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West and Central

Major developments

2002 was a year of extremes in West and Central Africa, marked by major movements within and across national . It began with declaration of the end of the decade-long civil Verde war in , paving the way for thousands Central African of to return home. In contrast, produced a constant flow of refugees into neigh- Côte d'Ivoire bouring as fighting raged between gov- Equatorial ernment forces and Liberians United to Reconcilia- tion and (LURD) rebels. In Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia an attempt coup d’état in was the pre- cursor to a full-scale civil war, which led to the dis- Guinea placement of thousands of people and a breakdown Guinea- in basic services and economic activity in more than Liberia half of the . Until then, Côte d’Ivoire had for years enjoyed and stability, with long periods of economic prosperity. In the Central African Republic () general insecurity prevailed amidst Sao Tomé and Principe political, economic and social turmoil. Demonstra- tions and strikes by civil servants over accumulated Sierra Leone salary arrears paralysed the of . A failed coup attempt in October claimed many civilian resumed betweentheGovernmentforces andthe solution totheCasamanceproblem fadedas western Cameroon. InSenegal,hopesforalasting clashes inJanuary2002andsoughtrefuge in State (inthenorthofcountry)followingethnic base. Some20,000NigeriannationalsfledTaraba and Chadwhere therebels allegedlyhadtheir Bangui andmonitortheborder betweentheCAR (CEMAC) todeploytroops torestore securityin ability of beneficiaries vis- beneficiaries ability of to collectivelyexamine andaddress thevulner- nity provided humanitarian agencieswiththeopportu- Sexual andGenderBasedViolence (SGBV).Italso underscored theneedto strengthen the of sexualexploitationchildren inWest Africa, in January2002,whichcontainedgraveallegations The JointUNHCR-SavetheChildren Reportreleased (MFDC). Mouvement desforces d lives, compellingleadersofthe“ omique etMonétaire desEtatsd’AfriqueCentrale é mocratiques deCasamance à -vis relief workers. Communauté Econ- fi ght against fi ghting ” have takenplaceinC Attacks onborder villagesbyforagingcombatants primarily from thecontinuing warinLiberia. there remain significant securityrisks,whichstem rule leftasceneofdevastation.Intheshortterm, the mainareas ofreturn, where theendofrebel any chanceofpeacefulcohabitation,particularlyin sive rehabilitation effort isneededifthere istobe facilities were notavailable.InSierraLeone,amas- in hostileenvironments where minimumbasic UNHCR anditspartnershaveoftenhadtooperate Challenges andconcerns risks of often ledtoforced recruitment andincreased the tion intorefugee settlements, byarmedgroups has have fuelledanti- sentiments.Theinfiltra- non ofarmedelementswithinrefugee settlement Sierra Leone.Theseandtheincreasing phenome- Cameroon, 17,000receive limitedrelief andassis- Of the20,000Nigerian refugees whofledinto refuge. refoulement UNHCR GlobalReport 2002 of thoseattemptingtoseek ô te d ’ Ivoire, Guineaand 201

