The event, which mainly concerned Angolan refugees, marked the first time such papers have been distributed in a country that is home to an estimated 173 000 refugees, said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in a statement.
The card is valid for two years and serves as a residence permit and a work permit, giving the refugees the same rights as Congolese citizens, apart from the political ones.
“This is an important step in the regularisation of the status of refugees in the DRC, which perfectly illustrates the will of the Congolese authorities to fully assume their international obligations when it comes to protecting refugees living on their territory,” said Mohamed Boukry, regional representative of the UNHCR in Kinshasa.
After the capital, the distribution will continue across the whole territory of the vast central African nation, the statement said.
The 173 000 registered refugees in the DRC include 80 000 Angolans, 70 000 Rwandans, 12 000 Burundians, as well as people from the Republic of Congo, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Chad and Cameroon.
Source: news24.com