3 million Congolese refugees coming to Uganda- Minister Onek
The Minister of Refugees, Relief and Disaster Management Hillary Onek says an estimated 3.7 million Congolese refugees fleeing various conflicts are still trapped but want to enter Uganda.
Onek cried out to the International community for help because otherwise Uganda will get overwhelmed. According to Onek, most of the 3.7 refugees are trapped behind conflict lines in the DRC northeastern province of Ituri, with the rest of the Kivu's.
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Onek says each day 3,400 Congolese refugees, mainly from Ituri, are entering Uganda, posing serious humanitarian challenges.
According to the United Nations Refugees Agency (UNHCR), over 25,000 Congolese refugees from Ituri have been registered in Uganda and resettled in Kyangwali settlement. In the last few days, thousands of more refugees from Ituri have poured into West Nile.
These are yet to be registered, although many are also living with relatives and friends, suggesting their true numbers are potentially higher than the registered ones.
Onek says refugee numbers have grown sharply from 433,000 in February 2015 to the current 1.41 million. The current wave of Congolese refugees from Ituri adds onto Congolese refugees from North Kivu, South Kivu, South Sudan and Burundi.
There are also refugees from countries like Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and West Africa.
The United Nations, as well as the Ugandan government, is investigating claims that the refugee's number has been inflated by unscrupulous people both in the UN System and the government.
Should it turn out that 3.7 million Congolese refugees enter Uganda, the numbers would go over five million, making it one of the biggest influx of refugees the world over.
Pundits say the current conflict in Ituri could trigger the biggest movement of people in Africa since the Rwanda Genocide in 1994.
Five million refugees in Uganda would be a population equivalent to 25 percent of the country's population, posing serious humanitarian and development constraints.
Onek says despite the allegations of corruption swirling over the management of the humanitarian response, the international must not abandon Uganda. He says that if the international community does not come in to increase support, Uganda will be forced to review its refugee policy, considered one of the best in the world.
Onek says in addition to offering humanitarian assistance, refugees also exert so much pressure on the country's meagre resources and constraints delivery of public goods and services to her citizens.
Minister Onek says the refugee's crisis is not Uganda's but that of the international community which must, in addition to the humanitarian assistance, also resolve the root causes of the regional conflicts.
Uganda largely supports refugees with an open door, provision of free land, security and access services like healthcare, education and water.
