Sit-in at UNHCR Goma to call upon UNHCR to make serious reforms in order to work for the protection of refugees
Invitation for a sit-in at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo
Here is the letter addressed to the Mayor of Goma
We the Collective of Youth Organizations for Solidarity in the Democratic Republic of Congo known as COJESKI/DRC, Coordination of North Kivu, and the New Dynamic of Civil Society in North Kivu have planned for a sit-in on Monday November 27th, 2023 at the office of UNHCR Goma from 9am to 1pm.
The purpose is to lay down the foundation for the struggle of the effective refugee protection in DRC at all levels local, national and international which UNHCR and other actors deliberately put aside for political calculations.
As a reminder the Democratic Republic of Congo has been absent on issues about refugees at all levels local, national and international, to make the matter worse UNHCR is hosting the Global Refugee Forum in December and as usual DRC is absent. Our efforts to engage UNHCR in order to correct this injustice did not yield fruits as UNHCR remained silent on our efforts, the Mayor of Goma held a meeting with UNHCR after which UNHCR made a communique that it is working with the Minister of Internal Affairs but we did not agree with that sweeping statement which could delude the public and recall the Government is only part of the stakeholders but it is not the only stakeholders.
We highly regret that over the years UNHCR has operated in DRC without being accountable neither to refugees nor the hosting communities, we also observe that UNHCR is more a problem than a solution that has to change.
Lastly we call upon UNHCR Goma to desist from threats and intimidations either directly or indirectly against those who feel there are reforms UNHCR ought to do in DRC in order to serve better the refugees, we also call upon UNHCR to desist from using some members of COJESKI NORTH KIVU in order to sabotage our activities. We inform the public that some members who were perceived as being comprised have been suspended and are now supposed to do anything on behalf of COJESKI North Kivu.
