Congolese Refugees to be relocated to Nyamagabe District

Based on decision made by the Government of Rwanda on Saturday 12 May, incoming Congolese refugees are to be transferred to a new site in Nyamagabe District in the South of Rwanda.

This decision was welcomed by UNCHR and other partners who have been collaborating with the Government of Rwanda in the search of feasible and sustainable solutions to the challenge of accommodation in Nkamira Transit Center in Rubavu District, currently receiving all incoming refugees. It was also influenced by international conventions, governing different aspects of refugee related issues, which instruct host countries to locate refugees away from the border of their country of origin.

Nkamira Transit Centre, initially meant to shelter Rwandan returnees on a temporary basis, has the capacity to hold 2600 individuals yet it has received a total of 7847 Congolese refugees as of Saturday 12 May. Despite continuous efforts to expand on facilities and to maintain a safe and habitable environment for refugees in the Transit Centre, it has become more and more apparent that the number of incoming Congolese refugees will continue to rise and that the over-stretching of the Centre’s capacity will put its inhabitants at risk.

Therefore the Government of Rwanda, through the coordination of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR), identified Kigeme Camp as a suitable place to transfer the growing number of Congolese refugees at the border with DRCongo. With this, a team headed by MIDIMAR and UNHCR, made up of representatives from national and international stakeholders, is set to visit the site today in order to determine what is needed in order to install facilities ready to be used in three weeks time. As this initiative takes shape, incoming Congolese refugees will continue to be received and assisted in Nkamira Transit Centre.

Kigeme Camp, once sheltering refugees from Burundi, has been non-operational since 2009.

For more information, please contact:

Fréderic Ntawukuriryayo (n.frederic midimar.gov.rw, 0788880574)

Darla Rudakubana (r.darla midimar.gov.rw, 0784041611)