Latest news with #RwandaBroadcastingAgency
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rwanda in talks with US to take deported migrants
President Trump's administration is reportedly eyeing Rwanda as a potential deportation destination for migrants from countries that won't accept repatriates as officials carry out his sprawling immigration crackdown. Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe, the East African country's foreign minister, told the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency on Sunday that the government is in early talks with the U.S. about the proposal, but he didn't provide details. 'It is true that we are in discussions with the United States,' he said. 'These talks are still ongoing, and it would be premature to conclude how they will unfold.' The New York Times reported Nduhungirehe hasn't said whether Rwanda would be seeking financial compensation in return for accepting other countries' citizens. Speaking to reporters outside of the White House on Monday, Trump border czar Tom Homan acknowledged the administration is trying to hash out agreements with other countries to receive deported migrants, but he wouldn't identify which nations when asked if some in Africa could be included. 'There's talks underway with other countries that are willing to take illegal aliens,' Homan said. 'Their own countries won't take them, so we'll find a third safe country willing to take them.' The U.S. State Department flagged Rwanda in 2023 for human rights concerns, including 'harsh and life-threatening prison conditions.' The Trump administration has flown hundreds of migrants — mostly from Venezuela — to a prison in El Salvador, despite court orders that have attempted to halt the mass deportation program. Trump has argued the deportations are focused on criminals and gang members who are a threat to people in the country legally. Human rights advocates have voiced concerns about the deportations to El Salvador. 'We call on the Salvadoran Government to allow independent monitoring bodies immediate and unfettered access to prisons holding the deportees,' experts from the United Nations Human Rights Council said in a statement last week. 'The lack of a clear legal status in El Salvador could further expose the deportees to indefinite and arbitrary detention in the country, and put some Venezuelan detainees at risk of onward refoulement to Venezuela where they could face serious human rights violations, including enforced disappearances.' Venezuela had refused to accept some repatriates from the U.S. prior to President Nicolás Maduro lifting a temporary moratorium in March, so they were sent to El Salvador instead. The Trump administration is also urging people in the country illegally to voluntarily deport themselves. The Department of Homeland Security unveiled a program Monday to pay $1,000 apiece, plus travel expenses, to migrants lacking legal status who 'self deport.' According to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement figures, there were nearly 1.5 million nondetained migrants with final orders of removal still living in the United States in November. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
05-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
The U.S. says Congo and Rwanda submit a draft peace proposal
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congo and Rwanda have submitted a draft peace proposal as part of a U.S.-led process that could end fighting in resource-rich eastern Congo, a U.S. official said Monday. President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Africa and the Middle East, Massad Boulos, said on social media he welcomed the draft text 'received from both (Congo) and Rwanda,' calling it 'an important step.' Details of the draft were not immediately clear, including whether it offers to ease U.S. access to the region's critical minerals — something Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has mentioned in return for U.S. help in calming the hostilities. The decades-long conflict in eastern Congo escalated in January, when the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized the strategic city of Goma, followed by the city of Bukavu in February. The fighting has killed some 3,000 people and raised the fears of a wider regional war. Eastern Congo has been in and out of crisis for decades. Dozens of armed groups are vying for territory in the mining region near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people displaced, including 100,000 who fled homes this year. Congo is the world's largest producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and smartphones. The country also has substantial gold, diamond and copper reserves. Monday's draft peace proposal comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month oversaw the signing by Congo and Rwanda of a pledge to work toward a peace deal. Rwanda's foreign minister, Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe, told the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency on Monday that he would meet Congo's foreign minister in the third week of May to negotiate a final peace agreement. He said he hoped the presidents of Rwanda and Congo would sign the agreement by mid-June at the White House in the presence of Trump and heads of state from the region. 