Post Rwandan Genocide: The Refugee Crisis
Definition of a Refugee (1951 Convention)
- International framework
- The most widely accepted definition of a refugee comes from the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
- UNHCR definition
- “A person who, owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.” UNHCR, 1951 Refugee Convention, Article 1(A)(2)
- Key criteria
- A refugee is outside one’s country of origin with a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion.
• The person is unable or unwilling to return due to that fear.
- A refugee is outside one’s country of origin with a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion.
- Exclusions
- The definition excludes internally displaced persons (IDPs), who flee their homes but stay within their own country’s borders.
- Individuals involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity, or serious non-political crimes may also be excluded (1951 Convention, Article 1F).
- Oversight
- The UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) is responsible for overseeing the application of the Convention and protecting refugee rights.
- Mass exodus (1994)
- Following the genocide, an estimated 2 to 3 million Rwandans fled within weeks.
- UNHCR described it as “the messiest and most complex humanitarian operation in modern history.”
- Around 850,000 refugees entered Goma (DRC) in a single day in July 1994.
- Decades of displacement
- By 1993, over 500,000 refugees (both Tutsi and Hutu) already lived in the region due to earlier conflicts.
- Many were radicalized by exile and conflict, later joining armed groups like the RPF and Interahamwe.
- Militarization of refugee camps
- Camps in eastern Zaire (now DRC) became bases for exiled génocidaires and Hutu militias.
- Between 1.5 and 2 million Hutu refugees fled to eastern Zaire.
- Camps quickly turned into militarized hubs, not just humanitarian sites.
Armed Control and Regional Instability
- Parallel authority in camps
- Former Hutu government officials and Interahamwe militias created a “government in exile.”
- They coordinated activities, maintained order, and launched cross-border attacks on Rwanda’s new RPF-led government.
- Mobutu’s role in Zaire
- President Mobutu used the crisis to deflect attention from domestic problems.
- He was unwilling or unable to disarm militias, allowing them to operate freely.
