Human Rights Watch today called on the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy to immediately reverse an order directing Rwandan refugees to return home.
On April 27, the governor of North Kivu reportedly ordered the estimated 100,000 Rwandan refugees living in that province to go home within fifteen days. The governor also threatened that Congolese nationals who continue to harbor refugees after two weeks will be considered criminals.
"These are serious violations of international refugee law," said Peter Takirambudde, the executive director of the Africa Division. "These refugees may face persecution if they are forced to return to Rwanda."
Governor Kanyamuhanga Gafunzi accused the Hutu refugees of assisting Interahamwe Hutu militias in destabilizing peace and security in both the rebel-held eastern Congo and neighboring Rwanda and of fostering ethnic divisions in Congo. The refugees initially fled to eastern Congo in 1994, fearing retribution for the Rwandan genocide in which Hutu extremists massacred more than half a million minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus in that country. Despite increasing insecurity in eastern Congo, many refugees remain in hiding or are settled with the local population in that region, fearing reprisals if they return home. The governor appears to have decided to force them back to Rwanda.
The refugees have credible fears of attacks by the Rwandan military once they return to their homes. Human Rights Watch urged the Rwandan government to acknowledge and condemn killings by the military and prosecute those responsible for abuses. Some 125,000 people continue to languish in Rwandan prisons, suspected of active participation in the 1994 genocide. While the Rwandan government must pursue justice for the victims of genocide, it should also improve respect for human rights in the country and convene fair and speedy trials for all suspects.
Human Rights Watch also called on the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) and the international community to vigorously press the Congolese Rally for Democracy not to forcibly repatriate Rwandan refugees from areas it controls. It urged the international community to ensure that genuine refugees who opt to remain in eastern Congo are accorded the protection to which they are entitled under international law.