'We hope that if all goes well, we are going to have a peace agreement which will allow us to achieve lasting peace in the region,' Nduhungirehe said. There was no immediate comment from Congo's authorities. The M23 rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo's capital, Kinshasa, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the west. Congo and Rwanda hope the involvement of the U.S. — and the incentive of major investment if there's enough security for U.S. companies to work safely in eastern Congo — will calm the violence that has defied international peacekeeping and negotiation since the mid-1990s. 'A durable peace … will open the door for greater U.S. and broader Western investment, which will bring about economic opportunities and prosperity,' Rubio said, adding that it would 'advance President Trump's prosperity agenda for the world.' Some analysts have warned that the U.S. could become involved in, or worsen, the militia violence, corruption, exploitation and rights abuses surrounding the mining of eastern Congo's riches. Separately on Monday, Rwandan authorities confirmed that discussions were 'underway' with the United States regarding a potential agreement for Rwanda to host deported migrants.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The U.S. says Congo and Rwanda submit a draft peace proposal
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congo and Rwanda have submitted a draft peace proposal as part of a U.S.-led process that could end fighting in resource-rich eastern Congo, a U.S. official said Monday. President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Africa and the Middle East, Massad Boulos, said on social media he welcomed the draft text 'received from both (Congo) and Rwanda,' calling it 'an important step.' Details of the draft were not immediately clear, including whether it offers to ease U.S. access to the region's critical minerals — something Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has mentioned in return for U.S. help in calming the hostilities. The decades-long conflict in eastern Congo escalated in January, when the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized the strategic city of Goma, followed by the city of Bukavu in February. The fighting has killed some 3,000 people and raised the fears of a wider regional war. Eastern Congo has been in and out of crisis for decades. Dozens of armed groups are vying for territory in the mining region near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people displaced, including 100,000 who fled homes this year. Congo is the world's largest producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and smartphones. The country also has substantial gold, diamond and copper reserves. Monday's draft peace proposal comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month oversaw the signing by Congo and Rwanda of a pledge to work toward a peace deal. Rwanda's foreign minister, Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe, told the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency on Monday that he would meet Congo's foreign minister in the third week of May to negotiate a final peace agreement. He said he hoped the presidents of Rwanda and Congo would sign the agreement by mid-June at the White House in the presence of Trump and heads of state from the region. 'We hope that if all goes well, we are going to have a peace agreement which will allow us to achieve lasting peace in the region,' Nduhungirehe said. There was no immediate comment from Congo's authorities. The M23 rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo's capital, Kinshasa, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the west. Congo and Rwanda hope the involvement of the U.S. — and the incentive of major investment if there's enough security for U.S. companies to work safely in eastern Congo — will calm the violence that has defied international peacekeeping and negotiation since the mid-1990s. 'A durable peace ... will open the door for greater U.S. and broader Western investment, which will bring about economic opportunities and prosperity,' Rubio said, adding that it would 'advance President Trump's prosperity agenda for the world.' Some analysts have warned that the U.S. could become involved in, or worsen, the militia violence, corruption, exploitation and rights abuses surrounding the mining of eastern Congo's riches. Separately on Monday, Rwandan authorities confirmed that discussions were 'underway' with the United States regarding a potential agreement for Rwanda to host deported migrants.
