proposes you an exclusive reportage. The Special United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) revealed last Friday, April 21st that a tripartite meeting between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and the United Nations Agency is planned for the upcoming month.

The encounter will address the issue of Congolese and Rwandan refugees found on either side of the border between the two countries. According to the UNHCR estimations, approximately 209,000 Rwandan refugees are currently present in the DRC, meanwhile close to 81,000 Congolese refugees are in Rwanda. Rachel Dikongue Atangana, the UNHCR country representative in the DRC, reported at a press conference in Goma (North-Kivu) that the three parties will seek solutions for both countries to repatriate their respective citizens.

Atangana emphasized that the DRC-Rwanda-UNHCR tripartite meeting is in the works and that a date is fixed for the upcoming month. This process of discussing between the parties involved started since 2010 and will be resumed.

The situation of Congolese and Rwandan refugees is one of the motives of the current crisis between the two neighbouring countries, which also involves the rebellion of the M23. In the DRC, the majority of the refugees are Rwandan Hutu dispersed in different provinces. Among them, some are related to Rwandan rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).