3. ENSURING THAT TODAY’S REFUGEES ARE NOT TOMORROW’S STATELESS: SOLUTIONS IN A REFUGEE CONTEXT restrictive. At a local level, numerous local officials expressed strong levels of xenophobia towards this population – which, in turn, were also reflected by some members of the host community. Third, national and local belonging interact and need to complement, rather than contradict, each other. Tensions between national and local realities were preventing implementation of the scheme. In a context in which the ability to realise the rights of citizenship is about more than a national identity document, the ability for individuals and groups to be recognised as legitimate within the locality in which they are living – and, therefore, to have access to economic and political resources at a local level – is a crucial component to citizenship. As one woman said, “[t]o me, citizenship is to cooperate if someone is sick and help them to feel at home. It is being able to borrow salt from your neighbour.”22 Solving statelessness, therefore, while undeniably needing to be resolved at a legal level, also needs to take into consideration the broader socio-political context in which access to rights as a citizen of the State takes place. 4. Rwanda: When repatriation fails While the situation facing this group of former Burundian refugees in Tanzania has been largely resolved, the scenario facing thousands of Rwandan refugees is far more equivocal. In recent years, there has been increasing discussion about the invocation of the cessation clause for Rwandan refugees under Article 1C(5) of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which calls for refugee status to cease when the conditions that gave rise to international protection needs no longer exist. Although UNHCR has recommended application of the clause, it is for governments hosting Rwandan refugees to formally implement. So far, few have done so. The removal of refugee status from Rwandans has left thousands of former refugees from Rwanda living in host countries that invoked the clause in limbo. When not exempted from the exercise of the invocation after individual determination processes, individuals have no continued recognition of refugee status. Yet, many are reluctant to approach the Rwandan government for any affirmation of their original nationality out of fear for their own, and/or their family’s security, as a result of having contact with Rwandan government officials, which may impede 22 Interview with former refugee woman, Mishamo settlement, Tanzania, August 2012. Cited in IRRI, ‘I can’t be a citizen if I am still a refugee’, supra n16. 84