Dundo, ANGOLA, August 20 - The Angolan government has called for good sense from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the matter of repatriation of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), without the imposition of rules, since that is a humanitarian and emergency issue.,

 

The appeal was made on Monday by the minister of Social Action, Family Issues and Promotion of Women, Faustina Alves, underscoring the fact that the Angolan government is providing all the support for the repatriation of Congolese refugees.

 

Last Sunday, at least 8,000 refugees out of the overall 23,600 located in Lóvua locality of the north-eastern Lunda Norte Province, abruptly walked towards Angola’s border with DRC.

 

The decision of the Congolese refugees to leave the Lovua refugees field goes against the recommendations issued by UNHCR, which is expected to conduct the repatriation process in September.

 

“If people start dying and women begin giving birth in the daylight, Angola will be labelled a country which does not respect human rights, so in the spirit of good sense and fruit of good diplomatic relation between Angola and UNHCR, we must find a solution to reverse it, we will protect the lives that are currently in the country”, underlined minister.

 

The Angolan official also appealed to the UNHCR to adopt immediate measures to aid the Angolan government to protect and facilitate the repatriation process mainly to preserve human lives, in particular of children, women and aged people.

 

The DRC citizens abandoned their country to be refugees in Angola, due to the extreme and generalized violence caused by ethnic and political tensions that hit this African nation in 2017.

 

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