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POLITICAL RELATIONS: REFUGEES: Rwanda–Uganda

POLITICAL RELATIONS: REFUGEES: Rwanda–Uganda Uganda has begun “forcibly” deporting hundreds of Rwandans from two southwestern refugee camps, at gunpoint according to one witness, prompting the UN refugee agency ( UNHCR ) to call for a suspension of the operation, reports the UN humanitarian and news analysis service, IRIN (15/7) . Both countries have long tried to rid Uganda of Rwandan refugees who for their part say they do not feel safe going home. Tarsis Kabwegyere, the Ugandan Minister in charge of disaster preparedness and refugees, said the operation, which started on July 14th, targeted illegal immigrants “who had no good reason to stay here”. “They had no documents and over 1,700 were taken back”, he added. “The UNHCR knows about it. It was not done in secrecy; the government of Rwanda provided transport, food and water to us. They only took their people home. They are responsible for their citizens.” But UNHCR distanced itself from the operation. “We are not involved”, UNHCR resident representative in Uganda Kai Nielsen told IRIN on July 15th. “Our biggest worry is that amongst those rounded up are genuine refugees”, said Nielsen. “In the process, families were separated.” “While we fully respect the government’s right to deal with rejected asylum‐seekers after they have exhausted the legal appeal process, we are gravely concerned that some of those targeted for deportation to Rwanda were not given a fair chance to have their asylum claims examined”, the UNHCR said in a statement, quoted by AFP . The United Nations on the 16th condemned the operations, saying in a statement that it “deplores” the “forced returns”. (Sources as referenced in text) IN BRIEF Algeria–Egypt: In early July Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak , accompanied by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit , made a short “courtesy” visit to Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika , who was mourning the death of his brother, in a sign of improving ties between the North African nations. Relations between the two countries have been fraught since violence broke out around the qualifying football matches for this year’s World Cup finals. The incidents had diplomatic repercussions with both Egypt and Algeria calling home their ambassadors to each other’s country for “consultations” and at least one major Egyptian investment project in Algeria was cancelled. ( © Agence France Presse 4/7) Burkina Faso–Niger: The two countries have submitted a dispute over their common border to the United Nations International Court of Justice ( ICJ ) as part of a wider agreement to resolve the situation peacefully. The court will delineate the border between the two nations from the Tong‐Tong marker to the start of the Botou bend. It has also been asked to observe the two countries’ agreement on the results of the work of a joint technical commission on two other sections of their border. (UN News Service 21/7) Chad–Senegal: The Nobel Peace Prize winners Bishop Desmond Tutu and Shirin Ebadi , as well as 117 African human rights groups from 25 countries, called on July 20th for the government of Senegal and the African Union ( AU ) to move forward with the trial of Hissène Habré . The exiled former dictator of Chad is accused of thousands of political killings and systematic torture. The statement appeals to President Abdoulaye Wade to do all he can “very urgently” so that justice can be rendered to 12,321 victims of human rights violations. (Human Rights Watch 20/7) Nigeria–South Africa: South Africa has deported 47 Nigerians, who were ferried to Lagos on a chartered flight from Johannesburg on July 20th. Some of the deportees were quoted as saying the hostility towards African immigrants in South Africa had heightened since the end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. There is rising tension in South Africa over the reported resurgence of the 2008 xenophobic attacks, which have forced many African immigrants to return to their countries. But the South African government has played down the attacks. (PANA, Lagos 21/7) http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series Wiley

POLITICAL RELATIONS: REFUGEES: Rwanda–Uganda

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2010
ISSN
0001-9844
eISSN
1467-825X
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-825X.2010.03354.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Uganda has begun “forcibly” deporting hundreds of Rwandans from two southwestern refugee camps, at gunpoint according to one witness, prompting the UN refugee agency ( UNHCR ) to call for a suspension of the operation, reports the UN humanitarian and news analysis service, IRIN (15/7) . Both countries have long tried to rid Uganda of Rwandan refugees who for their part say they do not feel safe going home. Tarsis Kabwegyere, the Ugandan Minister in charge of disaster preparedness and refugees, said the operation, which started on July 14th, targeted illegal immigrants “who had no good reason to stay here”. “They had no documents and over 1,700 were taken back”, he added. “The UNHCR knows about it. It was not done in secrecy; the government of Rwanda provided transport, food and water to us. They only took their people home. They are responsible for their citizens.” But UNHCR distanced itself from the operation. “We are not involved”, UNHCR resident representative in Uganda Kai Nielsen told IRIN on July 15th. “Our biggest worry is that amongst those rounded up are genuine refugees”, said Nielsen. “In the process, families were separated.” “While we fully respect the government’s right to deal with rejected asylum‐seekers after they have exhausted the legal appeal process, we are gravely concerned that some of those targeted for deportation to Rwanda were not given a fair chance to have their asylum claims examined”, the UNHCR said in a statement, quoted by AFP . The United Nations on the 16th condemned the operations, saying in a statement that it “deplores” the “forced returns”. (Sources as referenced in text) IN BRIEF Algeria–Egypt: In early July Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak , accompanied by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit , made a short “courtesy” visit to Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika , who was mourning the death of his brother, in a sign of improving ties between the North African nations. Relations between the two countries have been fraught since violence broke out around the qualifying football matches for this year’s World Cup finals. The incidents had diplomatic repercussions with both Egypt and Algeria calling home their ambassadors to each other’s country for “consultations” and at least one major Egyptian investment project in Algeria was cancelled. ( © Agence France Presse 4/7) Burkina Faso–Niger: The two countries have submitted a dispute over their common border to the United Nations International Court of Justice ( ICJ ) as part of a wider agreement to resolve the situation peacefully. The court will delineate the border between the two nations from the Tong‐Tong marker to the start of the Botou bend. It has also been asked to observe the two countries’ agreement on the results of the work of a joint technical commission on two other sections of their border. (UN News Service 21/7) Chad–Senegal: The Nobel Peace Prize winners Bishop Desmond Tutu and Shirin Ebadi , as well as 117 African human rights groups from 25 countries, called on July 20th for the government of Senegal and the African Union ( AU ) to move forward with the trial of Hissène Habré . The exiled former dictator of Chad is accused of thousands of political killings and systematic torture. The statement appeals to President Abdoulaye Wade to do all he can “very urgently” so that justice can be rendered to 12,321 victims of human rights violations. (Human Rights Watch 20/7) Nigeria–South Africa: South Africa has deported 47 Nigerians, who were ferried to Lagos on a chartered flight from Johannesburg on July 20th. Some of the deportees were quoted as saying the hostility towards African immigrants in South Africa had heightened since the end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. There is rising tension in South Africa over the reported resurgence of the 2008 xenophobic attacks, which have forced many African immigrants to return to their countries. But the South African government has played down the attacks. (PANA, Lagos 21/7)

Journal

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural SeriesWiley

Published: Aug 1, 2010

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