UNHCR ON CLOSURE OF KIGEME CAMP, RETURNING RWANDAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000353 SIPDIS DEPT FOR PRM E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PHUM RW SUBJECT: UNHCR ON CLOSURE OF KIGEME CAMP, RETURNING RWANDAN REFUGEES FROM UGANDA REF: KIGALI 262 Classified By: CDA Sim for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Emboffs met with United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Rwanda Country Representative Nyekan (protect) to discuss the June 2 closure of Kigeme refugee camp, and the return of Rwandan refugees from Uganda. While 1500 Burundian refugees in Kigeme accepted return in May (with no other options available) a futher 444 refused to go, and were forcibly bused home under conditions falling well short of international standards for voluntary return. UNHCR is working with the GOR and the Government of Uganda (GOU) on the return of Rwandan refugees from Uganda, but Nyekan said there was GOU corruption in the refugee registration process. She expressed concern about the potential for Rwandan refugees' return to be as flawed as that of the Burundians. Post will raise camp closure issues with the Government of Rwanda (GOR) and press for the honoring of international commitments. End summary. ¶2. (C) On June 9, UNHCR Country Representative Annette Nyekan outlined UNHCR frustrations with the GOR's handling of the Kigeme refugee camp closure. The camp had been home to some 2,000 refugees. According to Nyekan, approximately 1,500 refugees returned to Burundi ahead of the May 31 agreed-upon date for closing Kigeme Camp. Understanding their lack of real alternatives, and pressured by GOR officials, these 1,500 refugees in May had boarded trucks and gone home. Of the 514 remaining in the camp, 70 had been slated for resettlement to third countries and had been sent to the Nkamira transit center in Gisenyi, where they remain. The other 444, including 237 children, remained in Kigeme until June 2, when the GOR effected their forced return to Burundi. ¶3. (C) According to an internal UNHCR Kigali field report Nyekan shared with emboffs, a UNHCR field officer received text messages from refugees in the early morning of June 2, saying soldiers had entered the camp and warned refugees to stay in their houses. When UNHCR staff arrived at the camp at 0730 hrs, they found armed soldiers and police had surrounded the camp and blocked exits. After four or five hours of discussions with camp residents, some refugees voluntarily boarded buses with their possessions. Others reportedly did so only at gunpoint. At least one man described as "mentally disturbed" was beaten by police before being compelled to board. A final group of 39 refugees, primarily young men and former urban refugees, refused to board the buses. These refugees were forcibly dragged or pushed on the buses, at gunpoint and without their belongings. After the convoy had departed, UNHCR staff saw Rwandans from the surrounding community looting the camp. Nyekan said the refugees were taken to the Burundian border, and then transported to UNHCR transit centers and given a support package of food rations and other materials before journeying to their homes. ¶4. (C) Nyekan stated that UNHCR had submitted a letter of concern to President Kagame regarding the treatment of refugees in Kigeme before the June 2 closure, and that the events of that day had been the motivation for a June 3 press Qevents of that day had been the motivation for a June 3 press release expressing "concern" and "distress" about the closure of Kigeme camp. She relayed a conversation between herself and Minister of State for Local Government (MINILOC) Christine Nyatanyi concerning the UNHCR release in which Nyatanyi called UNHRC Rwanda staff "liars." Nyekan proffered that Nyatanyi was "just a messenger" for refugee policies set primarily by Minister of Local Government Protais Musoni. Nyekan went on to cite several instances in which the GOR reneged on previous verbal agreements with UNHCR, regarding options the refugees could be accorded rather than return to Burundi. MINILOC had originally agreed to allow "residual" refugees (those remaining after Kigeme's scheduled closure who made reasonable claims of being unable to return to Burundi) to be transferred to Nyabiheke refugee camp. Further, the Burundians had not been given a chance to approach the GOR for local integration, nor had they been offered an opportunity to claim migrant status within the East African Community. (Note: Rwanda and Burundi became members of the regional body in 2007. End note.) ¶5. (C) Nyekan then discussed the return of Rwandan refugees from Uganda, following the Tripartite Technical Working Group meeting held between the GOR, UNHCR, and the GOU on June 1-2. Of the 16,000 Rwandan refugees in Uganda (20,000 if asylum seekers are included),1,367 had been repatriated. Upon arrival in Rwanda, the former refugees are taken to the Rukomo transit center, where they are given a resettlement package including food support. She confirmed media reports of Rwandan refugees fleeing the Ugandan camps to avoid repatriation. In the case of those who left Rwanda after participating in the 1994 genocide, they fled fearing prosecution for their crimes. Nyekan said GOR officials had faced considerable hostility from those she described as "hardliners" when they visited the Ugandan camps, and were told, "we will never go back to Rwanda." She had also heard credible reports of recruiting at the camps by unnamed elements hostile to the GOR. ¶6. (C) Nyekan said corrupt Ugandan officials had required the Rwandan refugees to pay for their participation in the registration exercise for their return, a clear violation of standard procedures. She feared forced returns would occur, particularly as the July 31 deadline for returns approached. Nyekan said she expected the GOR to heavily lobby for the "cessation clause" to be invoked regarding Rwandan refugees (a formal UNHCR pronouncement ending refugee status for Rwandan refugees around the world),and that there was considerable sentiment in support of this within UNHCR itself. ¶7. (C) Comment. Relations between the GOR and UNHCR have never been without some tension, and the Kigeme closure and ongoing return of refugees from Uganda is adding to the strain. Repatriation of the last 444 Burundian refugees fell well short of international standards for voluntary return in conditions of dignity and respect. The same may occur with the Rwandan refugee population in Uganda. Post plans to raise camp closure issues with appropriate GOR officials and press for the GOR to honor its international commitments. End comment. SIM