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KINSHASA, DRC | Xinhua | Recent commitments made between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have paved the way for concrete steps in refugee repatriation, with hundreds of Rwandan refugees having already returned home, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Filippo Grandi, head of the UNHCR, made the remarks on Tuesday after meeting DRC President Felix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital. The talks focused on the implementation of commitments regarding refugees and internally displaced persons.
According to the UNHCR chief, the commitments have already led to concrete results. In recent days, about 600 Rwandan refugees living in the DRC were repatriated under the tripartite framework agreed by Kinshasa, Kigali, and the UN refugee agency.
The DRC currently hosts 515,381 refugees, including 201,568 Rwandans, while 1,224,592 Congolese are living as refugees in neighboring countries, including 78,787 in Rwanda, according to UNHCR figures. Meanwhile, the DRC is home to 5.92 million internally displaced persons as of March, the second-highest total in Africa, said Grandi.
He warned that humanitarian challenges remain acute as armed violence persists in the eastern DRC, noting that 260 armed groups remain active in North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, Maniema, and Tanganyika provinces.
Appealing to international donors, Grandi stressed that political progress must be matched with humanitarian gains. “Political initiatives must now translate into concrete benefits for people trapped in conflict situations, including refugees and internally displaced persons,” he said.
At a press conference earlier in the day, Grandi acknowledged the complexity of the situation. “We are fully aware that the political context is very complex and very difficult,” he said. “And of course, without political progress, it will be difficult to make significant advances in solving the refugee problem.”
In July, the DRC, Rwanda, and the UNHCR endorsed a 2025-2026 roadmap for the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of refugees. ■
