Ten Years after the Rwandan Exodus Assessing Refugee Protection in the Great Lakes

International conference on refugee protection in the
Great Lakes region ten years after the Rwandan genocide.

The United Nations has designated April 7th 2004 the International Day of Reflection on the genocide in Rwanda, marking the tenth anniversary of the events which unleashed the Rwandan genocide in 1994, in which nearly a million people were killed. The genocide was followed by the flight of some two million Rwandans, the largest and fastest refugee movement in history, who spread out into the Great Lakes region. This extraordinary exodus of refugees, government militias, and rebels set in motion events which have engulfed the Great Lakes region in almost a decade of unrest. Although many of those who initially fled have been able to return home, since that
time millions more have been forced into exile in the countries of
the Great Lakes.

In a region which has enjoyed a reputation for providing generous sanctuary, there are now indications that fatigue is setting in. Concerns about the security and economic implications of hosting large numbers of refugees-intensified by the rhetoric of the global war on terror-are generating harsher measures against the displaced. Diminishing international support and a continuing lack of adequate "burden sharing" with hard pressed States in the region have exacerbated the pressures. As refugees and the displaced become easy scapegoats, there are reports of a resurgence of the use of force against refugees, increasing disregard for the voluntary nature of repatriation, and a diminished respect for the role and authority of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

A decade after the Rwandan exodus NGOs in the region and international humanitarian agencies are coming together to
reflect on the challenges still facing refugees in the Great Lakes region at a conference to be held on 14, 15 and 16th April in Kampala, Uganda.

The conference will review trends in refugee protection in the region and recommend improvements in practice and policy. Participants will include expert representatives of international and local NGOs working with refugees in the region, academics, UNHCR, the U.N. system, and independent experts and members of parliaments in the region. Dr. Ibrahim Fall, Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General for the Great Lakes will preside at the opening session of the conference.

The conference is a collaboration of Human Rights First (formerly the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights), the Refugee Law Project of Makerere University, Uganda, the Refugee Consortium of Kenya, the African NGO Refugee Protection Network, and the Centre for the Study of Forced Migration, Dar es Salaam.

Background to the conference
Agenda
Participants list
Meeting of the African NGO Refugee Protection Network
Full Conference Report