Exploring the Relationship between Hutu Refugees’ Protracted Situation and Insecurity in the Great Lakes Region

This paper reflects on the complex dynamics of the relationship between forced repatriation of Hutu refugees with protracted refugee situations and insecurity prevailing in the Great Lakes region, in particular, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It critiques misconceived and misguided regional and international responses to the influx of Hutu refugees. The refugees were initially stereotyped as fleeing from prosecution and their influx was seen as a source of friction between Rwanda and its neighbouring countries and as burden to host countries’ social and economic progress. Viewing them as fugitives and as an economic burden, host countries forced Hutu refugees to return. This was done in cooperation with the Rwandan government (i.e. the persecutor) under auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that the forced repatriation resulted not only in the resistance of the Hutu refugees, but also in turning the territory of the DRC into a fully-fledged battlefield for the Hutus and Tutsis. Further, it is argued that this Hutu-Tutsi conflict gave rise to the recurring cycle of violence in the eastern DRC.