Congolese refugees to return home
UGANDA has agreed to repatriate about 40,000 Congolese refugees. This was revealed during a meeting last week in the DR Congo capital in Kinshasa attended by officials from Uganda, the DR Congo and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
By Cyprian Musoke
UGANDA has agreed to repatriate about 40,000 Congolese refugees. This was revealed during a meeting last week in the DR Congo capital in Kinshasa attended by officials from Uganda, the DR Congo and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
The meeting was to establish a legal framework for the repatriation of the refugees.
The displaced people mainly hail from Ituri and the northern and southern regions of Kivu province.
They are living in settlement camps in Nakivale (Isingiro district), Kyangwali (Hoima) and Kyaka II (Mubende).
According to a statement issued by Douglas Asiimwe, the senior refugee protection officer in the office of the Prime Minister, the meeting agreed that the Congolese government conducts three months intensive French classes for the refugees as soon as they return home.
The Ugandan Government, the statement noted, would sensitise the refugees who wish to return on the importance of obtaining valid documents prior to their departure.
The refugees would also be sensitised on the dangers of landmines and unexploded ordinances.
“At the request of the refugees at Kyaka I settlement, who lost ties with their country, the DRC should conduct a mission to inform them of the general living conditions back home, the areas of return and the reintegration mechanisms,†said the statement.
The meeting also resolved that Uganda and the refugee agency should continue registering refugees living outside official settlements with a view to voluntarily repatriate them.
The officials agreed to convene another meeting in the Ugandan capital, Kampala in October.
UGANDA has agreed to repatriate about 40,000 Congolese refugees. This was revealed during a meeting last week in the DR Congo capital in Kinshasa attended by officials from Uganda, the DR Congo and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
The meeting was to establish a legal framework for the repatriation of the refugees.
The displaced people mainly hail from Ituri and the northern and southern regions of Kivu province.
They are living in settlement camps in Nakivale (Isingiro district), Kyangwali (Hoima) and Kyaka II (Mubende).
According to a statement issued by Douglas Asiimwe, the senior refugee protection officer in the office of the Prime Minister, the meeting agreed that the Congolese government conducts three months intensive French classes for the refugees as soon as they return home.
The Ugandan Government, the statement noted, would sensitise the refugees who wish to return on the importance of obtaining valid documents prior to their departure.
The refugees would also be sensitised on the dangers of landmines and unexploded ordinances.
“At the request of the refugees at Kyaka I settlement, who lost ties with their country, the DRC should conduct a mission to inform them of the general living conditions back home, the areas of return and the reintegration mechanisms,†said the statement.
The meeting also resolved that Uganda and the refugee agency should continue registering refugees living outside official settlements with a view to voluntarily repatriate them.
The officials agreed to convene another meeting in the Ugandan capital, Kampala in October.