West and has Benin s National Recovery ’ various African countries were regis- were African countries various cases. Efforts to promote resettlement to Benin resettlement to promote cases. Efforts Operations in Since the beginning of 2002, the office Although, contrary to expectations, the situation in the situation contrary to expectations, Although, and not allow of origin did their places refugees some to repatriate, refugees Senegalese origin to their places of assisted to return have been Leone in Sierra basis. Meanwhile, on an individual long-term peace and stability hinge for prospects and of poverty, on the reduction actors, The inputs of the relevant good governance. will be of return, in main areas including UNHCR, guided by the Government elements of the national along with Strategy, Strategy Paper and the United Poverty Reduction Assistance Framework. Nations Development for development funding to be UNHCR is calling and for national areas, channelled into returnee and international NGOs to be strengthened. A hub was established resettlement UNHCR regional the management of , Ghana, to strengthen in Central and activities in the West resettlement technical support to and to provide Africa , Key priorities include 21 countries in the region. for improved developing and harmonising criteria of resettle- and processing planning, co-ordination, ment the expected and Burkina Faso have not yielded for the mainly due to limited opportunities results, For similar reasons, achievement of self-sufficiency. a lasting provide local settlement has often failed to Furthermore, solution, especially for urban refugees. to provide reluctant increasingly governments are as popula- opportunities, long-term reintegration in an refugees hostile towards increasingly tions are and the increasing resources of scarce environment militarisation of camps. been overseeing UNHCR operations in Burkina Faso, Refugees in the four countries Niger and Togo. stable political situation and have enjoy a relatively the local integration of the an open policy towards popula- population. Benin had a refugee refugee resettle- tion of 5,021, of whom 152 benefited from living in to Benin and 1,159 were ment programme assistance and Kpomasse Camp. UNHCR provided to population in order to the refugee protection In 2002, 719 asylum- help them achieve self-reliance. seekers from Returnees Other Ivoire and Liberia. For the Ivoire ’ seekers te d ô (in thousands) communities concerned, in order for them communities concerned, in order UNHCR Global Report 2002 1 31 Refugees Asylum- Persons of concern to UNHCR of concern Persons 0 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 foreseeable future, it will be necessary to repeatedly future, foreseeable to cope adapt existing strategies and programmes population with continuing waves of cross- movements in the sub-region. 202 The volatile humanitarian environment in the region The volatile humanitarian environment of an end seems set to continue, with little prospect to the crises in C Progress towards solutions to deal with the issue. Efforts to investigate sexual exploitation cases are Efforts expertise and often constrained by insufficient UNHCR and its part- on the part of both resources capacity lack of investigative ners. Furthermore, have sometimes and the weakness of police efforts handling of cases. The led to delays and ineffectual survivors and informers involved security of , in investigation has also been a concern. One of the means of mitigating SGBV issues most effective clearly appears to be the sensitisation and empower- ment of tance. Although efforts have been initiated to Although efforts tance. the causes that led to their flight, a durable address these refugees. solution has yet to be identified for no durable solution has so far been found Similarly, Mauritanian for the 8,200 Senegalese and 26,000 in neighbouring countries. still remaining refugees

West and Central Africa tered, 257 of whom were formally recognised as 36,000 Sudanese refugees in Mboki, 2,929 refugees. Under the repatriation programme, 28 Congolese refugees in Molangue camp, and 11,000 refugees were assisted to return to their countries urban refugees consisting mainly of Chadians, of origin (, the Democratic Republic of the Congolese (DRC), Rwandans and Burundians. , the and ); 33 Despite difficulties and delays in the implementa- refugees were resettled in the , tion of peace processes, the situation in DRC and and the USA. Self-reliance projects were improved sufficiently to allow repatriation implemented for 43 families. There were 465 school- to these countries. , health and income- aged children. UNHCR assisted nearly all who were generating activities were provided to the Sudanese in need of primary education, provided secondary refugees in Mboki. In 2002, a new policy of cost educational grants for 286 students and post-secondary recovery was introduced, whereby refugees were educational grants for another 62. Vocational asked to contribute to medical expenses. In training assistance was provided to 22 persons. Molangue, local authorities allocated 200 hectares of land to Congolese refugees for agricultural Burkina Faso

hosted 457 refugees, including 74 activities. At the same time, assistance was provid- and Central Africa West who were integrated locally under the UNHCR- ed in the sectors of , health education, shelter, sponsored local settlement scheme and 377 asylum- water and sanitation. Six additional classrooms seekers originating from Chad, Rwanda, the Republic were constructed. Planned activities in the of of the Congo (ROC), the Democratic Republic of the could not be carried out due to increas- Congo (DRC) and Burundi. ing insecurity in the country and the presence of rebels in the area. At the year’s end, a residual case- Following the closure of the UNHCR Office in load of 629 Chadians was still residing in Boubou Yaoundé, Cameroon, in 2002, protection and assist- Camps. ance activities in favour of urban refugees were implemented by the Cameroonian Cross The overall situation in Chad was calm in 2002, apart under the umbrella of UNHCR Gabon. 41,288 from sporadic outbreaks of fighting in refugees registered in Cameroon were mainly from in the north between the army and some rebel the neighbouring countries, such as Chad, CAR, ROC and DRC. There were also 1107 Rwandan refugees. During 2002, 5,308 new asylum-seekers applied for refugee status. Health coverage was provided for the whole refugee population, as well as direct assistance to the most vulnerable refugees. Three micro-projects were supported, and scholarships awarded to 99 students. Due to a new influx of 17,000 Nigerian refugees who settled at the border in the area of Banyo, the Yaoundé UNHCR Office was re-opened and an team was deployed to Banyo to develop an assist- ance programme.

