Rwandans in Zambia begin processing travel papers

The Government has commenced a process to facilitate Rwandans who lost their refugee status in Zambia with travel documents to enable their repatriation or integration in host countries.The latest development follows the coming into force of the Cessation Clause with which the refugees lost their status on June 30.Officials from the Ministries of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (Midmar) and Foreign Affairs, as well as those from immigration department launched the week-long exercise on Monday.All nationals eligible for Rwandan passports are expected to get the documents within the time frame.Ange Sebutege, the communications officer at the Directorate of Immigration and Emigration, told The New Times on Wednesday that all those affected by the cessation clause who chose to remain in Zambia and other countries were free to apply for the passports to help them integrate.He said people can also access the application forms online from the Immigration web site, or at Rwandan embassies.“We facilitate them like other Rwandans in Diaspora and it’s the same process that anybody seeking a passport goes through,” Sebutege said.He added that the immigration directorate will provide temporary travel documents to those who want to return and apply for the passports from home.Fredrick Ntawukuriryayo, the communications officer at Midmar, said Rwandans in Zambia had responded positively to the registration process.The initiative targets all the countries hosting Rwandan refugees, such as Uganda, Malawi and Mozambique, said Ntawukuriryayo.Zambia warnsMeanwhile, media reports indicated yesterday that the Zambian government has warned some people who were dissuading their colleagues from getting the documents.“The government will not hesitate to apply the law because we don’t want to have people living in Zambia without passports of their country of origin,” deputy minister of homes Stephen Kampyongo was quoted as saying by the Zambian Daily Mail yesterday.The Zambian minister expressed frustration that some Rwandans were not keen to acquire the passports.With 4,000 people, Zambia is one of the countries hosting most Rwandan refugees.About 3.5 million refugees have returned home voluntarily since 1994, according to government. More than 70,000 Rwandans are said to still be stuck in different parts of the world.The provisions of the Cessation Clause leave room for former refugees to get alternative legal status.Rwanda and Zambia governments have been working on modalities to facilitate voluntary repatriation and integration of those who wish to continue living in Zambia.ReintegrationEarlier, while launching the exercise in Zambia, on Monday, minister Kampyongo reportedly commended the move as a good gesture. He assured the former refugees that although the framework for their local integration was yet to be approved, the Zambian government already had a draft under consideration.“What is important to note is that the criteria will be based on the existing law and hence the need for all the former Rwandan refugees who are interested to locally integrate in Zambia to apply to be issued with the Rwandan national passport,” he said.The majority of the former refugees are mostly accommodated in Maheba camp in the North-Western Province of the southern African country.During a bilateral meeting between the two countries in Lusaka in July 2013, both sides agreed to enhance the implementation of the Cessation Clause by promoting voluntary repatriation and facilitating those who need to be locally integrated.Since the coming into force of the Cessation Clause, 1,399 Rwandan refugees have voluntarily repatriated. Those who have returned with the help of the UN High Commission for Refugees, in collaboration with the host countries and the Rwandan government, have been resettled.

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Rwandans in Zambia begin processing travel papers