Paper details

Paper authors	Masako Yonekawa
In panel on	States and Humanitarian INGOs: Principles, Politics, and Identities
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

While the UNHCR and Government of Rwanda have claimed that Rwanda has become peaceful and secure since the 1994 genocide, a majority of Rwandan refugees have long refused to repatriate. It is argued that promotion of voluntary repatriation and invocation of the cessation clause of the Rwandan refugees’ status were premature due to their fear of and trauma associated with the Rwandan Patriotic Front, the current Rwandan Government, because of its serious human rights record. Based　on　a literature　review　and　field research conducted　in　several　countries hosting Rwandan refugees which are used as a case study, this paper attempts to re-examine responsibility of the state and UNHCR for refugee protection and repatriation. To protect refugees, it is suggested that the states of asylum and the UNHCR assess refugees’ previous and ongoing persecution as well as the motives of the states of origin to repatriate refugees. Moreover, in order to avoid another forced repatriation and additional displacement as happened in the past, the states of asylum and the UNHCR are to re-examine the standard of voluntary repatriation and cessation clause of refugee status, and to reassess fundamental change in the country of origin and refugees’ intentions.

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