In ,

UNHCR continued to provide Côte d'Ivoire: Liberian refugees, in a canoe, ready to return to Liberia. protection and assistance to UNHCR / G. Fardanesh

UNHCR Global Report 2002 203 te te è ô women in 2002 Ivoire were were Ivoire ’ exercise in late exercise Ghana te d ô , and 44 were asylum- , and 44 were é where 7,690 refugees are registered. are 7,690 refugees where Ivoire crisis. Ivoire ’ both the and Krisan refugee both the Buduburam s main achievements in s main achievements ’ The majority of the refugees originated from The majority of the refugees te d hosted 296 urban refugees of whom 128 were hosted 296 urban refugees hosted 9,955 refugees and received 925 new and received hosted 9,955 refugees centre for West and Central Africa was estab- and Central for West centre ô Guinea-Bissau Ivoire following the attempted coup. At the end following the attempted coup. Ivoire ’ Chad and DRC. UNHCR successfully implemented based on community programme a reintegration assistance activities in support of 3,500 returnees Faso (287 refugee and Burkina from benefited from income-generating activities, andbenefited from grants for live- women received over 1,000 refugee received stock activities). 21 urban refugees Mali Niger in Gour refugees Chadian rural seekers. 5,000 newly arrived refugees, but 50 per cent of but 50 arrived refugees, 5,000 newly in restored after calm was to return them preferred of origin. their region UNHCR Refugee of the Ghana have been the reactivation determination status in refugee and progress Board A case processing. and resettlement resettle- regional ment and Ghana. Overall co-operation Accra, lished in was with government counterparts co-ordination was pro- Community-based assistance strengthened. vided in 30,000 refugees approximately camps, which hosted African countries. and Central various West from A of SGBV was intro- for the prevention programme duced. situation refugee UNHCR continues to monitor the in They of Senegalese origin refugees mainly rural are Jolm in the north of the country in the residing d asylum-seekers in 2002. The National Eligibility asylum-seekers in 2002. The National Committee conducted a registration who arrived C from 2002 to identify refugees camp. There are also 371 urban refugees, mainly from also 371 urban refugees, are camp. There the adop- towards Sierra Leone and Liberia. Efforts tion hampered legislation were of a national refugee in 2002. changes of government by frequent of 2002, 618 refugees from C from of 2002, 618 refugees registered. Most of them were living either in Most of them were registered. in the Faragouaran camp or in urban centres It is believed that a number of region. with register may have opted not to refugees team of two international An emergency UNHCR. to members was sent to in response staff the C ength- backlog hopes for repatria- hopes for ’ s capacity to reduce the s capacity to reduce ’ was host to 11,896 refugees in 2002. refugees was host to 11,896 ban centres. UNHCR assists them with ban centres. nancial assistance. 31 schoolchildren were nancial assistance. 31 schoolchildren activities and they benefit from interna- activities and they benefit from fi hosted 13,473 refugees, mainly from ROC mainly from hosted 13,473 refugees, UNHCR Global Report 2002 Gambia given school supplies and uniforms (16 at primary given school supplies and uniforms the frame- school, 15 at ). Within about 100 Chadians work of national reconciliation, Africa, and Central in West refugees who were to returned mainly in Benin, Senegal and Gabon, a They received Chad after many years in exile. the from departure UNHCR before grant from the returnees various countries. Upon arrival, the Chadian from package a reintegration received for asylum Government. In 2002, 345 applications reviewed. of all nationalities were refugees from accepted were examined: 44 cases 174 cases were and 62 rejected. tion. The planned repatriation of 12,000 refugees of 12,000 repatriation tion. The planned due to the on- could not take place Adre settled in They continued to survive going war in Sudan. having agricultural and activities, through package of material assistance a substantial received of the UNHCR the closure in these sectors before contributed to their local integration. which office continued to be assisted in various Urban refugees only 138 refugees, recognised sectors. Of 222 received 204 Gabon movements. The alleged involvement of Chad in the of Chad The alleged involvement movements. between the two tensions CAR created conflict in of the of 2002. The failure the end toward countries accords peace of the Machakos implementation exiles the Sudanese shattered medical During 2002, the Gambian tional protection. Authority department registered The refugees are mainly from Sierra Leone and mainly from are The refugees of Senegal, and 80 per cent the region ur in reside The en the Government of asylum applications, and about 368 cases were UNHCR provided recognised). examined (74 were and vocational training to urban (60 per cent of women have benefited from refugees pri- received this assistance). 2,199 schoolchildren mary and secondary education. Market gardening (1,477 refugees areas in rural profitable proved and 41 tools and tubers). 266 Congolese received repatriated Gabon were from Chadians refugees in Canada. resettled were and 19 refugees and DRC. Furthermore some 5,663 refugees sought refugees some 5,663 and DRC. Furthermore to str asylum. UNHCR intensified its efforts

