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Refugees welcome to stay, minister says

    KAMPALA

    Uganda's minister for disaster preparedness and refugees, Moses Ali, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have said they are focusing all their energies on persuading some 25,000 Rwandan refugees who have been in Uganda since 1994 that it is safe to return home, but will make appropriate contingency plans if they wish to stay.

    "If we have a number who feel they cannot return, we'll have to consult with UNHCR to discuss the way forward," Ali told IRIN on Thursday.

    "Right now, we are trying as hard as we can to convince them," Ali said. "We are showing them videos of the new Rwanda and we have a team of Rwandan delegates coming here to talk to them with the aim of showing them they have nothing to fear."

    But a senior protection officer for UNHCR, Steven Gonah, said some of the refugees were still afraid of going home and that just 200 had registered to repatriate in December.

    "One of the fears expressed is that they may not be able to recover their land and property," he said.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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