KINSHASA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of refugees.

The joint pledge came during a high-level ministerial meeting held from Tuesday to Thursday in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The parties emphasized that refugee return is crucial to peace and post-conflict recovery in the Great Lakes region, particularly in the DRC.

They endorsed a 2025-2026 roadmap for refugee return and reintegration, and agreed to expedite the return of 600 Rwandan refugees currently in Goma, a regional urban hub in the eastern DRC, currently under the rebel rule of the March 23 Movement (M23), said the joint communique released by the DRC government.

"UNHCR welcomes the decisions reached by the governments of DRC and Rwanda in these tripartite meetings on voluntary repatriation this week. We stand ready to work with all parties to create conditions that allow refugees to choose to return home in safety and dignity," said the UNHCR on X.

Other priorities include identity verification, reintegration support, cross-border coordination, and donor engagement, according to the communique. It noted that the meeting followed recent peace efforts, including the June 27 peace agreement between the DRC and Rwanda, as well as the declaration of principles signed late last week in Doha between Kinshasa and the M23 group.

As of April 30, the DRC hosts more than 517,800 refugees and 1,400 asylum-seekers, predominantly in the eastern provinces. Internally, over 7 million people are internally displaced, with more than 5 million in the eastern DRC alone. Since the start of the year, more than 139,000 individuals have fled to neighboring countries, according to the UN. ■