West and Central Africa integrated. in rural partsofnorthernTogo where theyare locally for 30families.11,208 refugees from Ghanaresided tion for203students,and micro-credit assistance assistance includingprimary andsecondaryeduca- of whom1,086urbanrefugees received material education. forprimaryeducation,and10secondary vocational training;25children received scholar- Togo Senegal assistance andaccommodation. 686 refugees ofothernationalitiesreceived medical were resettled to , CanadaandtheUSA. tion and fourfrom vocationaltraining.23Liberians primary school,20bene Camp. About 50studentsattendedtheOru camp Liberian refugees, ofwhom1,705resided inOru refugees.vided vulnerable to There were care, accommodationandfoodassistancewere pro- were resettled toCanadaand Australia. Health aqu ing and Leoneans received micro-project assistanceforfarm- secondary schoolsandtechnicaltraining.15Sierra education while60studentswere enrolled in urban centres andOru benefited from primary such astailoringandhairdressing. 235studentsin benefited from vocationaltrainingprogrammes in 2002.Of1,877SierraLeoneanrefugees, 26persons Some 300SierraLeoneanrefugees were repatriated resided inOru Camp,some120kmwestofLagos. mainly from Liberia,SierraLeoneandChad, 4,200 were assistedbyUNHCR.Theserefugees, Nigeria , Liberia,andC Eligibility Committee.Theywere from SierraLeone, asylum-seekers were registered bytheNational refugee women tooktheformofmicro-credit. 2,971 Income-generating activitiesforrural Mauritanian educational andvocationaltrainingassistance. Mauritanian refugee womenwere givenagricultural, pursue durablesolutionsforMauritanianrefugees. ance whenfundswere available. international protection, andhumanitarianassist- vulnerable urbanindividualscontinuedtoreceive Mauritanian refugees remains tobepursued.Finally, significantly, thediscussionsonrepatriation of relations betweenSenegalandMauritaniaimproved hosted 12,257refugees and78asylum-seekers, had arefugee populationof7,355,whom hosts 20,707refugees. UNHCRcontinuedto aculture. 31SierraLeoneanrefugees fi ting from secondaryeduca- ô te d ’ Ivoire. Although 1,792 year, however, thesituationimproved. suffered delaysinimplementation.Bytheendof some activitiesinresponse totheLiberianemergency already experiencingfundingshortfalls. As aresult, had tobelaunchedwhileregular programmes were ation inC UNHCR andthedeteriorationofsecuritysitu- mined bytheoverallfinancialconstraintsfaced Operations throughout were under- Funding ô te d ’ Ivoire andinLiberia.Newappeals UNHCR GlobalReport 2002 205

West and Central Africa  Annual Supplementary Supplementary Annual Programme BudgetProgramme Budgets Programme (SPA) 77,192 0 0 0 Donor Income Contribution Income Contribution España con ACNUR CommissionEuropean ItalyFranceGermany 1 0 72,202 0 0 72,202 106,484 0 106,484 0 0 99,108 0 0 99,108 0 European CommissionEuropean ItalyUnited States of AmericaUnited KingdomAndorra 0 400,000JapanUnited States of America 400,000 0 375,587 300,000 571,420 375,587 0 300,000 571,429 1,230,000 1,230,000 0 0 1,500,000 705,544 0 1,500,000 0 705,544 49,554 0 0 49,554 0 of AmericaUnited States of America 870,000United States of America 870,000 60,000United States of America 0Japan 60,000 560,000 560,000 0 5,400,000 0 5,400,000 0 0 0 4,000,000 0 4,000,000 0 0 0 United States of AmericaUnited States of America 529,000United States of America 529,000 20,000 0 20,000 30,000 30,000 0 0 0 0 0 United States of America 100,000 100,000 0 0 Voluntary Contributions – Restricted / Earmarked (USD) / Earmarked – Restricted Contributions Voluntary 1 UNHCR Global Report 2002 Niger Mali Liberia Côte d’Ivoire Guinea Ghana Gambia Gabon Cameroon Chad Central African Republic Benin Earmarking Earmarking 206

