United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, held a high-level meeting in Goma today with the leadership of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC/M23) to discuss the pressing issue of refugee and internally displaced persons (IDP) returns.
Mr. Grandi, who was accompanied by a large UNHCR delegation, met with AFC/M23 political coordinator Corneille Nangaa and his deputy in charge of political, administrative, diplomatic, and legal affairs, Bertrand Bisimwa.
The talks also brought together the movement’s permanent secretaries, spokesperson, Doha negotiators, the director of the National Commission for Refugees (CNR), and senior officers of the Congolese Revolutionary Army.
The discussions centered on frameworks and practical modalities to ensure that the return of refugees and displaced people takes place with dignity and safety.
Both sides emphasized the importance of creating secure conditions that would enable families uprooted by conflict to resettle in their communities without fear.
The Goma meeting followed Mr. Grandi’s earlier engagements this week with President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, signaling the international community’s heightened attention to the humanitarian dimension of the region’s crisis.