75190 Africa 13/06/02 16:09 Side 194 West and Central Africa Major Developments In 2001, the region saw major population move- ments within and across the borders of the Central African Republic (CAR), Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. At the beginning of 2001, UNHCR was relo- cating thousands of refugees from border areas in Benin Guinea to new sites in the interior, in extremely dif- Burkina Faso ficult terrain and amidst widespread insecurity. In Cameroon Cape Verde CAR, a long period of political and social unrest Central African Republic culminated in a failed attempted coup d’état in Chad May. The turmoil and insecurity provoked an Côte d’Ivoire exodus of 25,000 refugees into neighbouring coun- Equatorial Guinea tries. Inside CAR brutal revenge attacks targeted Gabon urban refugees for alleged involvement in the Gambia Ghana attempted coup. Guinea Guinea-Bissau Cautious optimism prevailed in Sierra Leone, Liberia which has been ravaged by years of armed conflict Mali and human rights abuses. The gradual return to Niger stability opened the way for thousands of Sierra Nigeria Sao Tomé and Principe Leoneans to repatriate voluntarily, mainly from Senegal Guinea and Liberia. As the year ended, the conflict Sierra Leone in Liberia spurred numerous Liberians to flee to Togo neighbouring countries. 75190 Africa 13/06/02 16:09 Side 195 West and Central Africa West On the political front, the year was marked by scarcity of resources and lack of access to basic elections in Chad, Gabon, Gambia and Ghana, services. The conflict in Liberia is a considerable which took place without major incidents. In Côte cause for concern, as it could lead to major popula- d’Ivoire, reconciliation between the Government tion displacements and threaten the fragile stabili- and the country’s main opposition groups contri- ty in Sierra Leone. In general terms, national pro- buted to a more stable political, social and eco- tection structures and capacities need to be nomic environment. Despite occasional tensions strengthened in order to achieve sound legal between the Governments of Guinea, Liberia and frameworks for refugee protection. In this way, Sierra Leone, political dialogue was sustained refugee protection will take the form of a more under the auspices of the Mano River Union as strategic approach, rather than the piecemeal well as through regional and other international approach taken at present. organisations, which also helped to promote stabil- ity in the sub-region. In CAR, prospects for a return to stability receded as Chad and Libya were drawn in to support opposing sides of the conflict. The situation Challenges and Concerns remains tense and volatile and widespread insecu- rity continues to jeopardise humanitarian activities To ensure the sustainability of voluntary repatria- for the 50,000 refugees from Chad, DRC, tion to Sierra Leone, returnee reintegration must be Rwanda and Sudan who live there. anchored in long-term political, social and eco- nomic stability. Immense challenges still face the From January 2002, UNHCR’s activities in Gambia Government, the national population and the inter- and Mali are being covered from Senegal; Chad national community: devastated infrastructure, from the Central African Republic; and Burkina UNHCR Global Report 2001 – 195 75190 Africa 13/06/02 16:09 Side 196 Persons of Concern to UNHCR 2,000 repatriated spontaneously during 2001. A tripartite agreement was signed in September 2001 Mln. Jan. 01, Total: 1,569,328 by the Governments of Gabon and RoC and Dec. 01, Total: 888,379 UNHCR, which envisages the organised repatria- 0.9 tion of an initial 5,000 refugees to Brazzaville and 0.8 Pointe Noire. West and Central Africa West The voluntary repatriation operation for Chadian 0.7 refugees from CAR was brought to an end and 0.6 Boubou camp closed. Positive political develop- ments and a return to relative peace in the Darfour 0.5 region of Sudan led some 4,000 refugees to repa- 0.4 triate spontaneously from Chad. Another 9,000 refugees have expressed the desire to repatriate 0.3 under the auspices of UNHCR. 0.2 0.1 The UNHCR pilot scheme for resettlement of refugees in Benin and Burkina Faso has met with 0 limited success, in part due to a shortage of Refugees Asylum- Returnees Other seekers resources. Evidently, motivation for local settlement remains low as the primary objective of refugees is to be settled outside the African continent. Faso, Niger and Togo from Benin. This situation poses considerable challenges in view of the Operations limited resources available to provide refugees with protection and assistance. The following paragraphs outline UNHCR’s activ- ities in West and Central Africa by country, except for Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Progress Toward Solutions which are described in separate chapters. The return of relative stability in the Republic of Benin had a refugee population of 4,800, who the Congo augurs well for the voluntary repatria- enjoyed free access to the local labour market. In tion from Gabon of 17,555 Congolese refugees. 