European Union helps refugees and returnees live with dignity in Rwanda

Refugees and asylum seekers in Rwanda were able to access life-changing protection services, thanks to support from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), which contributed 1.4 million euros to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in 2025.

In particular, this support focused on Burundian refugees living in Mahama refugee camp – home to over 70,000 refugees and asylum seekers – and around 15,000 Congolese asylum seekers, the majority of whom have been relocated to refugee camps, while over 2,300 remain at Nkamira Transit Centre.

Thanks to this funding, UNHCR and partners continued to provide thousands of refugees and asylum seekers with essential services, including facilitating access to registration and documentation, child protection, and gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response support, and support for reintegration of Rwandan returnees and voluntary repatriation of Burundian refugees. Subsequently, over 100 Burundian refugees received help to return home.

UNHCR helped register new arrivals from the DRC, and document all refugee children born in Rwanda – to ensure that all such children received birth certificates. Once refugee children turned 16 years old, UNHCR helped enroll them biometrically to register for refugee ID cards. Such registration and documentation are vital steps for accessing public services as well as mitigating risks of statelessness, among other protection concerns.

UNHCR was also able to help over 6,000 Rwandan returnees from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) voluntarily return home safely and continues to work closely with the Government to ensure their dignified reintegration, thanks to this support from ECHO.

“The European Union’s partnership is vital in helping UNHCR protect refugees and support dignified reintegration of returnees in Rwanda. It enables us to provide safety, legal assistance, and empowerment programs that truly make a difference in lives of forcibly displaced people,” says Ritu Shroff, UNHCR Representative in Rwanda.

As of November 2025, Rwanda hosts over 137,500 refugees and asylum seekers, including those fleeing conflict in eastern DRC. EU humanitarian funding continues to help UNHCR and partners restore dignity, safety, and opportunity for forcibly displaced people.