Mission Statement
"UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, is mandated by the United Nations to lead and coordinate international action for the world-wide protection of refugees and the resolution of refugee problems."
UNHCR’s primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. UNHCR strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another state, and to return home voluntarily.
By assisting refugees to return to their own country or to settle in another country, UNHCR also seeks lasting solutions to their plight.
UNHCR’s efforts are mandated by the organisation’s Statute, and guided by the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
International refugee law provides an essential framework of principles for UNHCR’s humanitarian activities.
UNHCR’s Executive Committee and the UN General Assembly have also authorised the organisation’s involvement with other groups. These include people who are stateless or whose nationality is disputed and, in certain circumstances, internally displaced persons (IDPs).
UNHCR seeks to reduce situations of forced displacement by encouraging states and other institutions to create conditions which are conducive to the protection of human rights and the peaceful resolution of disputes. In pursuit of the same objective, UNHCR actively seeks to consolidate the reintegration of returning refugees in their country of origin, thereby averting the recurrence of refugee-producing situations.
UNHCR offers protection and assistance to refugees and others in an impartial manner, on the basis of their need and irrespective of their race, religion, political opinion or gender. In all of its activities, UNHCR pays particular attention to the needs of children and seeks to promote the equal rights of women and girls.
In its efforts to protect refugees and to promote solutions to their problems, UNHCR works in partnership with governments, regional organisations, international and non-governmental organisations.
UNHCR is committed to the principle of participation by consulting refugees on decisions that affect their lives.
By virtue of its activities on behalf of refugees and displaced people, UNHCR also promotes the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter: maintaining international peace and security; developing friendly relations among nations; and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Beneficiary population
UNHCR in Rwanda operates in five camps in cooperation with the Government of Rwanda and with the support of implementing partners providing services in terms of health, education, water and sanitation. There are two big camps holding each around 17,000 refugees Congolese (Kiziba in Western region and Gihembe in Northern region) as well as Nyabiheke in Northern Province holding 5,000 Congolese refugees. Also, there are two camps of Burundian in the Southern region, Kigeme and Nyamure, holding 600 and 2,000 refugees respectively. There are three transit centers, Nkamira and Nyagatare in Western region and Rukomo in Northern region.
In addition to the camp based refugees, UNHCR also assists about 3,000 urban refugees and asylum seekers living mainly in Kigali. Most of them originate from DRC and Burundi.
Durable Solutions
Repatriation of refugees in Rwanda has so far been the main durable solution pursued by UNHCR as scarcity of land in Rwanda makes it difficult local integration. During 2005, UNHCR repatriated some 4,624 Burundian refugees back home. This resulted in the closure of the Gikonko former transit center.
Depending on the outcome of the political transition in neighboring DRC, large scale repatriation in safety and dignity of Congolese refugees in Rwanda could be embarked during the second half of 2006.
Another durable solution that UNHCR applies is resettlement of refugees residing in Rwanda. In 2005 UNHCR resettled 127 refugees from Rwanda to several European countries, Canada, Holland, Australia and the USA.
Our programs
Care and Maintenance programme for refugees
UNHCR Rwanda provides care and maintenance to the refugee population hosted in Rwandan camps, transit centers and in urban areas (mainly in Kigali).
This assistance consists of the following:
a. Food distribution: the World Food Programme (WFP), provides food for camp-based refugees. In Kigali, by-monthly food rations and compensatory feeding founded directly by UNHCR are provided to a limited amount of vulnerable refugees and the distributions are implemented by African Humanitarian Action (AHA), UNHCR operational partner in town.
b. Non Food Items (NFIs) distribution: soap, jerry cans, blankets, red flannel, kitchen sets are distributed on an ad hoc basis for the urban caseload and for refugees in transit centers. Non food items are provided on a monthly basis in the camps.
c. Education: all refugee children have access to free primary and secondary education in the camps and in the towns adjacent to the camps. For urban refugees, schooling assistance is granted for primary education, whereas for secondary education partial assistance is provided to a restricted number of cases in public and private institutions. DAFI scholarships are given every year to a limited number of students.
d. Health services: all refugees have access to free medical check-ups. Health clinics are operated by ARC and AHA in Kibuye and Kigali.
e. Environmental Programme: UNHCR and its partners continued reforestation activities in 2005, training of local authorities in tree nursery management and reforestation and introduction of improved firewood saving burning stoves in camps. In 2005, some 396,000 plants were reared and planted in addition to the dissemination of vegetable plants. UNHCR and the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology entered into a partnership for the construction of a biogas pilot project for Kibuye hospital.
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