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Tag: UNHCR

  • Insurgency: IDP population rises to 2.2m – UNHCR

    Insurgency: IDP population rises to 2.2m – UNHCR

    The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Thursday that the population of Internally Displaced People (IDP) in the North East had risen to 2.2million.

    The UNHCR Representative to Nigeria, Ms Angele Dikongue- Atangana gave the statistics in Abuja during the UNHCR 2015 stakeholders’ briefing of the commission’s representation in Nigeria.

    Dikongue- Atangana, however, said that the increase was not as a result of new displacement.

    She also said that the agency would not relent in its humanitarian support to Nigeria, urging partners and donor agencies to assist refugees and displaced persons.

    “The number of IDPs is not really increasing as a result of new displacement.

    “There could be some relatively small new displacement in the course of combating insurgency and knowing that the insurgents themselves still remain active, especially in this hit and run tactic.

    “ The number is increasing specifically because regaining control of the territory by the military opened further access for the humanitarian officials so they can count many more IDPs, be they old IDPs or very recent ones,’’ she said.

    The country representative disclosed that UNHCR had recorded success in its 2015 operational activities in Nigeria including addressing refugee and IDP plights, advocacy on statelessness, and collaboration with ECOWAS.

    According to her, the commission in its action plan supervised the voluntary repatriation of 452 Cameroonian refugees back to their country.

    She said that plans were already in progress to repatriate 165 others back to their country before the end of the year, while resettling others to a third country in Europe, and the U.S.

    She said that UNHCR was working closely with relevant bodies to ensure that IDPs had their basic rights especially the right to existence, food, shelter, education, security, amongst other amenities.

    The UNHCR representative said that in line with the global campaign in eradicating the scourge, it had engaged the National Assembly in domesticating the frameworks that would prevent and reduce statelessness in Nigeria.

    Also speaking, Ms Liz Ahua, UNHCR regional representative to West Africa urged donors and partners to take a trip to the field to be aware of the level of destruction for a better understanding of tge situation.

    According to her, the rate of displacement in Nigeria was alarming and actions needed to be taken fast as the displaced population could amount to the population of other smaller African countries.

  • ’40 migrants drowned off Libyan coast’

    Up to 40 African migrants were feared drowned after their inflatable boat sank near the Libyan coast, survivors told the United Nations refugee agency on Thursday after reaching Italy.

    “They said between 35 and 40 people died on Wednesday morning,” said Carlotta Sami, the UNHCR spokeswoman for southern Europe. All the dead came from sub-Saharan countries such as Senegal, Mali and Benin.

    A team from the Save the Children charity that interviewed some of the survivors said up to seven children, aged about 15 or 16, were also believed to have died in the incident, Reuters says.

    Sami said the boat they were travelling in started to disintegrate shortly after it put to sea from the Tripoli area.

    “Unfortunately the rubber was of a very bad quality,” she said, speaking by telephone from Sicily, where the survivors had come ashore after being rescued by a German navy vessel.

  • Insurgency: Nigerians flee to Cameroon, Niger – UNHCR

    The conflict between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government is displacing thousands on both sides of the country’s border with Cameroon to the northeast and Niger to the north, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has said.

    Boko Haram has fought a six-year insurgency to carve out an Islamist state in northeast Nigeria, and is still carrying out cross-border attacks, in the face of a Nigerian military campaign bolstered by Niger, Cameroon and Chad, Reuters says.

    At least 13 people were killed in a two suicide attacks by suspected militants in the Cameroonian border town of Fotokol on July 12. The volatile situation is pushing many people to leave the area, the UNHCR said.

    Many of those moving south, away from the sites of recent attacks, are going to the Minawao camp in Cameroon, where around 100 people arrive each day, UNHCR spokesman Leo Dobbs told a news briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.

    “This particular movement involved people who fled earlier and have been in the area for a while,” he said. “Life is difficult up in the border areas.”

    More than 12,000 refugees in the Far North Region of Cameroon, where UNHCR access is limited, are not on authorities’ radar, Dobbs said, adding that many fear registration is a precursor to deportation to Nigeria.

    “To counter this fear, we and the government are in the process of consulting the refugees in the border area about where they want to go,” he said. They will be given the choice of returning to safe areas of Nigeria or going to Minawao camp.

