New focus on effects of resettlement policy

Observers in the international community remain unclear about the details and potential consequences of the "umudugu" policy for resettling refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northwestern Rwanda, a UN report received by IRIN on Wednesday stated. When the policy was started, the government provided assurances that this further movement of the displaced population was voluntary and that new laws would resolve issues of land tenure, ownership and transfer affecting the displaced, it said. With resettlement largely complete, however, there has been little formal dialogue by which the government, villagers, donors and humanitarian bodies could "strike an understanding about what 'umudugu' means for the economic and social future of Rwanda", it noted. A formal discussion on the issue this week, together with regular sectoral meetings in the future, would attempt to establish "increased understanding of the resettlement process", the report added.