International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI)

MASS REMOVAL OF RWANDANS FROM UGANDAN REFUGEE SETTLEMENTS

(15 July) Reports reaching IRRI and RLP indicate that on the morning of Wednesday 14th July 2010, OPM Directorate of Refugees and Police officers in Nakivale (Isingiro District) and Kyaka II (Kyenjonjo District) began rounding up Rwandans and forcing them against their will to board trucks to return them to Rwanda.

Reports indicate that those targeted in this manner were lured with the promise that they would be granted refugee status and food. Instead they were met by a large number of Ugandan police who rounded them up and forced them onto trucks. Shots were fired by police. Some individuals appear to have been injured during the process, and in some cases parents were separated from children. Reports further suggest that Rwandan security agents and authorities were present at the scene.

By removing settlement-based Rwandans in this manner, the Ugandan government is in breach of its own Citizenship and Immigration Act, which outlines the due processes by which failed asylum seekers who have exhausted their right of appeal should be deported. It has also violated the obligations created by domestic and international law, including the Constitution, the Children’s Statute and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Read the full press release.

AFRICAN NGOS CALL FOR GREATER SUPPORT TO UNAMID

Ahead of AU summit, NGOs call for renewed focus on protection of civilians

(20 July 2010) In a letter to the African Union's Peace and Security Council a coalition of African advocates urged that the council take the opportunity to ensure that UNAMID is
given the tools and political support required to effectively implement its protection mandate.

Despite being almost fully deployed—albeit almost three years after its initial authorisation and further to massive investment of human and material resources by African states—UNAMID is still struggling to fulfill the expectations of the people of Darfur. Most critically it is continuing to fail to effectively protect not only civilians at large in Darfur, but even its own personnel.

There are significant challenges confronting the mission which must be considered by the African Union in assessing its responsibilities to its own personnel and the people of Darfur.

Read the full letter here.

A Dangerous Impasse:
Rwandan Refugees in Uganda

(28 June 2010) Today, the International Refugee Rights Initiative and the Refugee Law Project launched a new report, "A Dangerous Impasse: Rwandan Refugees in Uganda". The paper examines why refugees living in Uganda's Nakivale settlement are refusing to return to Rwanda despite considerable push factors. Based on 102 interviews with Rwandan refugees, UN and government officials, the findings make it clear that there are legitimate reasons for the refugees' stance. To the extent that refugee groups can act as a barometer of the situation at home, the findings are a serious indictment of the current Rwandan government. Refugees view the government as repressive, and dissent in many aspects of life is not tolerated. Those who question the regime are subjected to human rights violations that include discrimination in employment, imprisonment and forced disappearance. As a result, refugees are not only reluctant to return home, they are afraid.

Read the full press release.

Read the full report.

IRRI Signs on to the ICTRtoP Open Letter to the Security Council on the Situation in Kyrgyzstan

(23 June) On behalf of the undersigned civil society organizations, we urge Members of the Security Council to take immediate measures to address the ongoing crisis in Kyrgyzstan, as they have committed to do so under the Responsibility to Protect.

Read the press release here.

10 April 2010: Global Day of Action

IRRI, in collaboration with various international organizations, organized a rally in New York on the eve of Sudan's elections.

Communities around the world held events to ensure that elections do not become a flashpoint for violence and rights violations.

The events form part of the Sudan 365 global campaign, highlighting the need for urgent international attention for Sudan in this critical year.

Become a fan of the Sudan365: A Beat for Peace Facebook page here.

Peace is Illusive in Eastern Congo; A new report says

(Kampala, 24 March 2010) North Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo is bound to remain in perpetual conflict if questions of identity, citizenship, good governance and justice are not urgently addressed.

In a research published today titled “Who Belongs Where? Conflict, Displacement, Land and Identity in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo” published by International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) in partnership with the New York based Social Science Research Council (SSRC), the report presents views of the ongoing conflict in the east of the country from the perspective of those displaced by it – both refugees and internally displaced.

Read the press release here.