UNHCR facilitated voluntary repatriation in the RC and Gabon. The Office in Kinshasa repatriated 10 refugees; 7 families, including 3 Rwandans and 7 Central Africans. All benefited from safe and dignified return and received cash grants. Two awareness campaign sessions on voluntary repatriation were organized for Rwandan refugees in Kinshasa. From Gabon, five candidates were assisted to return.
UNHCR Goma continued to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of Rwandan refugees; albeit at a lower rate than in 2017. Between January and December 2018, a total of 3,035 Rwandan refugees (2,742 from North Kivu and 293 from South Kivu) were repatriated through 89 assisted convoys (74 from North Kivu and 15 from South Kivu). In 2017 nearly 18,000 refugees repatriated, notably during a surge in the second half of the year; although by year’s end the target of 4,600 individuals had not been reached. The shortfall was attributed mostly to severe delays in the issuance of repatriation grants to newly-arrived returnees in Rwanda.
After the biometric registration known as BIMS, was conducted in Lumbumbashi, RDC November 2017 and after the 2018 sensitization campaigns conducted in different areas in Grand Katanga, (Kasaji, Dilolo, Kolwezi, Fungurume, Kipushi and Lubumbashi) 69 Rwandan refugees repatriated voluntarily in security and dignity. Amongst the 148 other Rwandan refugees opting for voluntary return many subsequently did not return, expressing reluctance because of pending matters, or stating having missed the 2017 biometric registration, while others changed their minds as they await to see how the security improves; yet some were awaiting feedback from those who have already returned. Sub-Office Lubumbashi will address those refugees who missed the biometric registration.
Despite an increased return package offered since 2017, the time it takes for Rwandan authorities to complete the full screening of returnees increased substantially starting from October 2017. This led to returnees waiting for over six months upon return to Rwanda before receiving their repatriation grants, causing demotivation among other repatriation candidates. Measures were put in place on the Rwandan side to correct the situation, but as of December 2018 their impact was yet to be seen.
During the year, reception facilities for repatriation candidates were therefore progressively scaled down. In North Kivu, seven Assembly Points were closed, leaving only one Transit Center (in Goma) and two Assembly Points operational. In South Kivu two Assembly Points were also closed, leaving one Transit Center in Bukavu and two remaining Assembly Points. As part of the repatriation process, health screenings were organized for 3,035 Rwandan refugees in North and South Kivu. 837 children below the age of five, and 74 pregnant women received vaccinations. 350 awareness-raising sessions on HIV/AIDS (reaching up to 1,200 people) and on hygiene (reaching up to 3,300 people) were organized in Transit Centers. 207 people were rejected by Rwanda after their return. A majority were cases of fraud - Rwandans who attempted to benefit twice from repatriation-related entitlements, or Congolese who were pretending to be Rwandan refugees. The exact breakdown between Rwandan and Congolese fraudulent cases has not been communicated by the Rwandan authorities.
The majority of mostly urban (exempted) Angolan refugee protracted caseload do not envisage repatriation; many require health assistance and hope to benefit from resettlement rather than local integration.