesitant to make large swaths
of land available to UNHCR for refugees while it deals with
immediate and intractable problems of resettling returnees
and deportees who continue to arrive from Tanzanian and
Uganda.


21. (SBU) The issuance of identity documents to Rwanda
refugees has been a mater of discussion between the GoR and
UNHCR for the past three years. Without valid documents,
refugees can not legally move outside of the camps in
daylight hours, urban refugees can not access services at
local health centers or schools. Protection officers and
police have no means of determining the status of aliens in
the country. UNHCR told RefCoord that the issue would be
solved by December 2007. RefCoord suggested that the
organization inform donors of the present situation to seek
assistance with the GoR. End comment.


22. (C) Recommendation: PRM should continue to support ARC
in its operation in Rwanda to support Congolese refugees.
UNHCR's failure to release PEPFAR monies to ARC caused a
break in service provision to PEPFAR customers. The UNHCR
pass was devised to lighten the workload of the PEPFAR
country team in Kigali. Presently, PEPFAR has restructured
to allow for an increase in the staff for the relevant
countries. It would seem wise to end the practice of passing
funds through UNHCR immediately, and resume passing the funds
to ARC through the PEPFAR country team.






ARIETTI