Democratic Republic of the Congo: the forced repatriation of asylum seekers in the east of the country which finds no peace

ROME – It is these days the umpteenth pronouncement of theUNHCR, UN Refugee Agencywhich issued an updated report on repatriations to the conflict-torn eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). “Stop those repatriations – said Elizabeth Tan, director of the UN agency’s International Protection – including those of asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected. The eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri are de facto war zones. The dossier also calls on states to guarantee refugees access to their territory and to treat them in accordance with the OAU Convention of 1969, which regulates the specific aspects of refugee problems in Africa and with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

The perpetual tragedy of the DRC. After being repeatedly mentioned by numerous Humanitarian organizations, there is also a report by a group of United Nations experts, which analyzes the perpetual tragedy of the civilian population of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to reaffirm a dramatic state of affairs, namely: from November 2021 to June 2022 “l The Rwandan army has carried out military interventions both against Congolese armed groups and against positions of the regular armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo”. Not only that, but in this one proxy war “supplied weapons, ammunition, uniforms and troops to the March 23rd Movement (M23)on the occasion of specific operations, in particular when these were aimed at the conquest – also through coalitions of circumstance – of cities and strategic areas”, from the point of view of the wealth of the subsoil.

The question that many are asking. How is it possible that the approximately 2,000 so-called “rebels” of theM23 manage to win against a much larger and, theoretically, better equipped regular army? Different backgrounds reveal that we are faced with yet another other-directed conflict to occupy a territory rich in oil and other mining “wonders”, essential for the production of computers and cell phones. In summary: Rwanda is in the outpost, but it is a widespread belief that the direction lies with the West.

The dossier to the Security Council. The expert report was then sent to Security Council and classified as confidential. In summary, it has been communicated that the Rwandan army has crossed over into Congolese territory, in the eastern region of the country, in direct support of the March 23 movementan armed formation composed mainly of people of the Tutsi ethnic group, which was defeated in 2013 by the Armed Forces of the DRC, with the help of the troops of the MONUSCOthe UN stabilization mission in the DRC with the role of peacekeeping. Close to the borders between the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda – says the report – there are massed columns of hundreds of soldiers with military uniforms too similar to those of the Rwandan armed forces.

The increase in attacks on refugee camps. The UN agency reports to the international community the increase in attacks against civilians, including those residing in refugee camps in the east of the country. In one such heinous attack on the Plaine Savo camp in Ituri province in February 2022, an armed group killed at least 62 people and injured more than 40. Since February, attacks like this have left more than 1000 dead between people residing in the fields or trying to return to their homes. Since the beginning of 2022, UNHCR has recorded more than 50,000 violations of the rights of civilian populations, including refugees and internally displaced persons.

The intensification of armed conflicts. It is at the origin of the aggravation of the situation. Since 20 October, fighting between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese army has displaced 188,000 people. Even before this latest peak, an estimated 5.6 million Congolese were internally displaced. Another million have found refuge in 22 African countries, making this one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. The vast majority, 4.9 million, are internally displaced by the conflict affecting North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, while nearly 700,000 people have been displaced from their homes by extreme weather events.