West and Central Africa Earmarking Senegal Nigeria  1 Total West andCentralAfrica Sierra Leone For more informationonthevariousearmarkings,pleaserefer t 1 ntdSae fAeia1000100000 0 Contribution Income 190,000 Contribution Income 190,000 United StatesofAmerica Donor tl 9,5 198,556 247,770 198,556 247,770 0 0 0 0 331,126 471,700 0 0 331,126 0 0 471,700 0 314,465 0 0 1,486,620 314,465 397,878 436,432 396,432 0 0 1,486,620 397,878 436,432 646,663 396,432 0 0 748,867 2,343,750 646,663 874,891 0 2,343,750 748,867 1,000,000 874,891 0 Rissho Kosei 0 1,000,000 563,380 Germany 0 1,893,939 563,380 1,893,939 Canada 0 0 6,594,049 0 3,500,000 6,594,049 0 3,500,000 28 3,380,000 33,557 Norway 0 0 3,380,000 0 Finland 0 28 33,557 335,570 0 0 1,455,883 United Kingdom 1,180,425 849,000 335,570 1,430,027 0 United StatesofAmerica 1,180,425 415,591 849,000 Sweden 1,621,758 2,264,899 73,171 2,500,000 0 1,621,758 415,591 2,264,899 2,500,000 2,863,738 73,171 0 UK forUNHCR(GBR) 2,863,738 Liechtenstein 0 Japan AssociationforUNHCR(JPN) Deutsche Stiftung 0 European Commission 3,140,000 Netherlands 3,140,000 210,000 Germany Japan 210,000 Norway United StatesofAmerica United StatesofAmerica ictnti 35733,557 33,557 0 0 Liechtenstein Deutsche Stiftung o theDonorProfiles. a JN 7276,2 0 0 67,227 67,227 Kai (JPN) GR 6,7 6,7 0 0 169,575 169,575 (GFR) GR 90849,068 49,068 0 0 (GFR) 604784,3,5 4250314,320,918 14,295,053 45,937,555 46,014,748 rgam ugtProgramme Budgets Programme Budget Annual Supplementary UNHCR GlobalReport 2002 207

West and Central Africa 4 31 956,454 l as scholarships for refugee students in l as scholarships for refugee te d'Ivoire as well as emergency assistance as well as emergency te d'Ivoire ô udes emergency assistance to Liberian returnees from C assistance to Liberian returnees from udes emergency tlement assistance for urban refugees in the sub-region, as wel in the sub-region, tlement assistance for urban refugees Revised Budget Expenditure Budget and Expenditure (USD) and Expenditure Budget Annual Supplementary Annual Supplementary 3,483,887 1,459,167 4,943,054 3,399,362 1,187,270 4,586,632 Programme Programme Programme Programme Ivoire) 1,523,173 0 1,523,173 1,493,953 0 1,493,953 ’ te d 1 ô UNHCR Global Report 2002 Ivoire 4,837,377 3,371,372 8,208,749 4,822,936 2,496,117 7,319,053 ’ te d West African countries. The Supplementary Programme Budget incl Budget African countries. The Supplementary Programme West Includes care and maintenance, voluntary repatriation and reset and maintenance, voluntary repatriation Includes care to Ivorian asylum-seekers in West Africa. to Ivorian asylum-seekers in West ô Regional Projects Regional Projects Total 75,424,963 16,623,234 92,048,197 74,355,721 13,851,210 88,206,9 SenegalSierra Leone (C Regional Office 22,445,546 1,114,703 7,409,424 56,470 29,854,970 1,171,173 22,315,236 1,114,164 6,641,218 28, 20,167 1,134,331 LiberiaNigerNigeria 8,658,576 110,000 1,044,778 48,000 8,706,576 0 0 8,544,741 1,044,778 110,000 42,889 974,826 100,404 8,587,630 0 0 974,826 100,404 GhanaGuinea 1,547,735 23,884,621 4,196,175 42,482 28,080,796 1,590,217 23,568,224 1,505,323 3,418,580 25,942 26,986,80 1,531,265 C GabonGambia 1,899,928 400,000 0 0 1,899,928 400,000 1,874,871 304,452 0 1,874,871 0 304,452 BeninCameroonCentral African Republic 2,687,445 1,194,194 593,000 0 40,144 2,687,445 0 1,234,338 2,575,707 1,172,022 593,000 589,500 19,027 0 1,191,049 2,575,707 0 589,500 Country Budget Budget Total Budget Budget Total 1 208

West and Central Africa