{"id":106052,"date":"2025-07-24T16:43:56","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T16:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/rwanda-dr-congo-sign-communique-on-refugee-repatriation"},"modified":"2025-07-24T17:02:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T17:02:03","slug":"rwanda-dr-congo-sign-communique-on-refugee-repatriation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-dr-congo-sign-communique-on-refugee-repatriation","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda DR Congo Sign Communiqu\u00e9 on Refugee Repatriation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) have signed a joint communique\u0301 on the voluntary repatriation of refugees, reinforcing ongoing efforts for peace in the region.<\/p>\n

Signed on Thursday, July 24, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by diplomats from both countries, the communique builds on a number of efforts for peace that are already in place, including the recent Washington declaration of principles signed between the Rwandan and Congolese governments on June 27.<\/p>\n

It also considers the Doha Declaration of Principles between DR Congo and the Congo River Alliance (AFC)\/March 23 Movement (M23), signed on July 19.<\/p>\n

Rwanda currently hosts tens of thousands of Congolese refugees, mainly those who fled violence in eastern DR Congo. These make up the largest refugee population in the country.<\/p>\n

During the signing event, Rwanda was represented by Ambassador Charles Karamba, the country\u2019s envoy to Ethiopia. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also participated in the signing.<\/p>\n

A statement issued after the signing emphasized that the sustainable return of refugees is \u201ca vital pillar of peace and stability\u201d and essential for post-conflict recovery and reconstruction in the Great Lakes region, particularly in the DR Congo.<\/p>\n

Both governments reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that any refugee returns are voluntary, safe, dignified, and informed, describing the approach as a cornerstone of durable solutions and a key contribution to peacebuilding and regional stability.<\/p>\n

The communique\u0301 recognised UNHCR\u2019s role as a neutral, impartial, and humanitarian actor mandated by the international community to protect refugees and promote long-term solutions.<\/p>\n

The two countries agreed to uphold to reaffirm the right of all refugees to voluntarily return to their country of origin in safety and dignity, without coercion, ensure that repatriation is carried out in line with the Tripartite Agreements of February 17, 2010, and in accordance with international protection standards.<\/p>\n

They also agreed to ground all actions within the framework of the Washington declaration of principles and the Doha declaration.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) have signed a joint communique\u0301 on the voluntary repatriation of refugees, reinforcing ongoing efforts for peace in the region. Signed on Thursday, July 24, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by diplomats from both countries, the communique builds on a number of efforts for peace […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":106051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,29,14,772],"tags":[2542,758],"class_list":["post-106052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","category-to-homepage","tag-dr-congo","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nRwanda DR Congo Sign Communiqu\u00e9 on Refugee Repatriation - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) have signed a joint communique\u0301 on the voluntary repatriation of ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-dr-congo-sign-communique-on-refugee-repatriation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rwanda DR Congo Sign Communiqu\u00e9 on Refugee Repatriation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) have signed a joint communique\u0301 on the voluntary repatriation of ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-dr-congo-sign-communique-on-refugee-repatriation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-24T16:43:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-24T17:02:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/07\/sm_1753363781.048592.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-dr-congo-sign-communique-on-refugee-repatriation#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-dr-congo-sign-communique-on-refugee-repatriation\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Rwanda DR Congo Sign Communiqu\u00e9 on Refugee Repatriation\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-24T16:43:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-24T17:02:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-dr-congo-sign-communique-on-refugee-repatriation\"},\"wordCount\":339,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-dr-congo-sign-communique-on-refugee-repatriation#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/07\/sm_1753363781.048592.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"DR Congo\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"Policy\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-dr-congo-sign-communique-on-refugee-repatriation#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-dr-congo-sign-communique-on-refugee-repatriation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-dr-congo-sign-communique-on-refugee-repatriation\",\"name\":\"Rwanda DR Congo Sign Communiqu\u00e9 on Refugee Repatriation - 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