Operations

2016 Plan Summary

 
Cameroon has long been a pillar of stability in a troubled region, and hence a destination for people fleeing conflict in search of asylum. The country, which has signed the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention, has translated its commitments into action and maintained an open-border policy for asylum-seekers, providing land, access to social infrastructure and security.
 
Cameroon hosts the largest number of refugees from the Central African Republic (CAR), with more than 250,000 refugees in need of assistance as of June 2015. Over 150,000 refugees from the CAR arrived following inter-communal violence in 2013-2014; the others have been hosted in Cameroun since 2003. The majority of refugees have settled in host communities and depend mainly on local health, WASH and education services, while about 62,000 are settled in seven refugee sites where multi-sectoral assistance is being provided. In addition, Cameroon has witnessed a significant influx of more than 57,000 Nigerian refugees in the Far North following escalating violence in Nigeria’s Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, and the internal displacement of 81,000 people due to cross-border incursions of armed groups.
 
The sudden arrival of a high number of refugees fleeing the conflict in the CAR and Nigeria to areas where access to basic infrastructure was already limited before their arrival, has placed a strain on scarce resources and has, in some areas, increased the perception of insecurity among the local population.
 
In order to avoid potential intercommunal conflicts and strengthen social cohesion between host populations and refugees, assistance and investments in social infrastructure need to be extended in 2016 to cater for refugees living outside designated sites, and also to include the communities hosting them. Insecurity in border areas and refugee-hosting areas will remain a challenge and will have an impact on the readiness of the Government to allow refugees to reside outside of secured refugee sites in the eastern parts of the country. Due to increased insecurity, including violent attacks against civilians in the Far North, which make humanitarian access to certain areas very challenging, the Government is promoting an encampment policy in this situation to ensure effective protection and assistance for Nigerian refugees. In view of continuing new arrivals, UNHCR is advocating for the opening of a second camp for Nigerian refugees. The population of Minawao camp, which was initially built to accommodate a maximum of 15,000 refugees, has grown from 6,000 in 2013 to more than 45,000 in August 2015. The decongestion of the existing camp is critical in order to provide assistance in accordance with minimum standards, especially with regard to access to drinking water which remains a major challenge.
 
In areas hosting refugees from the CAR, UNHCR aims to step up its support to the Cameroonian authorities to assist out-of-site refugees and enhance the basic social infrastructure in refugee-hosting areas in collaboration with development actors. Livelihood activities should stimulate the local economy, facilitating the economic integration of refugees and reducing pressure on natural resources. Lack of investment in the health, education, WASH and livelihoods sectors in support of both the host and refugee populations will increase the risk of social tensions.