Since January 2020, Prison Fellowship Rwanda in partnership with UNHCR and MINEMA is implementing the project entitled “Community Based Protection and Legal Assistance” in refugee camps, Gashora Transit Centre and urban settings of Huye and Kigali. The overall objective of this project is to strengthen refugee’s communities’ resilience, engagement and empowerment in a systemized and comprehensive manner in collaboration with UNHCR, MINEMA and other partners. The project ensures access to justice and respect of human rights, providing legal assistance, representation, civil registration and documentation to refugees living in the camps and urban areas.

COMMUNITY BASED PROTECTION

Mobilizing refugees on COVID-19 preventive measures including wearing masks properly, ensuring social distance, wash hands regularly with clean water and soap, avoiding unnecessary movements, respecting curfew hours and the time for businesses closure. Initiative of refugee youth volunteers in place and working (150 youth volunteers in 6 refugee camps).

We help refugees to organize social events and celebrate international days (International Women’s Day, World Refugee Day, International Day of Peace).

Mobilizing refuges to change the culture of dependency and use the available livelihood opportunities to develop their lives economically. We train refugee representatives on leadership, self-reliance, self-management and to fight anti-social behaviours (960 refugee leaders have been trained in 2020). Helping refugees to identify issues that affect their lives and play a big role in addressing them like family conflict and use of drug. Initiating a Community-Based Policing team to support MINEMA and RNP to ensure peace and security in the camp.

LEGAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES

We provide legal advice to the person of concern and follow up the received cases whenever needed; 1,683 PoC have been assisted trough legal advice, advocacy, legal orientation, mediation and enforcement of court decisions. We provide legal representation to PoC (at RIB , prosecution and court levels), Identify cases that need legal representation and prepare case files for advocates; 318 PoC who  have been  detained 162  among them have been assisted  and   released from detention, whereby 58 have been convicted and serving their sentence  in different prisons across the country, 98  PoC are still in detention in different detention facilities.  Legal education (Legal awareness on Rwanda national laws and advocate for refugees for accessing fundamental human rights as nationals),30761 POCs were sensitized on crime prevention, evidence preservation and SGBV Prevention through   national laws

Civil registration

Through this activity 1,975 children were registered under regular and late birth registration and birth certificates were issued. 56 couples were facilitated to get married and their marriage certificates were issued.