On June 27, 2025, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda signed a Peace Agreement, with the hope of ending recent hostilities between DRC forces and Rwandan-sponsored M23 rebel forces.
In the Peace Agreement, DRC and Rwanda have agreed to “facilitate the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of refugees.” Namely, they are referring to repatriations—the return of refugees to their country of origin. In the peace process, repatriations are pushed by countries and international organizations as a major aspect of post-conflict resolution. Simply speaking, countries want their citizens back, and refugee-hosting countries want to ease their burdens of hosting. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) considers repatriation a core component of the “4Rs”—a framework that aims to achieve peace and stability for long-term development in post-conflict situations.
Yet, what should be an individual choice—whether or not to return to a country you once fled due to fear of harm—is often decided by high-level officials. On July 24, DRC, Rwanda, and UNHCR adopted the 2025-2026 Tripartite Technical Working Group Road Map on Voluntary Repatriation and Reintegration (“Road Map”). The Road Map states that parties will commit to safe and voluntary returns, but high-level statements have not always ensured effective implementation in the past.
Violence and peace have cycled in and out of this region for decades. Since the 1990s, refugees have fled countries in the Great Lakes region (Burundi, DRC, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda), and these countries have also hosted many refugees, sometimes for decades. Over several iterations, countries have launched repatriation campaigns. This snapshot explores some of those past efforts to offer reflections and recommendations for the international community going forward.
Background
In April 1994, full-scale genocide broke out in Rwanda against the Tutsi. Systemic massacres and widespread violence sparked by Hutu extremists forced many to flee the country. About 2 million refugees fled to neighboring countries, including DRC (then, called Zaire), Tanzania, Burundi, and Uganda.
In July 1994, the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) captured Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city. Hutu leaders fled to Zaire, and a transitional unity government was established on July 19, 1994.
In Zaire, Hutu extremists built militias. Many soldiers were recruited from and trained in refugee camps. Seen as a burgeoning threat, Rwandan troops launched cross-border military operations against Hutu armed groups. This sparked the First Congo War in 1996, which involved Zaire, Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, and Burundi. Many Congolese fled violence to neighboring countries.
In 1998, war broke out again between Rwanda and DRC, protracting existing displacement and driving renewed exodus. Officially, the Second Congo War ended in 2002, and Rwanda, Uganda, and DRC were set to follow formal peace agreements. Yet, state-sponsored and independent armed groups still enact violence on civilians and cause displacement to this day.
1996 Forced Repatriations from Tanzania to Rwanda
In Rwanda in 1994, a multi-ethnic transitional unity government was installed, and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda—an international court and prosecution system for the punishment of war crimes—was established. International powers considered those events the end of the genocide and the path to peace.
But to refugees, there was no clear indication of peace. While the genocide may have lasted 100 days in the eyes of international powers, the underlying ethnic tensions had existed and been stoked up by European colonizers for a century. Within a matter of months, over half of the Rwandan population were killed or displaced. The sudden expectation to return caused uncertainty—Tutsis were afraid of continuing genocide, Hutus were afraid of reprisal killings, and all were afraid of general violence and destruction.
On December 5, 1996, Tanzania and UNHCR announced that all Rwandan refugees in Tanzania must return by the end of the month. The decision ignored the individual nature of refugee status, which is based on a personal fear of persecution. The ultimatum also flew in the face of international law prohibiting forced returns to a country where an individual has fear of harm (principle of non-refoulement).
Refugees had real grounds to fear return. In Rwanda, there were widespread reports of arbitrary arrests and detainment, conflicts over land, and disappearances. The mass exodus and genocide had resulted in the breakdown of villages, public assistance, and economies, which were slow to recover.
Yet, Tanzania and UNHCR went forward with their repatriation campaign, which resulted in forced and involuntary repatriations and disappearances. Nearly 100,000 refugees fled Tanzania for Uganda and Kenya. Refugees who fled the camps to hide in local communities were rounded up and herded to the border. The Tanzanian military launched operations against refugees to round up, march, and forcibly return them to Rwanda. By the end of 1996, half a million Rwandan refugees were driven out of Tanzania.
Other countries were slow to call out human rights abuses as they experienced donor fatigue, and the absence of public outcry emboldened the forced repatriation effort. At the time, UNHCR was fully invested in repatriation efforts across the world. The overlapping displacement crises in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and West Africa pushed the agency to pursue “durable solutions” for refugees. Repatriation was pushed as a durable solution, even if refugees were sent back to “less than optimal conditions.” Hindsight emphasizes what officials should have known at the time: a forced return is not only a single human rights violation, but a human rights violation multiplier.
2002 Forced Repatriations from Rwanda to DRC
In August 2002, 30,000 Congolese refugees were in Rwanda. That year, the Rwandan government launched a campaign to repatriate them back to DRC. Refugees were afraid to return due to dangerous conditions in eastern DRC, where many of them originated.
The Rwandan government met with refugee leaders to promise refugees peace, land, and humanitarian assistance if they returned. Refugees were also threatened that services in the refugee camps would end in September. In Gihembe Refugee Camp, sanitation stations, housing, and parts of the central market were destroyed to compel refugees to leave.
When refugees refused to go voluntarily, the Rwandan government forced returns to eastern DRC. In September 2002, more than 7,000 refugees were forcibly returned to North Kivu, DRC. USCRI (then known as USCR) reported that most people were taken to a remote area of eastern DRC, 60 miles from Goma, the largest nearby city. There, they had no other choice but to occupy abandoned buildings or create makeshift shelters. When Congolese refugees were forcibly returned, their displacement continued as internally displaced people.
Conclusions
Throughout the decades, there have been many more instances of forced repatriation in the Great Lakes region. DRC, Rwanda, UNHCR, implementing partners, and donor countries need to learn from past mistakes. Above all, we should never let go of basic human rights principles and ensure that all repatriations are voluntary and that people have a real opportunity to seek safety.
Recommendations for DRC and Rwanda:
- Actively consult with refugees, returnees, children, women, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups at all stages of the Road Map. Equip people with the knowledge and resources necessary for meaningful and enduring consultative processes.
- Ensure that refugees have free access to unbiased information and news about conditions in their countries and communities of origin so that they may make an informed decision about what is safest for them.
- Never force or coerce refugees to transfer, leave, or return to another place.
- Ensure that refugees who have a fear of return have the right to seek asylum. Provide clear instructions on how to file a claim of asylum and assistance on the application and adjudication process.
- Provide immediate humanitarian and social support to returnees. Allow humanitarian organizations to operate in safety and without arbitrary restrictions to who they can assist.
- Provide continued support to returnees by promoting transparency in the peace process, providing protection to those who need it, and ensuring that local jurisdictions are equipped to welcome returnees.
Recommendations for UNHCR and implementing partners:
- In addition to everything above, ensure that special protection services are available and implemented for vulnerable and marginalized groups.
- Promote impacted individual- and community-led responses.
- Ensure that all parties are following international and human rights law.
- Maintain moral leadership when human rights are violated by assisting survivors and victims, as well as offering effective solutions for cessation, rehabilitation, and non-repetition.
Recommendations for Donor Countries:
- Provide adequate, flexible aid to ensure that refugees and returnees have access to humanitarian assistance. Ensure that humanitarian assistance is provided in a way to empower individuals and local communities.
- Increase options for durable solutions, including resettlement options.
- Monitor and report human rights abuses when they occur. Engage with DRC, Rwanda, and implementing partners to offer effective solutions for cessation, rehabilitation, and non-repetition.
