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Rwandan refugees come out of the woods in Kivu region
4 Aug 2005 Through 20 assembly points in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNHCR has been repatriating a monthly average of 800 Rwandan refugees who had been hiding for over a decade in the dense forests of the Kivus. -
UNHCR records big hits at Glastonbury
1 Jul 2005 More than 3,000 people flocked to the UNHCR stand at Europe's largest open-air music festival in the United Kingdom. Festival-goers got a glimpse of life as a refugee through exhibitions, interactive games and fortune cookies debunking myths about refugees and asylum seekers. -
UNHCR urges Burundi to stop involuntary returns
14 Jun 2005 Some 5,000 Rwandan asylum seekers have been taken home from Burundi in what UNHCR considers involuntary returns that violate the principle of non-refoulement. The refugee agency is concerned that 2,000 Rwandans still in Burundi and 7,000 Burundians in Rwanda could be sent home shortly. -
Burundi camp now empty after government sends Rwandans home
13 Jun 2005 Thousands of Rwandans who had sought asylum in Burundi have now been returned home from Songore transit centre. Although alarmed, UNHCR has been unable to verify if they went home voluntarily as the refugee agency has been denied access to the centre. -
UNHCR concerned as Rwandans converge on Burundi transit centre
31 May 2005 Thousands of Rwandan asylum seekers are being moved to Songore transit centre after their border sites were dismantled and another transit centre was closed. Songore is ill-equipped to host the new arrivals, who will have to live in the open until the centre is expanded in the coming weeks. -
Sharp rise in Rwandan returnees from Congolese forest
24 May 2005 The number of Rwandan refugees returning home from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has increased dramatically since a Rwandan rebel group's recent announcement that it would disarm and go home peacefully. UNHCR is setting up more assembly points to facilitate returns. -
UNHCR welcomes acceptance of resettled refugees in Sheffield, UK
19 May 2005 More than 50 refugees from Myanmar have arrived in the United Kingdom as part of a joint government-UNHCR resettlement initiative aimed at helping long-term refugees with protection problems in their country of first asylum. -
Intimidation reported as Rwandans return from Burundi
13 May 2005 UNHCR has raised serious concerns over reports from some Rwandan asylum seekers in Burundi that indicate physical and verbal intimidation are being used to force them to go home. The refugee agency has been unable to monitor these returns as most of them happen during curfew hours. -
UNHCR concerned about 5,000 Rwandans on Burundi border
11 May 2005 More than 600 people gathered in Geneva for a charity concert organised by the Geneva Lion's Club in support of UNHCR's "Together for Girls" initiative in Dadaab refugee camp.