Rwanda

  1. Rwanda receives second group of asylum seekers in a week

    A UNHCR worker attends to an asylum seeker being sent from Libya to Rwanda
    Image caption: More than 2,200 refugees and asylum seekers have arrived in Rwanda from Libya since 2019

    Rwanda has received 57 Eritrean and 35 Sudanese asylum seekers, days after 91 other refugees and asylum seekers arrived in the country from Libya.

    The 183 refugees and asylum seekers will remain in Rwanda pending the processing of their resettlement applications, the UN's refugee agency said on Wednesday.

    The arrivals are part of a programme supported by the UN's refugee agency, African Union and European Union.

    Since 2019, the programme has sent more than 2,200 refugees and asylum seekers of various nationalities from Libya to Rwanda. Over 1,600 of them have been resettled in the US and across Europe.

    The latest arrival of the refugees and asylum seekers in Rwanda comes as the UK attempts to pass new legislation that would allow it to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.

    The UK Supreme Court had earlier quashed the plan, terming it unlawful.

  2. Rwanda 30 years on

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    Video caption: Rwanda's journey towards healing and reconciliation after the 1994 genocide

    BBC journalist Victoria Uwonkunda returns to Rwanda for the first time after fleeing the genocide in 1994, to find out how the country, and its people, are healing.

  3. Rwandan parliament passes bill restricting cutting of trees

    Rainforest, Rwanda.
    Image caption: The proposed law is part of Rwanda's environmental conservation efforts

    Rwanda's lower house of parliament has passed a bill that proposes stricter regulations to protect forests in the country.

    The bill forbids the harvesting, use and trade of immature trees.

    It additionally requires Rwandans to obtain permits from authorities before cutting any trees, including privately planted ones.

    The bill also proposes harsher penalties for those who cut trees before they mature or without a licence, with fines of up to 3m Rwandan francs ($2,300; £1,800).

    "This law aims to further preserve the environment and prevent the effects of climate change," the lower house of parliament said after passing the bill on Monday.

    Rwanda also aims at using the bill to sell carbon credits, pro-government New Times new website reported last year, citing Environment Minister Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya.

    But the proposed law is unpopular among many Rwandans, who view it as an inconvenience that will make it difficult to access wood for cooking, construction and other common uses.

    Rwanda's tree conservation efforts have grown the country's forest cover from 10.7% in 2010 to 30.4% in 2022, according to the environment ministry.

  4. Rwanda receives dozens of refugees from Libya

    Ninety-one refugees and asylum seekers from Libya arrive in Rwanda on 21 March 2024
    Image caption: The East African country says it remains committed to offering refuge to people in need

    Rwanda has received 91 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya under a programme supported by the UN's refugee agency, African Union and European Union.

    The arrivals include 38 Sudanese people, 33 Eritreans, 11 Somalis, seven Ethiopians and two people from South Sudan.

    The refugees and asylum seekers were evacuated under the Emergency Transit Mechanism programme, which has seen 2,150 refugees sent to Rwanda from Libya since 2019.

    Out of these,1,600 have gone on to resettle in the US and across Europe.

    "Rwanda remains committed to offering refuge to people in need," the country's emergency management ministry said on Thursday.

    The arrival of the refugees and asylum seekers comes as the UK attempts to pass new legislation that would allow it to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda, pending the processing of their claims.

    The UK Supreme Court had earlier quashed the plan, terming it unlawful.

  5. Kagame agrees to meet Tshisekedi over eastern DR Congo crisis

    President Paul Kagame and President João Lourenço
    Image caption: The agreement follows a meeting between Mr Kagame and Angolan President João Lourenço on Monday

    Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has agreed to meet with his Democratic Republic of the Congo counterpart Felix Tshisekedi to discuss the ongoing crisis in eastern Congo, the Angolan government has said.

    The agreement followed a meeting on Monday in Angola's capital Luanda between Mr Kagame and Angolan President João Lourenço, the African Union's (AU) mediator, in the DR Congo crisis.

    "It was decided that President Kagame would agree to meet President Tshisekedi on a date to be indicated by the mediator," Angola's Foreign Minister Tete Antonio told the press after the meeting.

    Mr Antonio said that both Rwanda and the DR Congo had agreed to hold the meeting, with ministerial delegations from both sides working toward the plan.

    Rwanda's presidency said on X that the two leaders "agreed on key steps towards addressing the root causes of the conflict".

    President Kagame's trip to Angola follows a similar visit by Mr Tshisekedi to Luanda last month, during which it was announced that the DR Congo leader had agreed to meet with his Rwandan counterpart.

    But Mr Tshisekedi demanded the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from the Congolese territory before meeting President Kagame, the DR Congo presidency said.

    Fighting between M23 rebels and Congolese forces has flared in the DR Congo's east, forcing more than 100,000 people to flee their homes in recent weeks, according to the UN.

    DR Congo has accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels, an accusation that Kigali denies.