{{The head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Zambia has denied accusations that her organization is forcing Rwandan refugees to return to their country.
“The UN agency can never be involved in “forced return but does facilitate voluntary repatriation of refugees,”said Joyce Mends-Cole.}}
The Rwandan refugees recently staged a peaceful demonstration in which they accused the UNHCR of working together with the Zambian and Rwandan governments to force them to return to their country under the cessation clause. They argued that it is still not safe to return to their country.
In a statement released on Thursday, UNHCR Representative in Zambia Joyce Mends-Cole said it is not true that the organization is conniving with the two governments to have Rwandan refugees be taken back to their country.
Only those who fled the country as a result of the violence that erupted between 1959 and 1994 in that country will have their refugee status revoked, the official added.
“UNHCR is recommending countries of asylum, including Zambia, to invoke the ‘ceased circumstances cessation clause’ in respect of Rwandan refugees who fled their country of origin between 1959 and Dec. 31, 1998, latest by June 30, 2013,” she said.
“In Zambia, Rwandan refugees who feel that it is not safe for them to return to Rwanda were invited last year to submit individual applications for exemption from cessation. The majority of Rwandans registered as refugees in Zambia applied for exemption, and most of these applications are still in the process of being reviewed and determined,” she added.
As of Dec. 31, 2011, Zambia was hosting 4, 659 refugees at two of its refugees camps Mayukwayukwa and Meheba in the western part of the country.
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