Repatriation deadline extended

Rwandan refugees in Uganda have until 31 August to leave the country, following the extension of an end-July repatriation deadline, Ugandan officials say.



The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, has indicated that at least 15,000 Rwandan refugees missed the 31 July deadline to go home voluntarily ahead of the closure of several refugee camps in Uganda.



On 7 August, Rwandan, Ugandan and UNHCR officials met in Kigali, Rwanda's capital, and agreed to extend the repatriation of the Rwandans, most of whom are ethnic Hutus who fled their homes after the 1994 genocide.



However, the refugees remain reluctant to return home, citing lack of land and persecution, as well as prosecution for genocide-related crimes.



"The winding-up of this exercise targeting registered refugees will end on 31 August 2009,” a joint statement issued at the end of the Kigali meeting said.



Special treatment will, however, be given to the sick, pregnant women and students who are scheduled to sit their end-of-year final examinations in Uganda in November. All other refugees will be required to leave Uganda by 31 August.



Musa Ecweru, Uganda’s junior minister in charge of refugees, said Uganda remained keen to decongest its refugee camps, which have been hosting greater numbers since the start of 2009.



"We are carrying out the exercise in good faith; these people have been in Uganda for many years but we feel that now is the right time," he said.



However, human rights activists, including the New York-based Human Rights Watch, have cautioned Uganda against forceful repatriation of refugees who were unwilling to return home. UNHCR has said the fate of those who have not left by 31 August will be decided in September, with the options of local integration and resettlement in a third country.



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