According to UNCHR policy, any former Rwandan refugee wishing to settle in the host country must now do so through other legal channels.
They may also apply again for special refugee status. Those that do not adhere to the new regime might find themselves living a perilous life as illegal immigrants.
Effective January 1, 2018, Rwandans that fled the country between 1959 and 1998 lost their refugee status after the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) concluded that the conditions that led to their flight were no longer in place and it was safe for them to return to and live in their homeland.
The Independent says that The Cessation Clause provided three options for the refugees: voluntary repatriation, invocation of refugee status and local integration in host country, and individual application for refugee status with convincing reasons.
Rwanda started to produce refugees as early as 1959 when thousands of Tutsi fled from the country’s first pogrom, a trend that continued through the 60s, 70s and 80s before the largest flight in 1994 when millions of citizens fled the country at the height of the Genocide against the Tutsi.
The Express News
