All For Rwanda takes note of the high-level ministerial meeting held in Addis Ababa between the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Government of the Republic of Rwanda, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the aim of adopting a common roadmap for the voluntary repatriation of Rwandan refugees.
While we welcome the reaffirmation by all parties that any return of refugees must be voluntary, safe, and dignified, it is essential to denounce a fundamental flaw in the approach taken: no organization representing Rwandan refugees was consulted or even informed of this initiative. Once again, decisions are being made regarding a population of several hundred thousand people—without their participation, without their voice, and without their consent.
Rwandan refugees are treated as a mute diplomatic variable. They are spoken of, but never spoken to. Their fate is determined behind closed doors, while they themselves remain invisible. This systemic exclusion, which contravenes the most basic principles of international law, reveals a profound disregard for their dignity. It also reflects the deadlock in which this crisis has been mired for decades. No solution that excludes the very people concerned can ever hope to address the root of the problem.
As of June 2025, UNHCR officially registered 201,238 Rwandan refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, the agency itself acknowledges that this figure is a serious underestimate, as many exiles live undocumented, under false Congolese identities, or outside any official registry—fearing arrest, deportation, or reprisals.
Based on our own estimates—taking into account all Rwandans in exile, whether registered as refugees, stateless persons, or holders of another nationality due to political persecution and their inability to return—the true number exceeds 500,000 individuals.
Unlike other refugee populations in the DRC, Rwandan exiles benefit from no official camp, no specific protection or support programs from UNHCR, and often find themselves in a legal and humanitarian grey zone, despite the long-standing and severe nature of their plight.
Despite the considerable resources invested over the past twenty years in voluntary repatriation programs, the results remain negligible. The overwhelming majority of Rwandan refugees have not refused to return out of ideological stubbornness, but because the root causes of their exile have never been addressed. Their refusal stems from the absence of credible guarantees for safety, fair justice, and political and social recognition.
Even worse, recent years have been marked by forced returns of Rwandan refugees, carried out under inhumane conditions and in blatant violation of the principle of non-refoulement. These facts were documented by Human Rights Watch in a report published in July 2024, detailing the forced deportation of thousands of refugees back to Rwanda under opaque circumstances. The report describes operations in Goma, Kalehe, and Sake, where refugees were forced onto trucks—often at night, without documentation, and without the possibility to refuse.
These practices have, in some cases, been facilitated by the passivity or failure of UNHCR to offer effective protection, leaving vulnerable people without real safeguards. They constitute violations of international refugee protection obligations and highlight the extreme precarity in which thousands of Rwandan exiles still live today.
These recent so-called “voluntary” return operations appear primarily driven by a public relations strategy orchestrated by the Rwandan government, with the support of its armed proxy, the M23/AFC. By organizing such transfers, the aim is to create the illusion that the refugee issue has been resolved and is under control. In reality, these actions obscure the magnitude of the crisis, ignore its root causes, and undermine any prospects for a credible political solution.
All For Rwanda challenges UNHCR on its continued refusal to engage with organizations representing Rwandan refugees. This position raises serious concerns. Why are Rwandan refugees treated differently from other groups? Why are they granted no specific assistance program, no consultation, no recognition as legitimate stakeholders in discussions about their own future? This de facto discrimination is unacceptable and must end.
It is also time to speak clearly. The refugee issue has been mismanaged for thirty years in large part because the Rwandan government refuses to address it politically. Rather than initiating a process of truth and reform to enable return, Kigali has chosen to instrumentalize this population—systematically portraying them as armed groups. This posture allows it to justify military incursions into the DRC and to reject any dialogue with its own citizens in exile.
As long as this approach prevails, there can be neither national reconciliation in Rwanda nor lasting stability in the Great Lakes region. It is naïve to believe that peace can be achieved without addressing the root causes of the conflict. Any strategy based on forced returns, the exclusion of dialogue, or the denial of the political origins of exile is a dead end.
All For Rwanda therefore calls on all stakeholders—UNHCR, the Congolese government, peace process facilitators, the United States, Qatar, the African Union, SADC, and the East African Community—to shift their paradigm. This is no longer about managing a crisis; it is about resolving it. That means persuading—or obliging—Kigali to engage in a structured dialogue with its refugee population. A dialogue that must lead to profound institutional and security reforms, the only path capable of creating the conditions for a mass, free, and sustainable return.
Peace cannot be built on the silence of an exiled people. It must be built by recognizing their voice, upholding their rights, and restoring their rightful place within the national community.
ALL FOR RWANDA
For any further inquiries, please contact:
Norman Ishimwe Sinamenye (Coordinator of the Humanitarian and Human Rights Division of All For Rwanda)