UNHCR Calls For Ban On Forced Returns Of Refugees In DR Congo Over Violence Risks

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Friday forceful returns of refugees, including asylum seekers who were refused their claims, should be banned in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) due to increased threat of violence

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th November, 2022) The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Friday forceful returns of refugees, including asylum seekers who were refused their claims, should be banned in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) due to increased threat of violence.

"UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has released today an updated return advisory for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), reiterating its call for a ban on forced returns, including of asylum-seekers who have had their claims rejected, to the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri," the agency said in a statement.

The agency also urged states to grant refugees access to their territory and treat them in accordance with the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa and the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

According to the statement, UNHCR is concerned about the rise in attacks on civilians, including those living in displaced persons' residences in eastern DRC.

The organization cited a February displacement camp attack as an example, during which militants from the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) militia group, armed with machetes and other weapons, attacked civilians in the DRC's Ituri Province, killing 58 civilians and wounding 36.

An estimated 5.6 million Congolese were internally displaced as a result of internal conflicts in the country, of which 4.9 million had to flee because of hostilities across North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, the statement read.

In February, UNHCR issued a warning summary about the increasing number of deadly attacks against internally displaced civilians in the east of the DRC conducted by militia, listing three earlier attacks that took place in the east of the country, claiming a total of 77 lives, including six children and a pregnant woman.