The governments of Rwanda and Zambia have embarked on efforts to repatriate thousands of Rwandan refugees living in the southern African country.

A tripartite meeting between officials of the two countries and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was held in Kigali yesterday to explore ways of expediting the process.

According to figures from the Ministry for Disaster Management and Refugees Affairs (Midmar), only 25 out of an estimated 4,000 Rwandan refugees in Zambia have received Rwandan passports but none has repatriated ever since the cessation clause was invoked on Rwandan refugees in June 2013.

According to the cessation clause, all Rwandan refugees, living in different countries across the world are required to repatriate voluntarily or integrate in their host countries.

The other option is for them to return home, acquire national identification documents, and if they so wish, return to the host countries.

"We are ready to facilitate the return of all Rwandan refugees. However, if they choose to stay in host countries, we ask them to seek official documentation particularly passports,” said Seraphine Mukantabana, the Minister for Disaster Management and Refugees Affairs.

The meeting follows a similar one held in Lusaka, Zambia in July 2013 that saw the launch of issuance of Rwandan passports to refugees in the country.

"The two governments need to work closely to convince the refugees that they will stay safe once they return home and our role is to facilitate them on that,” said Laura Lo Castro, the Zambia UNHCR representative.

About 242 Rwandan refugees have repatriated from Zambia since 1994.

"Staying in Zambia without official documentation makes you an illegal immigrant, so we are partnering with the Rwandan government to facilitate voluntary repatriation or granting of documentation that makes residence possible,” said Lt. Col. Panji T. Kaunda, Zambia’s deputy Minister for Home Affairs.

As part of the drive, five Rwandan refugees, who travelled with the Zambian delegation, are currently in the country on a come-and-see-go-and-tell mission.

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