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An exploratory mission of disarmed and demobilised Rwandan Hutu former combatants based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) arrived in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, on Monday to gauge whether it was safe for their return, new organisations reported.
"We will see if the conditions are sufficient for our security and reintegration in Rwanda, then we will decide on a definitive return," Ephraim Hakazimana, one of the 79 volunteers, told IRIN before departing Kamina, southeastern DRC.
Seventy-nine ethnic Hutus volunteered for the week-long mission, after which they will return to the southeastern DRC military base where they have been housed to report their findings to another 1,711 former fighters of the Forces democratiques pour la liberation du Rwanda (FDLR). Of the 79, 66 are ex-combatants, 10 are women, and three are children.
"You hold the key to the repatriation process," Bill Maselta, an adviser to South African President Thabo Mbeki, said at a ceremony before their departure.
South Africa and the United Nations constitute the third party to the agreement signed on 30 July in Pretoria, South Africa, between presidents Joseph Kabila of the DRC and Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
The agreement commits Rwanda to withdrawing its troops from the DRC in exchange for Kinshasa taking steps to address security concerns in the DRC. In particular, this means the dismantling of the former Rwandan army (ex-FAR) and Interahamwe Hutu militias who fled to the DRC following their involvement in the massacre of some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus in Rwanda in 1994.
The UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known as MONUC, and several international human rights NGOs have developed a follow-up mechanism to help guarantee the safety of returnees during both the exploratory mission and the actual repatriation and reintegration of all Rwandan ex-combatants.
"We will monitor the returnees for several months to make sure that their rights and liberties are assured and that nothing bad happens to them in their country," Luc Henkinbrant, a MONUC human rights officer, told IRIN.
Rwandan authorities have said that it will be up to legal authorities to determine which of these ex-combatants might be implicated in the 1994 massacres.
Aside from the 1,780 Hutu ex-militants in Kamina, another 201 wounded and sick who are currently hospitalised in the DRC capital, Kinshasa, and the southeastern city of Lubumbashi are also waiting for the results of the exploratory mission to decide whether they will return.
The DRC government recently indicated that an additional 2,000 Hutu combatants could be found in the vicinity of Kamina.
A number of the volunteers expressed their concerns about the treatment they would receive upon their return, and one withdrew from the exploratory mission at the last minute. An FDLR leader was asked to intervene to reassure the remaining members of the delegation.
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
