VZCZCXRO7178
PP RUEHGI RUEHRN
DE RUEHLGB #0749/01 3171213
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131213Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6421
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 0599
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0748
RUZEFAA/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP 0098
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KIGALI 000749 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV CG RW
SUBJECT: REFUGEE ISSUES IN RWANDA 
 
REF: A. KIGALI 735 
     ¶B. BUJUMBURA 00572 
 
KIGALI 00000749  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Rwanda hosts 53,000 Congolese refugees in 
three refugee camps and 2,000 urban refugees from various 
nearby countries. Standards of living in the camps are high, 
although land and sanitation issues are sometimes 
problematic. Although relations between Rwanda and the DRC 
have improved significantly (reflected by the arrival this 
week in Kigali of the  DRC Ambassador, Ref A), refugees in 
Rwanda have not returned to eastern Congo in significant 
numbers and are unlikely to do so until the security 
situation there improves.  There are an estimated 61,000 
Rwandan refugees in host countries throughout the region. 
UNHCR and the Government of Rwanda have agreed to a framework 
that, if followed, will result in the invoking of the 
cessation clause for Rwandan refugees in December 2011. END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On October 17-19, PRM Program Officer Wendy Henning 
and Embassy Kampala Refugee Program Assistant Annie Gacukuzi 
visited Rwanda to monitor UNHCR and American Refugee 
Committee's refugee camp activities. The following report is 
based on the visit. 
 
Background 
---------- 
¶3. (SBU) Rwanda hosts 53,000 Congolese refugees in three 
refugee camps and 2,000 urban refugees from various nearby 
countries. UNHCR/Rwanda has two main objectives - to provide 
protection and assistance to refugees in Rwanda and to 
promote repatriation of Rwandan refugees. Assistance partners 
include the World Food Program, the Government of Rwanda 
(GOR), UNICEF, the Forum for African Women Educationists, 
African Humanitarian Action (AHA), American Refugee Committee 
(ARC), German Technical Service (GTZ), and Jesuit Refugee 
Service (JRS). There are an estimated 61,000 Rwandan refugees 
in host countries throughout the region. (Note: This is an 
estimate because many Rwandan refugees, such as those in DRC, 
are not registered. End Note.) Over three million Rwandans 
have returned since the 1994 genocide, including over 14,000 
in 2009. 
 
Care and Maintenance 
-------------------- 
¶4. (SBU) Standards of assistance in the refugee camps in 
Rwanda are high. Refugees receive regular food rations, 
health services are superior to the national standard, 
primary education is available to all school-aged children 
and sanitary/hygiene conditions are decent. (Note: Available 
land is scarce in heavily populated Rwanda. The GOR allocates 
limited space for refugee camps, making it a challenge to 
maintain hygiene standards. End Note.) In addition to a basic 
assistance package, refugees have access to a range of 
community services, secondary education for high-caliber 
students, HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence prevention and 
response programs, and vocational training. Kitchen gardens 
supplement diets and fuel-efficient cook stoves reduce 
environmental damage. Although implementing partners argue 
that they need more funds, overall services in the camps are 
an example of what can and should be possible with adequate 
funding. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Water and sanitation are subject to factors beyond 
UNHCR and partner control. Water systems in all three camps 
have the capacity to provide over 20 liters of water per 
person per day. In Gihembe camp, however, the water system is 
dependent on the national electricity company to function. 
Nevertheless, the average supply is at or above 15 liters per 
person per day and refugees are not complaining about water. 
Qperson per day and refugees are not complaining about water. 
Lines at tap stands are short and people are bathing and 
washing clothes without difficulty. Hygiene is a challenge 
because of limited space to build new latrines when the old 
are "retired," and this year funds were not adequate to keep 
up with the turnover. For example, in Gihembe camp the ratio 
of latrines to refugees is 1:27. UNHCR recently made funds 
available to partner ARC to help improve the ratio to 1:20 by 
the end of December. In addition, camp residents have taken 
sheeting used to shelter shower facilities, leaving them 
exposed and in some cases unusable. ARC has begun 
construction of mud brick showers to get around this issue, 
but it will take time to meet the need. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The lack of land is beyond UNHCR and partner control 
and is an ongoing concern in Nyabiheke camp, which received 
 
KIGALI 00000749  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
many new arrivals in 2008. Per UNHCR, the GOR promised four 
plots of additional land to absorb the new arrivals, but only 
provided two. Some not so recently-arrived individuals are 
still residing in hangars. Fortunately, there have not been 
any new waves of arrivals in recent months, so the situation 
is stable. UNHCR is worried that the situation in the Kivus 
could result in a new influx and the transit centers will 
once again become temporary camps as the camps cannot 
accommodate additional people at their current sizes. 
 