     

  • UNHCR recounts cost of insurgency in West-Africa

    Mr. Adrian Edwards of the United Nations High Commission for Refugee (UNHCR) has said violence was spilling over to countries neighbouring Nigeria noting that UNHCR calls for urgent humanitarian access to the displaced.

    Edward observed at a United Nation press briefing in Geneva that the situation was becoming increasingly terrifying for refugees, locals and aid workers.

    According to him, the call from UNHCR becomes an urgent humanitarian access to refugees and internally displaced people in Niger, Cameroon and Chad in order to provide much-needed emergency assistance.

    It was recalled that fighting recently broken out in Niger in the town of Bosso near Lake Chad in the southern region of Diffa, between the Niger national armed forces and insurgents from Nigeria.

    That had been followed by  a series of attacks in Diffa town against civilians, including suicide bombers.

    Diffa, whose population is about 50,000, is currently witnessing a westward movement of the large parts of its population thus becoming virtually empty.

    In all, more than 100,000 people had fled north-eastern Nigeria into Niger, both Nigeria refugees and Niger returnees, since the state of emergency had been declared in three Nigerian States in May 2013.

    Initially, the refugees and returnees had lived among the host population, but their growing numbers required establishing two camps, located in safer areas away from the border with Nigeria.

    Similarly, the situation is as worrying in Cameroon with reports of killings, abductions and brutal violence in the country’s far North region near the border with Nigeria.

    Since the beginning of the year, over 9,000 Nigerian refugees had fled into Cameroon and were moved to the camp where they receive emergency assistance.

    UNHCR therefore recounts that it had registered over 40, 000 Nigerian refugees in the far North to date, and 32,000 of them had moved to Minawao.

    The agency stated that tens of thousands of local residents were also in the same situation while the humanitarian groups continue working with the authorities to help them.

    In Chad, some 3,000 Nigerian refugees had been registered as of the end of 2014 while a further 15,000 had fled into Chad since then and the attacks on military installations and civilian populations in and around the north-east Nigerian town of Bagakawa.

    Most recently, the UNHCR received a disturbing report concerning the attack on the village in Chad called Ngouboua located on the shore of Lake Chad.

    In total, the vioalence in north-eastern Nigeria had caused more than 157,000 people to flee into Niger (100,000), Cameroon (40,000) and Chad (17,000) with a further estimated one million people being internally displaced within Nigeria.

    Speaking about the security situation for aid workers, Mr. Edwards assured that the foremost concern was the security of refugees and the internally displaced persons just as the safety of humanitarian workers mattered.

    He maintained that the precarious situation had clear repercussions on the conditions of work of aid and humanitarian workers while noting that basic safety for staff was necessary if they were to do their works.

    “UNHCR did not have information on the financial resources of Boko Haram, and what UN plans were to stop the group,” he summed.

  • Over 157,000 displaced in Northeastern Nigeria, by UNHCR

    The violence in North-eastern Nigeria had caused more than 157,000 people to flee into Niger, Cameroon and Chad since emergency rule was established in that part of the country two years ago, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said yesterday.

    It said 100,000 are taking refuge in Niger; 40,000 in Cameroon, while 17,000 are in Chad.

    UNHCR’s spokesperson, Adrian Edwards, who spoke yesterday during a United Nations’ briefing in Geneva, said, a further nearly one million people were estimated to be internally displaced inside Nigeria.

    Edwards, who noted that the violence was spilling over to countries neighbouring Nigeria, called for urgent humanitarian access to the displaced.  The transcript of the briefing was made available to The Nation yesterday by the National Information Officer/ Officer-in-Charge,

    United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Nigeria, Oluseyi Soremekun.

    “The situation was becoming increasingly terrifying for refugees, locals and aid workers. UNHCR was calling for urgent humanitarian access to refugees and internally displaced people in Niger, Cameroon and Chad in order to provide much-needed emergency assistance.

    “In Niger, fighting had broken out the previous week in the town of Bosso near Lake Chad in the southern region of Diffa, between the Niger national armed forces and insurgents from Nigeria.

    “That had been followed by  a series of attacks in Diffa town against civilians, including by suicide bombers.  Large parts of the population of Diffa were moving farther west; prior to the attacks Diffa had had a population of 50,000, while today the town was virtually empty.

