DRC: Refugees can only return after root causes of insecurity are eliminated

Author: Emma Mukasa

• 2023-02-24 05:37:00

On February 17, East African Heads of State convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the sidelines of the African Union Summit and reviewed the security situation in eastern DRC.  Among the key recommendations of their mini summit was; the repatriation of Congolese refugees living in Rwanda and Uganda as well as the resettlement of internally displaced people.

This was a commendable move, taking in the fact that despite holding several meetings, this time Congolese refugees’ problem became a priority for regional leaders.

After the meeting, DRC government Spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said that his “government will work for a rapid return of our compatriots in compliance with the rules of UNHCR and by closely involving the local notables.”  

Despite all these good declarations; one question remains unanswered - will these refugees return to the same persecution and killings they fled from?

By February 2023, the UN Refugee Agency reported more than one million Congolese refugees and asylum-seekers in countries bordering DRC where nearly half of them sheltered in Uganda (479,400). Others are scattered in Burundi 87,500; Tanzania 80,000; Rwanda 72,200; Zambia 52,100; the Republic of the Congo 28,600 and Angola 23,200.

In 2022 alone, Rwanda and Uganda received more than 100,000 refugees from eastern DRC fleeing persecution and a consistent threat to their lives. The majority are Kinyarwanda speaking Congolese.

Muyaya made the fake promises to the Congolese refugees, ignoring that his government and International Community continue to disregard the root causes of the insecurity in DRC, and divert the international opinion by blaming everything on the M23 rebellion which started the struggle because of the insecurity in the region.

But what is the root cause of insecurity in eastern DRC?

The current insecurity situation in eastern DRC, deteriorated in 1994, when the individuals who were responsible for the Genocide in Rwanda fled to former Zaire, now DRC. Instead of disarming them, Mobutu Sese Seko’s regime welcomed them with their genocide ideology against the Tutsi ethnic group, and anger after the defeat by the RPF.

From then, they formed an armed group currently known as FDLR, and continued their military trainings unhindered.  After two years, in 1996, they started killings targeting Congolese Tutsi in eastern DRC with the aim of exterminating them. Survivors were forced into exile in neighboring countries.

The génocidaires mingled with the Congolese population, managed to continue their anti-Tutsi propaganda and spewing their genocidal venom to the host community.

This has triggered an escalation of hate speech and incitement to discrimination, hostility against Kinyarwanda speaking Banyamulenge calling on them to return to Rwanda.

After noticing that their government is unwilling to protect them but supports génocidaires to exterminate them, Rwandophones formed a self-defense armed group RCD which changed name to CNDP in 2006.

The changed to the ‘M23 rebellion’ in 2012, fighting for the same cause of stigmatization and torment of Rwandophones in eastern DRC. In the past, they signed a number of peace agreements with the Congolese government, aimed at finding lasting solutions to the insecurity in the country’s volatile east. But the government lacked the political will to respect the treaties.

The DRC governments is still unwilling to neither honor the agreements nor dialogue with the M23. Yet, it continues collaborating with FDLR which is the main threat to Tutsi communities whom M23 rebels fights to protect.

Thinking of repatriating Congolese refugees without addressing the underlying cause of divisions and violence is only possible in imagination. Refugees can only return home if Kinshasa and the international community listen to them, and sort out what made them flee their home country in the first place.

They should enforce laws that prevent and punish genocide related crimes, initiate measures that eliminate discrimination, teach and encourage tolerance among the population, combat impunity and extradite genocidaires to Rwanda to guarantee that the Congolese Tutsi are safe and secure.