Rwandan Refugee Return and Reintegration 
---------------------------------------- 
¶7. (SBU) The return of Rwandan refugees increased markedly in 
¶2009.  An unassisted caseload of about 14,000 returned, 
mostly from DRC.  Some 10,000 were believed to have been 
living among (and, in some cases, were married to) members of 
the FDLR (Note: The FDLR is an armed, Rwandan Hutu rebel 
group operating in the Eastern Congo.  It leaders include 
former genocidaires and many of its rank-and-file were 
members of the former Rwandan Armed Forces and genocidal 
Interahamwe militia who fled to the Congo after the 1994 
genocide.  End Note.) The number of returnees from Uganda, 
around 5,000, did not meet GOR expectations of 20,000 and 
observers suspect that many among the 5,000 were Rwandan 
residents who went to Uganda in order to return and receive 
the assistance package or individuals who returned from 
Uganda, received the package, and recycled back to Uganda. 
While UNHCR facilitates repatriation, it does not have a 
reintegration program in place and the GOR has limited 
capacity in this regard. UNHCR provides transportation to the 
home of origin, a standard repatriation package (three 
months' food rations and non-food items), and limited routine 
follow-up. Returnees are not guaranteed access to land and 
shelter, though the GOR reportedly works with local officials 
to ensure they are well-received. UNHCR follow-up visits 
reveal that land is the number one challenge for returnees. 
UNHCR is also concerned that women heads of household and 
vulnerable individuals do not have access to adequate 
services and it would like to establish a fund to address 
this group's needs. Additionally, UNHCR would like the One UN 
system to address returnee needs, but this is an ongoing 
dialogue. 
 
Recent Rwandan Flight to Burundi 
-------------------------------- 
¶8. (SBU) Several hundred Rwandans reportedly crossed into 
Burundi in August seeking asylum and claiming to be fleeing 
insecurity and persecution.  Government of Rwanda officials 
countered that many in the group left to avoid prosecution in 
Rwanda for genocide related offenses.  After drawing 
criticism for its initial response, which included returning 
many asylum-seekers to Rwanda, the Government of Burundi is 
now reportedly permitting the UNHCR to investigate the claims 
of those who remain (Ref B). 
 
Cessation Clause 2011 
--------------------- 
¶9. (SBU) At the EXCOM meeting in October, UNHCR and the GOR 
agreed to invoke the cessation clause for Rwandan refugees on 
December 31, 2011 if the GOR reaches certain benchmarks 
throughout the next two years. The four-step process 
includes: enhancing voluntary repatriation; pursuing other 
options such as local integration, granting migrant status, 
or third-country resettlement; conducting individual status 
determination for those who do not want to return or have 
Qdetermination for those who do not want to return or have 
other options; and conducting a review to determine if it is 
appropriate to invoke cessation. 
 
Congolese Repatriation 
---------------------- 
¶10. (SBU) UNHCR/Goma claims busloads of Tutsi refugees with 
"zipped lips" have been spotted crossing the border from 
Rwanda into the DRC, while others herded their cattle across 
rural border areas. UNHCR/Rwanda and the GOR assert that no 
Congolese refugees have returned home, besides the usual 
handful that regularly goes back and forth to assess the 
situation. This year, according to one source (protect), 
there were also reports of eight adult refugees being 
recruited from the camps, perhaps by a rump faction of the 
CNDP to be trained in Uganda.  (Note:  Many Congolese 
refugees in camps in Rwanda had supported ousted CNDP leader 
Laurent Nkunda, who is now under house arrest in Rwanda.  End 
Note.) 
 
¶11. (SBU) At Gihembe camp, however, NGO staff members 
 
KIGALI 00000749  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
(protect) report that there have been noticeable refugee 
departures. They reported that some refugee program staff 
(mainly adult males, but including some male youths) had left 
the camp, the latter to go to secondary school in Goma.  The 
youths, departure raised fears of possible recruitment. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Most refugees in Rwanda want to go home, but not 
until there adequate security in the Kivus. UNHCR has no 
plans for a facilitated return at this time. There is a 
tripartite meeting scheduled for November to discuss the 
framework for the return of refugees. Program Officer 
expressed concern that this meeting will give the green light 
to the GOR to push Congolese refugees home, but UNHCR assured 
her that the High Commissioner has made it clear to the GOR 
that the situation in the Kivus is not conducive to durable 
and dignified return and the GOR must continue to respect its 
commitments to hosting refugees. (Note: The High Commissioner 
was visiting Rwanda, after a visit to the DRC, at the same 
time as Program Officer. End Note.) Some local Rwandan media 
report an imminent return for Congolese refugees, suggesting 
a lack of understanding of the gravity of the humanitarian 
and security conditions in eastern DRC that belies the 
widespread belief in Rwanda that the political rapprochement 
between Rwanda and the DRC has greatly improved the situation 
throughout the Kivus. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) UNHCR, the GOR, and the international community 
should continue to monitor the situation closely and 
communicate regularly accurate information about the 
conditions in the DRC and the prospects for Congolese 
repatriation.  That will prevent misunderstandings and false 
expectations. 
SYMINGTON