Recent commitments between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have paved the way for progress in refugee repatriation, with hundreds of Rwandan refugees already returning home.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) disclosed this after a meeting between UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi and DRC President Félix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa.
The discussions focused on implementing joint commitments concerning both refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
According to Grandi, these commitments are already producing results.
In recent days, about 600 Rwandan refugees residing in the DRC were voluntarily repatriated under a tripartite agreement involving the DRC, Rwanda and the UNHCR.
Latest UNHCR data shows the DRC currently hosts 515,381 refugees, including 201,568 Rwandans. Meanwhile, 1,224,592 Congolese nationals live as refugees in neighbouring countries, with 78,787 of them in Rwanda.
The DRC is also home to an estimated 5.92 million internally displaced persons as of March 2025, the second-highest figure in Africa.
However, Grandi cautioned that humanitarian challenges remained severe due to ongoing armed conflict in the country’s eastern regions, where more than 260 armed groups operate across North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, Maniema and Tanganyika provinces.
He appealed to international donors, stressing that political progress must be matched with humanitarian assistance.
“Political initiatives must now translate into concrete benefits for people trapped in conflict situations, including refugees and internally displaced persons,” he said.
Acknowledging the complexity of the situation, Grandi added: “We are fully aware that the political context is very complex and very difficult. And of course, without political progress, it will be difficult to make significant advances in solving the refugee problem.”
In July, the DRC, Rwanda and the UNHCR formally endorsed a roadmap for the voluntary, safe and dignified return of refugees between 2025 and 2026.
(NAN)