{The Minister of Refugees and Disaster Management (MIDIMAR), Seraphine Mukantabana has unveiled that some international organizations are engaged in stopping refugees including remnants of a rebel outfit of the Rwanda Liberation Forces (FDLR) which remains a challenge to removing refugee status of Rwandans.}
Minister Mukantabana told parliament yesterday that some employees of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) continue to discourage refugees from repatriating.
“UNHCR has no problem as an organization but some of its employees consider the removal of refugee status for Rwandans as losing bread. Most of them use false misinformation that Rwanda has no peace,” said Mukantabana.
“There is an international organization which doesn’t implement decisions taken against FDLR .When they are not followed up; they retain refugees saying Rwanda has no security. So refugees accept to stay in that status,” she added.
According UNHCR report, more than 200,000 Rwandans are still living in refuge. Over six million Rwandans have repatriated since 1994.
The government of Rwanda announced in June 30th, 2013 the decision of completely removing refugee status for Rwandans. The Geneva Convention of UNHCR held last year confirmed 31st December, 2017 as the deadline for removing refugee status for Rwandans.
This decision regards only Rwandans that fled the country from 1959 to 1998.
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