UNHCR voices concern over murder of Rwandan doctor in Ukraine

GENEVA - The U.N. refugee agency said today it was shocked by the murder last weekend in Ukraine of a Rwandan refugee doctor and respected community leader.

Dr. Patrice Nshimumuremi was beaten to death outside his home in Vinnysya, south-east of Kyiv, on his return from a celebration of the founding of a local refugee NGO, of which he was chairman.

"The attack raises concerns about xenophobia towards refugees in the Ukraine and elsewhere, and highlights the difficulties and even dangers that refugees can face integrating into their new societies around the world," spokesman Kris Janowski said.

"It is especially disappointing in light of recent positive developments in the Ukraine, including a new refugee law adopted in June, which is in line with the 1951 Refugee Convention, and a new citizenship law, adopted in February this year, which eases the acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship for refugees."

A resident in Ukraine since 1987, Dr. Nshimumuremi was a graduate of the Vinnytsya Medical University. He was a contributor to the local human rights organization. Unable to return to his native Rwanda in the wake of the genocide there in 1994, Dr. Nshimumuremi had sought safety in Ukraine, which hosts some 3,900 refugees.

He left behind his Ukrainian wife and 18-month-old baby.