UNHCR: M23 Conflict Jeopardizes Congolese Refugee Rights

• The M23 conflict in eastern DRC has created a regional humanitarian emergency, displacing 1.25 million Congolese refugees by June 2026.
• International funding shortfalls have severely hampered humanitarian aid, with UNHCR and IRC reporting critical deficits for essential services in Burundi and Uganda.
• Despite a UNHCR non-return advisory for Kivu, 33,000 Congolese refugees spontaneously returned to the DRC in February 2026, facing ongoing instability.
• M23 encourages returns to its controlled areas, but its past actions, including dismantling IDP camps and forcibly transferring Rwandan refugees, threaten refugee rights.
• The M23's actions and the historical context of Congolese Tutsi citizenship disputes complicate refugee reintegration and fuel regional geopolitical tensions.

The UNHCR maintains a clear non-return advisory for both South and North Kivu, emphasizing that facilitated returns to areas under M23 control are not feasible due to ongoing instability.

The ongoing M23 conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has plunged the region into a severe humanitarian emergency, exacerbating an already protracted refugee situation. This crisis intensified significantly following the M23 group's capture of key cities, including Goma in early 2025 and Bukavu in February 2025, alongside Uvira in December 2025. By June 2026, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported a staggering 1.25 million Congolese refugees and asylum seekers, with a substantial 80% finding refuge in neighboring countries.

The influx of displaced individuals has placed immense pressure on host nations. Between January 2025 and April 2026 alone, over 245,000 new arrivals were registered. Burundi, in particular, has borne a heavy burden, receiving approximately 142,000 new arrivals, a figure that includes some returning Burundian nationals. These arrivals, largely spurred by the M23's advances, have severely strained Burundi's already overstretched reception infrastructure. Similarly, Uganda hosts the largest proportion of Congolese refugees, accounting for 53% of the total, and recorded more than 236,000 arrivals between 2022 and 2025, in addition to accommodating 139,500 South Sudanese refugees since 2022. The DRC refugee crisis M23 has thus created a complex and urgent regional challenge.

Compounding the escalating M23 conflict and the DRC refugee crisis, severe international funding cuts have critically undermined humanitarian response capabilities across the region. These financial shortfalls are directly impacting the provision of essential services to vulnerable populations. In February, the UNHCR disclosed that only 20% of the US$35 million required for its vital 2026 life-saving assistance programs in Burundi had been secured.

The situation is equally grim in Uganda, where the International Rescue Committee (IRC) warned in January that its refugee health response had received merely 6% of the necessary funding for 2026. This drastic deficit has forced the IRC to implement significant cuts to health services, affecting over one million refugees. Such widespread reductions in aid capacity leave millions of displaced individuals without adequate support, highlighting a critical gap in international humanitarian law and refugee protection efforts in the Great Lakes region.

Despite the fragile security landscape, particularly in South Kivu, some Congolese refugees have initiated spontaneous returns. Following the M23's retreat from Uvira and the subsequent reopening of the Burundi-DRC border in February 2026, approximately 33,000 Congolese refugees returned to the DRC within a single month. However, the prevailing conditions of continued fighting and rebel occupation render these forced returns Congolese refugees unsustainable and dangerous.

The UNHCR maintains a clear non-return advisory for both South and North Kivu, emphasizing that facilitated returns to areas under M23 control are not feasible due to ongoing instability. While over 80% of Congolese refugees in Rwanda have expressed a desire to return to the DRC, they await conditions that ensure their safety and dignity. The M23, conversely, actively encourages spontaneous returns to territories it controls, labeling them as "post-conflict" zones. Yet, the group's past actions directly threaten the rights of refugees and internally displaced persons; for instance, upon capturing Goma, M23 dismantled IDP camps, compelling hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee. The group is also implicated in widespread violence against civilians, including Rwandan refugees, some of whom have been forcibly transferred to Rwanda, with M23 interfering with UNHCR screening processes.

The M23's encouragement of Congolese refugee returns raises significant concerns, fueling suspicions that it may be part of a broader strategy to solidify rebel control and extend Rwandan influence within eastern DRC. This complex dynamic further complicates the reintegration process for returning refugees. Longstanding disputes concerning the citizenship of Congolese Tutsi, coupled with their perceived association with M23 and Rwanda, risk intensifying existing community tensions and undermining refugee protection in the Great Lakes.

While the governments of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo reaffirmed their commitment in June to the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of refugees between their nations, this pledge builds upon provisions within the 2025 Washington peace accords and a provisional agreement between the DRC government and the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC)/M23 (now Front pour la Refondation de la Nation (FRN)/M23) under the Doha Process. However, previous peace deals have consistently failed to provide enduring solutions for refugees or to adapt to the evolving realities on the ground, leaving the region's displaced populations in a precarious state. The fallout from the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, along with regional wars involving the DRC and domestic conflicts in Burundi, has profoundly shaped the dynamics of displacement and conflict in the Great Lakes region for decades.

Lawyers advising international organizations, NGOs, or governments on humanitarian aid and refugee policy in the Great Lakes region must closely monitor the evolving situation in eastern DRC, particularly the UNHCR's non-return advisory for South and North Kivu. The article highlights significant risks of forced returns and human rights violations by armed groups like M23, necessitating careful legal and ethical due diligence to ensure compliance with international refugee law and human rights obligations.

Source: Original reporting via a regional humanitarian news service.