Resettlement

2020

Field Office (FO) Karongi

  • 198 cases of 643 persons have been assessed and submitted for resettlement.
  • 52 persons have departed for resettlement countries.
  • No Fraud allegations has been reported.

Gihembe Congolese in the Camp:

  • Total departures in 2020: 253 individuals
  • Total submissions in 2020: 47 cases /164 individuals. Anti-fraud messaging was disseminated through posters in the camps and through continuous counselling with the refugees. The main constraint relates to the COVID-19 Pandemic which limited access to the camps hence only fewer interviews could be conducted in both locations. Another challenge was poor internet connectivity in the camps, as this negatively impacted on our ability to conduct interviews remotely with the refugees.
     

FO Nyabiheke

  • Total departures in 2020: 276 individuals
  • Total submissions in 2020: 184 cases / 617 individuals.

Anti-fraud messaging was disseminated through posters in the camps and through continuous counselling with the refugees. The main constraint relates to the COVID-19 Pandemic which limited access to the camps hence only fewer interviews could be conducted in both locations. Another challenge was poor internet connectivity in the camps, as this negatively impacted on our ability to conduct interviews remotely with the refugees.

The operation continued to prioritize resettlement as a durable solution for Congolese refugees who are living in a protracted situation in Gihembe, Kiziba and Nyabiheke camps given the lack of foreseeable and concrete options for return and local integration. Owing to the change in the USA policy in October 2019, the operation initially targeted 150 cases / 800 individuals for submission. In the first quarter, this was revised upwards to 240 cases/ 1200 Congolese individuals following additional quotas allocations from Australia, Canada, France and Norway. Australian selection interviews took place using video conference facilities in Gihembe Kiziba, whilst Canada and New Zealand had selection missions processing cases from Gihembe, Nyabiheke in Kigali.

A PRM mission took place in January 2020 during which refugees in Gihembe, Kiziba and Nyabiheke were updated by PRM on the impact of changes to the USA refugee’ policy on resettlement case processing in Rwanda. Following the countrywide lockdown in March 2020 as a preventative COVID-19 measure, UNHCR also instituted measures to protect staff and refugees in adherence to the government directive. Face to face resettlement interviews and counselling were suspended for three months as resettlement staff worked in the office and remotely to finalize and clear their individual backlogs. Resettlement staff benefitted also from many trainings during this period which were delivered online by the regional bureau as well as the Kigali branch office; these trainings are continuing to date. The lockdown resulted in the suspension of resettlement departures between March and August 2020.