Invitation to participate in PILnet Summit on Refugees in South Africa: Here is the situation in DRC

COJESKI-DRC is invited to attend the Global Summit of refugees in South Africa this November 2026

We are a national network composed of youth initiatives in the Democratic Republic of Congo, our members also include 10 refugee led associations across the country. We are the very first civil society organization working on refugees issues to be invited to attend an international event focusing on refugees, this event is the first where issues affecting refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo will be presented. For these efforts we congratulate our partners who have made this possible and the organizers.

Being organized by the Global Refugee Forum through PILnet, this Summit will bring together more than 400 lawyers, government representatives, international organizations, civil society actors, the media and refugee led organizations to advance pro-bono services as means to promote the protection of refugees and community mobilization.

As leading organization on refugee issues in DRC, COJESKI is aware about the tasks ahead of us and the responsibility to carry out this mission in a Forum where both UNHCR DRC and the Government of DRC are both absent. However we are so proud and eager to present our various activities on the protection of refugees including pro-bono services to refugees and asylum seekers in conflict with the law.

We are looking at the following:

To create awareness about the situation of refugees who are hosted in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Globally people know about Congolese refugees living in neighboring countries however little if nothing is said about refugees from neighboring countries who are hosted in DRC,

Pledging and make commitment to host events focusing on global refugee situation which can highlight refugees in DRC,

Call upon prioritizing and clearly selecting the participation of actors of the Civil Society, the Government and Refugee Led Initiatives in DRC in various Forums focusing on the situation of refugees,

Asking participants to come and visit refugees in DRC and also volunteer in order to improve the situation and the environment in which refugees are living.

General situation of refugees in DRC

The Democratic Republic of Congo hosts refugees from Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Central Africa Republic, Republic of Congo, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire among others.

How many refugees are in DRC?

The number of refugees in DRC is unknown, many refugees have lived in this country over the years but have never been registered. We estimate that DRC could have more than 3 million refugees. The DRC Government and UNHCR managed to register only 625,000 who are in their Data base but we all know that this number is extremely low basing on information available about the presence of refugees in the country.  Among the 625,000 registered only less than 250,000 refugees have access to valid refugee Identification Card, the others are not in direct contact with UNHCR and the Government.

That is why this Summit is so important for us to call upon legal practitioners to come here and help,

Where do refugees live in DRC?

Less than 150,000 refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo have well established places of residence known as refugee camps, all others live either mixed up within host communities or in informal sites where they settled by themselves. Generally only few refugees from Burundi and South Sudan have camps where they are living and can access to relief aid.

Major problems facing refugees

While all refugees are confronted to relief aid problems which include: Shelter, food, medical treatment, education, livelihood activities, freedom of movement, freedom of association and expression, access to resettlement, and the ability to get involved and participate in the development of the country, the following refugees have particular problems:

Refugees from Angola: Subjected to the refugee status secession clause which took away their refugee status since 2012, up to now many did not benefit from the durable solutions which were promised. We estimate more than 3,000 household are affected up to now and living in dire conditions.

Refugees from Rwanda: Generally refugees from Rwanda have been criminalized over the years and are collectively considered either associated to the genocide in Rwanda or affiliated to FDLR armed group operating in some parts of DRC,

International Actors working on refugee issues

The Democratic Republic of Congo hosts different organizations which are known as engaged in the protection of refugees, but in DRC they do not do this work,

FORUM

There is no forum in the Democratic Republic of Congo where refugee issues are particularly addressed either at local level or at national level.