Border Identity: Impact of Evolving Ethnicities on Refugee Policy and Protection in Uganda

The evolving Rwandan ethnic categories of the Hutu, Tutsi, and the Twa presents a challenge for the Ugandan government in refugee policy and protection. Following the 1994 genocide, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) established the Comprehensive Solutions Strategy (CSS) for Rwandan refugees who fled between 1959 and 31 December 1998. While a significant number of refugees have since voluntarily returned to Rwanda, there are still many Rwandans in Ugandan refugee settlements who resist repatriation because of fear of reprisals based on their borderline ethnicity. The geopolitical position of Rwanda with its four neighbours (Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) is not only a result of arbitrary colonial border demarcation, but also a source of fractious and evolving ethnic categories. As a result, the existence of armed ethnic Tutsis in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Hutu génocidaires continues to create refugee spill over into Uganda. Therefore, using the Rwamwanja refugee settlement in southwestern Uganda as a case study, this paper examines the impact of border identity on refugee policy and protection. The main question for determination is: How does the evolving ethnic categorization in Rwanda, particularly among the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa, impact Ugandan refugee policy and protection, with a focus on the Rwamwanja refugee settlement? The paper employs a qualitative analysis of three focus groups with a total of 28 refugees, observational notes, and expert interviews carried out during a field research trip in Uganda. The findings indicate that while there is relative peace in Rwanda, refugees willing to return home from Uganda still fear reprisals based on their borderline ethnic identity. The paper recommends that the host and source countries should facilitate and encourage voluntary return in accordance with international guidelines.