    “In all, more than 100,000 people had fled north-eastern Nigeria into Niger, both Nigeria refugees and Niger returnees, since the state of emergency had been declared in three States in May 2013.

    “Initially, the refugees and returnees had lived among the host population, but their growing numbers required establishing two camps, located in safer areas away from the border with Nigeria.

    “In Cameroon, the situation was as worrying, with reports of killings, abductions and brutal violence in the country’s Far North region near the border with Nigeria.

    “Since the beginning of the year, over 9,000 Nigerian refugees had fled into Cameroon and been moved to the camp where they were receiving emergency assistance.

    “UNHCR had registered over 40, 000 Nigerian refugees in the Far North to date, and 32,000 of them had moved to Minawao.  Tens of thousands of local residents were also in the same situation. The humanitarian groups were working with the authorities to try to help them.

    “In Chad, some 3,000 Nigerian refugees had been registered as of the end of 2014. A further 15,000 had fled into Chad since then and the attacks on military installations and civilian populations in and around the north-east Nigerian town of Bagakawa.

    “Just over the night, the UNHCR had received a report concerning the attack on the village in Chad called Ngoboua. The village was located on the shore of Lake Chad.

    “UNHCR was still getting information about how many people had been affected.  The militants seemed to have attacked part of the village and the chief himself was killed.

    “UNHCR had been in contact with the refugees during the attack but the phone line eventually went dead.  UNHCR was still trying to find out more information about the situation over there and the effective effects on the Humanitarian work in the area,” Edwards said.

    On whether adequate security was made for aid workers, Edwards said the foremost concern was the security of refugees and the internally displaced persons.

    “Safety of humanitarian workers mattered a lot as well.  The precarious situation had clear repercussions on the conditions of work of aid and humanitarian workers.  Basic safety for staff was necessary if they were to do their work.

    “UNHCR did not have information on the financial resources of Boko Haram, and what UN plans were to stop the group,” Edwards said.

  • Over 157,000 displaced in Northeastern Nigeria, by UNHCR

    THE violence in Northeastern Nigeria had caused more than 157,000 people to flee into Niger, Cameroon and Chad since emergency rule was established in that part of the country two years ago, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said yesterday. It said 100,000 are taking refuge in Niger; 40,000 in Cameroon, while 17,000 are in Chad.

    UNHCR’s spokesperson, Adrian Edwards, who spoke yesterday during a United Nations’ briefing in Geneva, said, a further nearly one million people were estimated to be internally displaced inside Nigeria. Edwards, who noted that the violence was spilling over to countries neighbouring Nigeria, called for urgent humanitarian access to the displaced. The transcript of the briefing was made available to The Nation yesterday by the National Information Officer/ Officer-in-Charge, United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Nigeria, Oluseyi Soremekun.

    “The situation was becoming increasingly terrifying for refugees, locals and aid workers. UNHCR was calling for urgent humanitarian access to refugees and internally displaced people in Niger, Cameroon and Chad in order to provide much-needed emergency assistance. “In Niger, fighting had broken out the previous week in the town of Bosso near Lake Chad in the southern region of Diffa, between the Niger national armed forces and insurgents from Nigeria. “That had been followed by a series of attacks in Diffa town against civilians, including by suicide bombers. Large parts of the population of Diffa were moving farther west; prior to the attacks Diffa had had a population of 50,000, while today the town was virtually empty.

  • Boko Haram: UNHCR worried over return of refugees from Niger

    Boko Haram: UNHCR worried over return of refugees from Niger

    The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has expressed concern about the return of hundreds of Nigerian refugees from Niger.

    Speaking at the press briefing by the UN Information Service in Geneva on Friday, UNHCR  spokesman, Mr William Spindler said the refugees returned on January 14 in a joint operation organized by the Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima and the authorities in Niger.

    According to information received by UNHCR, the refugees were transported in nine buses to Maiduguri, the state capital while another eleven buses were currently parked in the town of Gagamari in Niger’s Diffa region, waiting to take more refugees back to Nigeria.

    Given the volatile security situation in Borno state and the recent attacks by Boko Haram insurgents, UNHCR said it was concerned about the nature of the returns and had asked the authorities to stop the operation until there were proper safeguards and a legal framework between Nigeria, Niger and UNHCR.

