Refugees Daily - Internal Global Press Review

Kigali, June 22 – Members of the Parliament have called for better living conditions of refugees in camps around the country.

They also called for an international meeting to find a sustainable solution for refugee repatriation and stop the increasing influx.

These concerns are part of the ten resolutions of a report by parliamentarians' outreach to six refugee camps and three transit centres in the country.

The visited camps include Mahama, Kigeme, Nyabiheke, Kiziba, Nyagatare, Kageyo, Gashora and Nkamira.

Presenting the report to the Lower House plenary assembly on Tuesday, MP Zenon Mutimura, the chairperson of the standing committee on foreign affairs, cooperation and security, said the outreach activity intended to assess the respect of refugee rights, their living conditions, effects of their activities to the environment and factors impeding their return to home countries.

"Major problems facing refugees include insufficient food, firewood, cemetery, landslides and housing facilities. Out of despair, these result into other problems like dropping out of school, environment degradation and drug abuse," said MP Mutimira.

Other problems include lack of refugee status documents, selling of food provisions, gender-based violence especially in Mahama Burundian refugee camp, early pregnancies and early marriages which all compromise the country's laws.

"We have held talks with the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refuggee Affairs (MIDIMAR) on these problems and they pledged to act," Mutimura said, adding that government is compensating people whose tree plantations have been destroyed by refugees while the country is also losing trees from the state's owned plantations.

Other MIDIMAR and UNHCR solutions include giving cash to refugees instead of foodstuffs, giving modern stoves which are expected to reduce the use of firewood up to 70%.

Citing an example of Congolese refugees who have been in the country for 20 years, MP John Ruku-Rwabyoma criticised the reluctance of the international community in handling insecurity issues in the refugees' home countries so that they can go back home.

"Let's push hard for the implementation of the international resolutions to phase out issues which led to refugee influx. They all wish to go back home once their countries become secure. Their land is occupied by the FDLR militia and if the threat is no more, Congolese refugees will definitely return home," he said.

MP Athanasie Nyiragwaneza, the committee's chairperson, said refugee problems cannot be solved by Rwanda only.

"Many countries in the region and the international community must be involved to deliberate on the best solutions," she said.

The Lower House approved that report and committed to pushing for the implementation of its resolutions.