By Jutha Gupah, Maiduguri
The United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has said that
the agency requires an additional $9.5 million (N2.91 billion) to
humanitarian and resettlement activities in the North-East sub-region
of the country for returning refugees from Cameroon.
The UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Mr. Volker Turk;
raised the alarm in a statement he issued to journalists on Thursday
in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
He said the sought for additional funds ($9.5m), was inevitable with
the unexpected “surge in self-organised returns” of Nigerian refugees
mainly from Cameroon since the beginning of 2017.
His words: “This is a new emergency, which requires urgent attention!”
Turk further disclosed that between January and June this year, about
135,000 refugees returned to border town of Banki in Nigeria, mainly
comprising women and children.
He said most of returning refugees left Minawao and Kolofata
settlements camps, in the Far North Region of Cameroon.
“Many of these returnees are unable to go back to their homes due to
security concerns and end up being displaced again, in dire
humanitarian conditions,” he said.
The situation; according to him; was particularly difficult in the
town of Banki, where many are forced to live outdoors and have limited
access to potable water, food and medicine.
He continued: “During my recent visit to the region, I was not only
appalled by the scale of the humanitarian needs but also deeply
shocked at the level of trauma, social division and distrust.
“We urge the international community to pay more attention to this
highly complex and challenging humanitarian and security situation,”
said Türk, who visited both Nigeria and Cameroon over the past three
weeks.
He noted that as vulnerabilities increase over time, funding is
lagging behind basic needs of over 45, 000 returning refugees.
He said already, UNHCR has received $41.1m from donors out of a total
funding requirement of $179.5m for 2017 for Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger
and Chad.
He maintained that additional funding would allow UNHCR to increase
its presence in border locations and improve border and protection
monitoring.
“The UN refugee agency also plans to expand reception facilities and
launch mass information campaigns to ensure that Nigerian refugees in
Cameroon’s Far North have accurate and updated information on the
situation prevailing in areas of return in Nigeria,” said Turk in the
statement.
The Governments of both Nigeria and Cameroon, according to him, gave
him assurances that action has been taken to stop involuntary returns.
On resettlement of returnees, Turk said: “The first meeting of the
Tripartite Commission, comprising representatives from UNHCR, Nigeria
and Cameroon, is expected to take place early August.
“This Commission was set up after the signature, last March, of a
tripartite agreement on voluntary repatriation of Nigerian refugees.
It will be a positive step forward.”