    Spindler said UNHCR was trying to ascertain the nature of the returns, and did not know whether they were voluntary or not.

    According to Spindler refugees fleeing the brutal conflict in north-east Nigeria continued to arrive in Niger and Chad telling harrowing tales of killings and destruction.

    UNHCR teams said that refugees told them about the extreme violence they suffered or witnessed during the attacks on the town of Baga on January 3 and 7.

    “A woman, who ran away from Baga with her five children and her husband, said she saw insurgents run over women and children with their cars, shoot at people and use knives to cut their throats in the street.

    “She estimated that hundreds had been killed in Baga.  The terrified family managed to escape at night before reaching Maiduguri, from where they took a bus to Niger.”

    In all, some 13,000 Nigerian refugees had arrived in western Chad since the attacks on Baga earlier this month.  UNHCR and the governmental commission Nationale d’Accueil, et de Réinsertion des Réfugiés et des Rapatriés (CNARR) had registered over 6,000 refugees so far.

    “Dozens of refugees continued to arrive every day, many by canoe over Lake Chad to areas such as Ngouboua and Bagasola, some 450 kilometres north-west of the Chadian capital N’djamena.  Including the latest influx, some 16,000 Nigerian refugees have arrived in Chad since May 2013.  UNHCR was concerned that refugees from Baga and the surrounding area were choosing to flee over the lake into Chad as that may indicate that the overland route into Niger was blocked by insurgents.

    UNHCR teams in Chad reported that they had identified 104 unaccompanied children, who had been separated from their families while fleeing the attacks in Baga.  They had been placed in foster families while waiting to be reunited with their own, said Mr. Spindler.

    Meanwhile UNHCR had started the relocation of some 2,000 refugees who were stranded on the Lake Chad’s islands of Koulfoua and Kangalam, to the newly opened site of Dar Es Salam, near Bagasola.  The site, which currently hosted some 1,600 refugees was located 70 kilometres from the border with Nigeria and would be able to accommodate up to 15,000 people.

    The attacks on Baga had also pushed some 572 people to flee to Niger’s Diffa region, with some of them having first crossed through Chad before reaching Niger, said Mr. Spindler.

    Since the state of emergency was declared in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states in May 2013, an estimated 153,000 people had fled to the neighbouring countries.  To date, UNHCR had registered over 37,000 Nigerian refugees in Cameroon, some 16,000 people had arrived in Chad, and the authorities in Niger estimated that more than 100,000 people, both Nigerian refugees and Niger nationals, had arrived from the war-torn north-east of Nigeria.  Already this year, the violence had led to an exodus of 19,000 people.
    Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by Spokespersons for the Human Rights Council, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the World Food Programme.

  • An alarming trend

    An alarming trend

    •The Federal Government must rise up to contain the refugee crisis looming in Nigeria as a result of the Boko Haram conflict

    Latest facts emanating from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on the refugee situation across the world, and especially in Nigeria, are frightening. The leap between 2012 and last year indicates that the world is getting more unsafe and the insurgency in the North Eastern part of Nigeria has enlisted the country as a major contributor to the new trend. The UNHCR Global Trend Reports just released show that while there are 57,000 refugees from Nigeria flocking into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, the number of internally displaced persons might have reached five million or 10 per cent of the internally displaced persons in the world.

    Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, John Enoh, who spoke at a lecture at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, endorsed the figures as he expressed worries that, with the relentless strikes by the terrorists in different parts of the country, the situation could actually get out of hand. He called attention to the attendant social challenges, including starvation, shelter needs and possible pressure on the lean resources available for development. We support his call on the National Assembly to be proactive in responding to the security challenge in the country and welfare of the displaced.

    A breakdown of the figures released by the UNHCR indicates that there were 16 per cent more internally displaced in the world in 2013 than there were the previous year, and that 63 per cent of the displaced persons live in Syria, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. Contrary to previous claims by the developed countries, the world body disclosed that 80 per cent of refugees flock to developing countries. The implications are serious. It is terrifying to contemplate what would happen if the insurgents in the North who strike at will across the North East, and make forays to parts of the North West, were to remain invincible in the next two years. Given the population of Nigeria and her importance to the economy of the West African sub-region, it is obvious that many countries in the area would easily be overrun by fleeing Nigerians. Other parts of the country that may be adjudged relatively safe would possibly cave in under the pressure of those moving southwards from the theatre of war.

