Uganda free to grant citizenship to Rwandan refugees, says Gov’t

Uganda and other countries still hosting Rwandan refugees are free to accord them citizenship, a senior official in the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness and Refugee Affairs, has said.Antoine Ruvebana, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said such a move would not contradict the spirit of the Cessation Clause, whose impending application is dependent on the UNHCR’s conclusion that the conditions that led to the refugees’ flight were no more. Most of them fled at the height of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis, which claimed at least one million.The Ugandan Government recently announced that it was considering legalising the stay of some Rwandan refugees.According to the Cessation Clause, which comes into effect June 30, 2013, refugees will either voluntarily return home or apply for citizenship to stay in the host country.“What Uganda is doing does not contradict the Cessation Clause at all. Our objective as Rwanda is that no Rwandan should remain a refugee. However, if a Rwandan refugee requests to stay in their host countries and are successful in their application they will be regarded as nationals of those countries, not Rwandans,” he said He noted that Rwanda considers repatriation as a voluntary act, adding that the country will not force anybody to return home. He observed that other countries like Zambia and Congo-Brazzaville had also started doing the same (granting them citizenship).The Ugandan Commissioner for Refugees in the Office of the Prime Minister, David Apollo Kazungu, was, last week, quoted in the media as saying that his Government would consider persons who do not qualify for refugee status but unwilling to return to Rwanda.“The Government is considering alternative legal status for those unwilling to return home.” He explained that under the proposed arrangement, the refugees may acquire work or resident permits to allow them lead a productive life. Uganda is home to over 16,000 Rwandan refugees, mainly in the camps of Nakivale, Kiryandongo, Kyangwari and Kyaka, all in western Uganda, and Oruchinga camp in the south.Others are said to be in the Ugandan capital of Kampala. Observers say their unwillingness to return home is dependent on several factors, including economic reasons, jobs, and a possible criminal past. Uganda’s State Minister in charge of Disaster Preparedness and Refugee Affairs, Musa Echweru, while in Rwanda recently, called for efforts to sensitise Rwandan refugees to return voluntarily.“As we approach the timing for the implementation of the Cessation Clause, we need to develop concrete action plans, together, in order to deal with refugees that may not return. But before this, we should do more to encourage them to return home voluntarily as it is the most durable solution,” he said.

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Uganda free to grant citizenship to Rwandan refugees, says Gov’t