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UNHCR urges Burundi to stop involuntary returns
14 Jun 2005 Some 5,000 Rwandan asylum seekers have been taken home from Burundi in what UNHCR considers involuntary returns that violate the principle of non-refoulement. The refugee agency is concerned that 2,000 Rwandans still in Burundi and 7,000 Burundians in Rwanda could be sent home shortly. -
Burundi camp now empty after government sends Rwandans home
13 Jun 2005 Thousands of Rwandans who had sought asylum in Burundi have now been returned home from Songore transit centre. Although alarmed, UNHCR has been unable to verify if they went home voluntarily as the refugee agency has been denied access to the centre. -
UNHCR concerned as Rwandans converge on Burundi transit centre
31 May 2005 Thousands of Rwandan asylum seekers are being moved to Songore transit centre after their border sites were dismantled and another transit centre was closed. Songore is ill-equipped to host the new arrivals, who will have to live in the open until the centre is expanded in the coming weeks. -
Sharp rise in Rwandan returnees from Congolese forest
24 May 2005 The number of Rwandan refugees returning home from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has increased dramatically since a Rwandan rebel group's recent announcement that it would disarm and go home peacefully. UNHCR is setting up more assembly points to facilitate returns. -
Intimidation reported as Rwandans return from Burundi
13 May 2005 UNHCR has raised serious concerns over reports from some Rwandan asylum seekers in Burundi that indicate physical and verbal intimidation are being used to force them to go home. The refugee agency has been unable to monitor these returns as most of them happen during curfew hours. -
UNHCR concerned about 5,000 Rwandans on Burundi border
11 May 2005 More than 600 people gathered in Geneva for a charity concert organised by the Geneva Lion's Club in support of UNHCR's "Together for Girls" initiative in Dadaab refugee camp. -
Reaching out to Rwandan refugees in Congolese forest
14 Mar 2005 Despite instability in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNHCR continues to run its 17 assembly points to help repatriate Rwandan refugees emerging from years in the forest. -
Hundreds of Burundians flee for Rwanda, citing fears of violence
11 Mar 2005 More than 800 Burundians have arrived in neighbouring Rwanda in the last two weeks amid a reported rise in tensions surrounding a recent referendum. This, together with the worsening food shortage in northern Burundi, could affect the repatriation of Burundian refugees. -
"Hotel Rwanda" opens doors for special screening by UNHCR, United Artists
17 Nov 2004 UNHCR and United Artists recently held a private screening of the award-winning film, which tells the true story of a man who saved more than 1,000 people by hiding them in his hotel during the 1994 Rwanda genocide. The event also sought to highlight the Darfur crisis and refugee issues in general.