Yolande Makolo Quotes

The country cannot be deterred by different opinions from elsewhere because Rwanda and Rwandans know what it means to be a refugee or asylum seeker, and cannot abandon those in dire need for safety.

Rwanda has received members of the School of Leadership of Afghanistan (SOLA), that first Afghan girls boarding school, who moved from Kabul to Rwanda for their own safety after the Taliban swept to power in 2021, all of which goes to show that Rwanda is safe. They’ve been here, close to two years and they live amongst us and the school started running immediately when they got here, and they’re bringing in new Afghani girls from refugee camps all over the world to join the school,”

The Government of Rwanda rejects comments by H.E. Évariste Ndayishimiye, President of the Republic of Burundi, alleging Rwandan support for Burundian armed rebel groups based in Eastern DRC. Rwanda is not associated, in any way, with any Burundian armed group,” the statement read in part.

These have to be talked about as well. I'm talking specifically about the proliferation of hate speech that is followed by attacks on people. We've seen that people have been attacked, people have died, homes have been burnt, and property has been looted all as the result of the hateful rhetoric that is propagated at the highest level of government, including by the security organs in the DRC.“This is something that the United Nations (UN) itself needs to take seriously because it's coming from within. Some of the statements issued to warn about the proliferation of hate speech and the attacks on these targeted communities in the DR Congo were basically ignored by mainstream media.”

Rwanda is deeply concerned about the conflict that is taking place across the Western Province border, of which spillover effects continue to endanger the lives of Rwandan civilians residing in the area,

Rwanda has successfully that it is one of the safest countries for refugees as it has been attested by those who were evacuated from Libya, some of whom viewed being relocated to Rwanda as a dream come true, compared to the situation they were in before.

The Government of Rwanda urges the Government of Burundi to address their concerns through diplomatic channels where they can be resolved amicably,”

In the last almost 30 years, we’ve welcomed a lot of refugees to Rwanda. We have over 130,000 refugees who live here, mostly Congolese and Burundians, and in smaller numbers people from elsewhere on the continent and beyond, “We are not new to this kind of situation where people are coming in seeking safety and opportunity. We have we partnered with the UNHCR and the African Union to evacuate migrants, mostly Africans, who were stuck in Libya when the war started,”

On the wider issues covered in the piece, the broken global migration system is failing to protect the vulnerable, and empowering criminal smuggling gangs at an immeasurable human cost.”

But we saw the consequences because it's right at our border and this is what we constantly tell the region and the international community that what is happening in the eastern DRC is a threat to our security because it is close to our border and we want peace.”

Rwanda is doing it for the right reasons and that the country has the experience of being a welcoming place for people living in precarious conditions.

Rwanda is committed to its international obligations, and we have been recognized by the UNHCR and other international institutions for our exemplary treatment of refugees,”

Our call is for everyone to commit to what was agreed on with Nairobi and Luanda Protocol so we can move towards peace and stability.

We don't want to lose people to these desperate journeys across the Sahara and across the Mediterranean Sea. We're losing brain power in Africa. We want young Africans to remain here and to build the continent,

We don’t think it’s immoral to offer a home to people, something that we have done here for more than 30 years and we’re doing this for the right reasons. So, people may have their own opinions about what this program is like, depending on where they come from, “But from where are we coming from, we’re doing this for the right reasons. We want Rwanda to be a welcoming place and we’ll do our best, to make sure that the migrants are taken care of, and that they’re able to build a life here,