2001, 1,051 asylum-seekers from various countries were registered, of whom 628 were recognised under the 1969 OAU Convention refugee defini- tion. UNHCR assists 2,286 refugees who benefit from primary healthcare services. 54 students received grants for post-secondary education. 60 per cent of school-age children were assisted by UNHCR to receive primary education. Under the UNHCR-sponsored local settlement scheme, ten families were received from camps in Tanzania and Rwanda. Self-reliance projects were implemented for 25 families. 184 persons were resettled from Benin to third countries. Burkina Faso hosted 457 refugees, of whom UNHCR assisted 110 in urban areas. These bene- ficiaries received housing allowances and medical care as well as grants for micro projects. 72 persons Sierra Leone: About 100,000 people have gone home since mid-2001. Here Sierra Leonean returnees arrive in their were assisted to integrate locally under the village. UNHCR / W. Spindler UNHCR-sponsored local settlement scheme. Access 196 – UNHCR Global Report 2001 75190 Africa 13/06/02 16:09 Side 197 to education is emphasised under this programme. Gabon was host to 15,587 refugees in 2001, mostly All school-age children were enrolled in public from RoC, all beneficiaries of UNHCR assistance primary and secondary schools. Eighteen students who were recognised under the 1969 OAU Con- received university scholarships while another 68 vention refugee definition. The newly formed received grants to undertake vocational training. National Commission for Refugees conducted its first refugee status determination activities for In Cameroon, a refugee eligibility committee was individual asylum-seekers. Of ninety cases exa- not constituted in 2001 as expected. The country mined, five were recognised. The Commission hosted 41,186 refugees of whom UNHCR assisted began issuing identity cards to refugees and asylum- 3,471 who were mainly from Burundi, DRC, the seekers in Libreville and its environs and, when Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. There were necessary, intervened on their behalf (with 600 arrivals from CAR. UNHCR provided scholar- UNHCR) before security forces and courts of law. ships for 83 refugee students. A national NGO UNHCR provided health care and vocational train- implemented 36 incomegeneration projects. ing. 1,848 students received primary and secondary UNHCR’s organised repatriation of Chadian education. Market gardening proved profitable in and Central Africa West refugees was completed in early 2001. 700 DRC rural areas (refugees received tools and tubers). refugees of Tutsi origin, who had been evacuated to Cameroon from the DRC, were resettled to third The Gambia was host to 8,133 refugees in 2001, of countries. whom UNHCR assisted 1,430. They were mainly from Sierra Leone and the Casamance region of In the Central African Republic, 2,000 Chadian Senegal. Urban refugees account for 80 per cent of refugees were assisted to repatriate from Boubou the population. UNHCR provides medical and camp. UNHCR continued to provide health and family assistance as well as supplementary food education assistance to long-staying Sudanese for children under five, single and pregnant refugees. Programmes were aimed at encouraging women, lactating mothers, the disabled, female self-sufficiency and emphasised agricultural activi- heads of households and the elderly (60 years and ties and cost-sharing for medical services. UNHCR above). Following clashes in the Casamance region continued to provide 2,400 Congolese refugees in in mid-year, 6,000 refugees, mainly women and Molangue camp with legal assistance, food, med- children below the age of three, fled from Senegal ical assistance, water and education. Each refugee into border villages in Gambia. The majority family received 0.12 ha of arable land from the returned to their places of origin when peace local authorities as well as tools and seeds. A few of returned; 1,700 remain, in some 40 villages. the 11,000 strong urban refugee population benefit- ed from limited assistance in the sectors of shelter, In Ghana the dissolution of the refugee board in health, transport and vocational training; 17 October 2000 and the absence of a formal mecha- refugees were resettled to third countries. nism for screening new arrivals created a backlog of asylum applications in transit centres and In Chad, UNHCR’s main activities were linked to camps. At year’s end, 11,792 refugees were assisted the reintegration of 5,700 Chadians who returned by UNHCR. Sierra Leonean refugees benefited from Cameroon and CAR. In addition to a five- from multi-sectoral assistance with the emphasis month assistance package, they benefited from edu- on self-reliance. However, refugees were unenthu- cation, water, agriculture and health services. In siastic about taking up viable income-generating Chad, UNHCR assisted 12,950 refugees, mainly activities for fear of subsequently being excluded from CAR, DRC and Sudan.