Camp-based refugees in Rwanda are living in six camps across the country, with small numbers living in reception / transit centers pending their relocation to camps. Five camps are well-established camps hosting refugees in a protracted situation, while the sixth camp is two years old and thus still in its infancy. Recognizing that refugee camps are sometimes necessary, they are not the best long-term solution for most refugees, and in Rwanda, some refugees have lived in camps for two decades. Some were born in the camp, finished school in the camp, and have known no other life. Camp life, which is characterized by dependency on humanitarian assistance, affords little hope for refugees to be independent, productive members of society. Registration status has for years been linked to food assistance distribution, and while UNHCR is de-linking registration status from assistance, many refugees still perceive camp presence to opportunities such as resettlement. The civilian and humanitarian character has been an issue in refugee camps, so a key priority will be continued advocacy with the Government and donor countries to prevent and respond to Civilian and Humanitarian Character of Refugee Camps issues particularly following the incident in the country’s oldest camp that occurred in February 2018. A verification exercise that began in January 2019 is expected to help address cases of asylum seekers pending for several years, who were ineligible to access assistance. Verification may also lead to reduced population figures by end 2019. UNHCR also plans to advocate for a revision of camp rules and regulations to make movement for camp-based refugees easier. It is expected that this revision would see the camp population reduce with more refugees living outside camps and in need of more mobile protection monitoring/advocacy for their access to national services A UNHCR solutions officer is working with district authorities to survey their capacity and willingness to absorb refugees (both protracted and new arrivals) which will then form the basis for advocacy at the central level. UNHCR also aims to support more and more refugees with innovative, effective, targeted self-reliance programs, including in partnership with the private sector, which will also support more refugees to live outside camps. With more and more refugees working, many urban but also camp-based refugees should be able to afford to pay taxes, which can also form an important advocacy case for national inclusion. UNHCR has already been supporting national inclusion through several key interventions including e.g. integrating refugees in national schools through classroom construction and hiring of teachers; construction of a permanent water system which supports refugees and host community; setting up markets; and serving host communities at health centres. Outreach, feedback and complaint mechanisms will also be reinforced in order to facilitate direct contact with PoC and reinforce accountability, particularly important as we see refugees living more independently outside camps. Strengthening community-based protection and aligning these structures to national systems will be critical to ensure that gains made in preventing child protection and SGBV and forming community-self-help mechanisms for persons with specific needs, are not lost as refugees become more independent and less tied to camps and assistance. In 2020 the Operation is striving to shift of blanket assistance to more targeted and prioritized approach to those most in need and subsequently in a phased approach remove from assistance refugees who are well established. In 2020 the provision of MPGs through CBIs will be expanded in all of the camps for partially covering basic needs in domestic items, education, shelter and protection.