Winnipeg Free Press
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
The U.S. says Congo and Rwanda submit a draft peace proposal
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congo and Rwanda have submitted a draft peace proposal as part of a U.S.-led process that could end fighting in resource-rich eastern Congo, a U.S. official said Monday. President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Africa and the Middle East, Massad Boulos, said on social media he welcomed the draft text 'received from both (Congo) and Rwanda,' calling it 'an important step.' Details of the draft were not immediately clear, including whether it offers to ease U.S. access to the region's critical minerals — something Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has mentioned in return for U.S. help in calming the hostilities. The decades-long conflict in eastern Congo escalated in January, when the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized the strategic city of Goma, followed by the city of Bukavu in February. The fighting has killed some 3,000 people and raised the fears of a wider regional war. Eastern Congo has been in and out of crisis for decades. Dozens of armed groups are vying for territory in the mining region near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people displaced, including 100,000 who fled homes this year. Congo is the world's largest producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and smartphones. The country also has substantial gold, diamond and copper reserves. Monday's draft peace proposal comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month oversaw the signing by Congo and Rwanda of a pledge to work toward a peace deal. Rwanda's foreign minister, Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe, told the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency on Monday that he would meet Congo's foreign minister in the third week of May to negotiate a final peace agreement. He said he hoped the presidents of Rwanda and Congo would sign the agreement by mid-June at the White House in the presence of Trump and heads of state from the region. 'We hope that if all goes well, we are going to have a peace agreement which will allow us to achieve lasting peace in the region,' Nduhungirehe said. There was no immediate comment from Congo's authorities. The M23 rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo's capital, Kinshasa, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the west. Congo and Rwanda hope the involvement of the U.S. — and the incentive of major investment if there's enough security for U.S. companies to work safely in eastern Congo — will calm the violence that has defied international peacekeeping and negotiation since the mid-1990s. 'A durable peace … will open the door for greater U.S. and broader Western investment, which will bring about economic opportunities and prosperity,' Rubio said, adding that it would 'advance President Trump's prosperity agenda for the world.' Some analysts have warned that the U.S. could become involved in, or worsen, the militia violence, corruption, exploitation and rights abuses surrounding the mining of eastern Congo's riches. Separately on Monday, Rwandan authorities confirmed that discussions were 'underway' with the United States regarding a potential agreement for Rwanda to host deported migrants.
Associated Press
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
The U.S. says Congo and Rwanda submit a draft peace proposal
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congo and Rwanda have submitted a draft peace proposal as part of a U.S.-led process that could end fighting in resource-rich eastern Congo, a U.S. official said Monday. President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Africa and the Middle East, Massad Boulos, said on social media he welcomed the draft text 'received from both (Congo) and Rwanda,' calling it 'an important step.' Details of the draft were not immediately clear, including whether it offers to ease U.S. access to the region's critical minerals — something Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has mentioned in return for U.S. help in calming the hostilities. The decades-long conflict in eastern Congo escalated in January, when the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized the strategic city of Goma, followed by the city of Bukavu in February. The fighting has killed some 3,000 people and raised the fears of a wider regional war. Eastern Congo has been in and out of crisis for decades. Dozens of armed groups are vying for territory in the mining region near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people displaced, including 100,000 who fled homes this year. Congo is the world's largest producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and smartphones. The country also has substantial gold, diamond and copper reserves. Monday's draft peace proposal comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month oversaw the signing by Congo and Rwanda of a pledge to work toward a peace deal. Rwanda's foreign minister, Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe, told the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency on Monday that he would meet Congo's foreign minister in the third week of May to negotiate a final peace agreement. He said he hoped the presidents of Rwanda and Congo would sign the agreement by mid-June at the White House in the presence of Trump and heads of state from the region. 'We hope that if all goes well, we are going to have a peace agreement which will allow us to achieve lasting peace in the region,' Nduhungirehe said. There was no immediate comment from Congo's authorities. The M23 rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo's capital, Kinshasa, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the west. Congo and Rwanda hope the involvement of the U.S. — and the incentive of major investment if there's enough security for U.S. companies to work safely in eastern Congo — will calm the violence that has defied international peacekeeping and negotiation since the mid-1990s. 'A durable peace ... will open the door for greater U.S. and broader Western investment, which will bring about economic opportunities and prosperity,' Rubio said, adding that it would 'advance President Trump's prosperity agenda for the world.' Some analysts have warned that the U.S. could become involved in, or worsen, the militia violence, corruption, exploitation and rights abuses surrounding the mining of eastern Congo's riches. Separately on Monday, Rwandan authorities confirmed that discussions were 'underway' with the United States regarding a potential agreement for Rwanda to host deported migrants.
