Attachments
Highlights
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Handover to the local authorities in the Ubangis of 3 equipped health centres and an ambulance each to the villages of Nzakara and Wenze.
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Completion of 2,800 shelters on the Rusayo II site in North Kivu and the transfer of 1,966 households into these from the dangerous Lac Vert spontaneous site.
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Voluntary repatriation of 168 Rwandan refugees (from Goma and Bukavu) and 294 Burundian refugees from Kanvinvira in safety and dignity.
Context & Security
Within the framework of protecting refugees, the UNHCR commemorated World Refugee Day on 20 June with the refugees themselves, NGOs and the government. Activities focused on refugee entrepreneurship, with markets in Lubumbashi, Goma and Yakoma showcasing products made by refugees. Progress in the fight against genderbased violence in conflict and post-conflict contexts was also highlighted. The security situation in the regions hosting refugees in North and South Ubangi, Haut-Uele and Ituri remained calm in June.
To facilitate repatriation opportunities, UNHCR organised a tripartite meeting in Nairobi on 26 and 27 June on the voluntary repatriation of Congolese and Rwandan refugees. Following up on commitments made by the parties at a high-level meeting held in Geneva in May 2023, the meeting enabled the two governments of Rwanda and the DRC to reaffirm their commitment to create conditions conducive to the sustainable return and reintegration of refugees and to identify key challenges such as security conditions, documentation and access to land and property for displaced populations.
In Eastern DRC, the conflicts continued with the consequence that on 16 June a System-Wide Scale Up to Level 3 was announced for the humanitarian crisis in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu. Initially active for three months, this extension is designed to help overcome bureaucratic and administrative obstacles to a more robust response in terms of protection (including gender-based violence), health, nutrition and food security.
In Ituri, the UNHCR condemned in strongest terms the heinous attacks against vulnerable civilians, especially the 12 June attack in which at least 12 people were burnt alive when their shelters were set on fire. Clashes between non-state armed groups also continued to be reported in many localities in the territories of Rutshuru and Masisi, North Kivu. In the Grand Nord of the North Kivu province, violence and human rights violations committed by other non-state armed groups additionally continued, giving rise to protection monitoring reports of killings, abductions and extortion.
In Luanda, Angola, a quadripartite summit of regional bodies from Southern Africa, East Africa, West Africa and the Great Lakes ended on Tuesday 27 June. Initiated by the African Union, the summit aimed to improve coordination of regional peace efforts and initiatives for Eastern DRC.