IOM and the Rwandan Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR) has just launched the "Enhancement of Socioeconomic Reintegration Opportunities for Rwandan Returned Refugees and Other Vulnerable Groups".

The project supports vulnerable groups in Rwanda's Southern and Western Provinces, sharing key findings from a rapid needs and capacity assessment, carried out by IOM, on reintegration opportunities for returning refugees. The project includes a profiling exercise including: identification of human resources, skills training needs and assessment of existing capacity and development of an implementation strategy in line with the priorities set out by the Government of Rwanda.

The project also seeks to strengthen the capacity of the Government to manage returnee data collection and analysis as well as the capacity of local training institutions to provide marketable skills training to returnees and other vulnerable community members.

Rwanda lacks human resources, particularly in the technical professions as a result of the 1994 genocide in which many members of the educated and skilled workforce were lost. As a result, the government has called for a well-trained, motivated and adaptable workforce as key to its economic and social development.

It is estimated that there are 72,530 Rwandan refugees outside of Rwanda, mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while more than 20,000 returned to Rwanda in 2009. In addition to assistance for returnees, the Rwandan government has adopted an integrated community-based approach to reintegration, broadening the scope of those who can benefit from reintegration assistance to include other vulnerable groups.

IOM works closely with counterparts in the Government of Rwanda at national and community levels as well as with civil society and international agencies. The project is funded by the Government of Japan.

For more information please contact:

Yves Kaza

IOM Kigali

E-mail: pgomis@iom.int

or

Paul Gomis

IOM Kigali

E-mail: ykaza@iom.int