    In recent times, poverty has remained a cause for worry; preventable communicable and non-communicable diseases are on the increase in all parts of the country, even as basic infrastructure such as roads, basic healthcare centres, functional schools and decent transportation are still unavailable. A refugee/displaced persons crisis would only compound the problem and further raise the bar in unemployment and the crime situation in the country.

    We call on the armed forces to come up with fresh tactics to arrest the trend. The military must do more by way of showing positive results, for example in rescuing the abducted Chibok girls. Most Nigerians in all parts of the country feel insecure. The recent arrest in Abia State of 33 buses loaded with people from the North is a cause for alarm. The Chief of Defence Staff should be seen more than heard.

    Nigerians want to see the outcome of the disproportionate allocation of scarce resources to security. We are convinced that the only way to convince Nigerians to stay in their homestead, especially in areas ravaged by the insurgency, is by showing that the state is winning the war and is capable of arresting the trend. This is not the situation at the moment. Already, the picture in the federal capital territory is that the residents are almost as unsafe as the people in the North east. The consequence of this is better imagined.

    At a time in the country’s history, the need to fight a civil war arose; history has returned a verdict on those in government then. Similarly, this government would one day have to render account on its actions and inactions in containing the Boko Haram menace.

     

     

  • Angelina Jolie may go into politics

    Angelina Jolie may go into politics

    ANGELINA Jolie would consider running for political office although she is “not sure if she would ever be taken seriously in that way.”

    In addition to being an Oscar winning film star and mother to six children, the actress is a notable humanitarian – supporting a number of children’s charities, lobbying the US government with human rights interests and being a special envoy for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – and says one day she could possibly run for office.

    Speaking on ‘Good Morning America’ she said: “You know, if I thought I’d be effective, I would. But I’m not sure if I would ever be taken seriously in that way, and be able to be effective.”

    The 38-year-old star also took the brave decision to undergo a preventative double mastectomy last year, and says that decision has helped bring her both closer to people and raise awareness, which has had a very positive effect.

    She added: “I wasn’t worried about it, but I didn’t expect there to be so much support. And I was very moved by it… It’s connected me so much to other families, other women.

    “And you know, and now when I meet people, we don’t talk as much about films, but we talk about their children, or women’s choices, or their wives. It’s been a really beautiful journey.”

  • CAR conflict: UN warns 19,000 Muslims ‘face slaughter’

    The United Nation’s refugee agency has expressed fear for the lives of thousands of Muslims at risk of getting “slaughtered” by Christian militia in the Central African Republic.

    The UNHCR said it was trying to evacuate some 19,000 Muslims from areas near the capital, Bangui.

    Nearly 16,000 people had fled their homes in Bangui in the past 10 days amid an upsurge of violence, it added.

    Unrest broke out after Seleka rebels ousted the president in March 2013.

    Despite the deployment of some 6,000 African Union and 2,000 French troops in the country, violence has continued unabated.

    The conflict has taken on an increasingly sectarian nature, with UN human rights chief Navi Pillay earlier warning that hatred between Christians and Muslims in CAR had reached a “terrifying level”.

    Yesterday, the UNHCR said it was particularly concerned for Muslims who had fled to the so-called PK12 district in Bangui. Other danger zones include Carnot, Berberati, Boda and Bossangoa – cities all currently surrounded by Christian militia known as the anti-Balaka.

    “UNHCR stands ready to assist with their evacuation to safer areas within or outside the country,” spokeswoman Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba said.

    “We don’t want to stand by and watch people being slaughtered.”

    She added that “the only thing keeping them from being killed right now” was the presence of French and African Union troops.

     

    The announcement comes just days after Chadian troops deployed in CAR opened fire on residents of mainly Christian neighbourhoods in northern Bangui, killing at least 24 people.

     

    The International Committee of the Red Cross describes the situation in the country as one of constant danger, and one where all basic services have collapsed, the BBC’s Imogen Foulkes, in Geneva, reports.

    There have been widespread reports of horrific attacks, including acts of cannibalism and children’s heads being cut off.

    In February, Amnesty International said militia attacks had led to a “Muslim exodus of historic proportions”.