UNHCR Rwanda’slong-term vision aims that by 2030 “All refugees in Rwanda, including potentialnew influx, are living safe, dignified and productive lives across the countryoutside of camps and supported by government-led services and programmes.” Thiswould mean some refugees are resettled, some may have returned home, whilethose who remain in Rwanda live in former refugee camps-turned-villages, somein urban areas, and all are included on par with nationals in developmentplanning. The long-term vision is aligned with the inclusive 2030 Agenda forSustainable Development which has a principled commitment that ‘no one will beleft behind.’

The study aims at providing factual and objective information on refugee mobilityincluding cross-border movement to the country of origin for livelihoods,family ties, social interaction, community relationship, and health andeducation purposes among others. Findings will be helpful to identifyappropriate options for durable solutions particularly self-reliance andvoluntary repatriation in the context of shrinking resettlement opportunities.

This information could also form the basis of future discussions with theGovernment of Rwanda, UNHCR Leadership in the relevant country operations(e.g., DRC, Regional office/Kenya) and HQ for facilitating and support durablesolutions including voluntary and spontaneous return to DRC.

Global research showsthat, ‘many refugees, who in theory do have the right to work, are unable tointegrate into the local economy due to linguistic, social, political andcultural barriers. This is particularly the case for women refugees. In case ofthe Congolese Refugees living in the camps in Rwanda, there is also an issue ofreluctance by them to choose local integration pathway to be settled in Rwanda.

Theconsultant will be responsible for:  

• Assessing the extent to which refugees are mobile by nature of business/purpose including moving out of the camp and return to the camp; level of spontaneous return to DRC, the motivations and reasoning underlying spontaneous/voluntary return to their country of origin and any trend of their coming back to Rwanda;
• Capturing broad trends with regard to spontaneous return and seasonal mobility, networks and means of communication used, modalities and routes of return;
• Documenting the experiences of returnees once back in DRC in terms of positive factors favoring reestablishment in areas of return, and negative factors which pose challenges and inhibit reintegration;
• Assessing the extent to which refugees are willing to return home and the underlying factors affecting the decision. 
• Providing recommendations on ways in which refugees could be better supported for durable solutions including economic inclusion in Rwanda and spontaneous movement within and outside Rwanda as well as return to DRC, if any, based on study findings 

The geographic scope of the study will primarily be the camps hosting CongoleseRefugees in Rwanda. However, to capture the dynamics of mobility, selected urbancentres will also be targeted as well as selected locations within DRC (subjectto agreement and security situation)    

Targetpopulations: 

·        Congolese Refugees in Rwandain camps and urban areas (with special focus on high mobility refugees), covering2-3 camps and urban areas

·        Recent Returnees in DRC (tobe agreed with the consultant/study team, during contract negotiation/inceptionmeetings)

·        Potential Returnees(currently based in Rwanda)

Methodology:

-         Desk review of availableinformation, policy and legal provisions, mobility data available at camp/immigrationlevel, other studies and assessment including Participatory assessment,economic studies/livelihoods assessments, vulnerability assessment, intentionsurveys etc.

-         Extensive field workapplying participatory/ethnographic methods of research, accompanied by samplesurveys among the refugees

-         Structured discussion andinformal Interviews with community leaders, local population, district andother government authority, UNHCR and camp management

-         Use of snowballing methodfor case studies