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Côte d'Ivoire

2015 UNHCR country operations profile - Côte d'Ivoire

| Overview |

Working environment

One of UNHCR's main priorities in Côte d'Ivoire is the voluntary repatriation of Ivorian refugees in neighbouring countries. More than 12,000 refugees have been repatriated during the first semester of 2014.
UNHCR's operation in Côte d'Ivoire has been significantly affected by the Ebola virus outbreak since the first quarter of 2014. Following the official border closure with Guinea and Liberia in August, the voluntary repatriation of Ivorian refugees has been suspended until further notice.
With the exception of recent attacks in the south-western border region of Côte d'Ivoire, the security conditions throughout the country remain stable.
In light of the UN Secretary-General's choice of Côte d'Ivoire as a pilot country for a durable solutions strategy, UNHCR will support the Government in designing and implementing targeted responses to the needs of returnees, former internally displaced people (IDPs), stateless people and host communities.
UNHCR is committed to finding solutions, either through local integration or resettlement, for remaining Liberians and Rwandans living in Côte d'Ivoire whose refugee status was maintained after the implementation of the cessation clause. Those individuals exempt from the cessation clauses will continue to receive international protection.
In acceding to the 1954 and 1961 Conventions on Statelessness in late 2013, the Ivorian Government took an important step towards reducing the number of stateless people in Côte d'Ivoire. UNHCR will continue to support such efforts by identifying stateless people across the country and advocate for concrete measures to protect them.

People of concern

UNHCR's main populations of concern in Côte d'Ivoire in 2015 are Ivorians (former refugees) who fled Côte d'Ivoire during the post-electoral violence in 2010-2011 and have returned; stateless people and people at risk of statelessness in the country; and refugees, mainly from Liberia.

UNHCR 2015 planning figures for Cote d'Ivoire
Type of population	Origin	January 2015		December 2015
Type of population	Origin	Total in country	Of whom assisted by UNHCR	Total in country	Of whom assisted by UNHCR
Total		746,030	116,030	627,000	72,990
Refugees	Congo	160	160	160	160
	Dem. Rep. of the Congo	160	160	160	160
	Liberia	900	900	900	900
	Various	300	300	800	800
Asylum-seekers	Dem. Rep. of the Congo	60	60	60	60
	Liberia	100	100	70	70
	Nigeria	50	50	50	40
	Various	300	300	800	800
Returnee arrivals during year (ex-refugees)	Côte d'Ivoire	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000
Internally displaced	Côte d'Ivoire	4,000	4,000	-	-
Returnee arrivals during year (ex-IDPs)	Côte d'Ivoire	20,000	-	4,000	-
Stateless	Stateless	700,000	90,000	600,000	50,000

| Response |

Needs and strategies

In 2015, UNHCR will continue to advocate for the adoption and implementation of a national asylum law on behalf of refugees living in Côte d'Ivoire. If adopted, the organization will engage in capacity-building exercises targeted at newly-appointed local officials in border areas that have not traditionally hosted refugees, and raise awareness throughout Ivorian society to ensure that the content and implications of the law are well understood.

To support the UN Secretary-General's Policy Committee Decision on Durable Solutions and assist the Government in its national development plan, UNHCR will implement community-based programmes to address the needs and improve the living conditions of refugees, returnees, former IDPs and stateless people in major areas of settlement.

Building on momentum generated by the launch of UNHCR's global campaign to eradicate statelessness, the Office will work with the Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Public Liberties to identify people who are stateless or at risk of statelessness, and support national institutions in providing these individuals with civil status documentation. By helping them obtain confirmation of nationality, UNHCR will help tens of thousands of people access basic social services to which they are entitled.

| Implementation |

Coordination

UNHCR will maintain its partnerships with the Government of Côte d'Ivoire, UN agencies and national and international NGOs. The organization will continue to participate in inter-agency coordination mechanisms, such as the UN Country Team, the UN Development Action Framework and the Comité de coordination élargi, which was created in July 2013 to replace the cluster system and transfer responsibility for humanitarian and development matters to the authorities. The Office will continue to oversee the implementation of the UN Secretary-General's Policy Committee Decision on Durable Solutions, which seeks to provide a comprehensive response to the needs of returning populations and their host communities.

2015 UNHCR partners in Côte d'Ivoire
Implementing partners
Government agencies: Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Public Liberties, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
NGOs: Association de Soutien à l'Autopromotion Sanitaire Urbaine, Danish Refugee Council, Norwegian Refugee Council, Search for Common Ground
Others: FAO, IOM, UN Women, UNOPS
Operational partners
Government agencies: Ministry of the Family, Women and Social Affairs, Ministry of Planning and Development, Ministry of State, Ministry of Health
NGOs: International Rescue Committee, Save the Children International
Others: ICRC, OCHA, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNIDO, WFP

| Financial information |

Between 2011 and 2013, financial requirements for UNHCR's programme in Côte d'Ivoire decreased significantly, from USD 47 million to USD 27.8 million.

Over the past two years, UNHCR has been establishing and maintaining an alliance of key players, notably UN agencies such as UNFPA, UNICEF and WFP, which took over some of the Office's unfunded activities.

In 2015, some USD 26 million will be needed for UNHCR to provide protection and assistance to former Ivorian refugees, as well as IDPs, stateless people and refugees in the country.

Source: UNHCR Global Appeal 2015 Update

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Statistical Snapshot*
Notes * As at December 2014 Country or territory of asylum or residence. Persons recognized as refugees under the 1951 UN Convention/1967 Protocol, the 1969 OAU Convention, in accordance with the UNHCR Statute, persons granted a complementary form of protection and those granted temporary protection. It also includes persons in a refugee-like situation for whom refugee status has, for practical or other reasons, not been ascertained. In the absence of Government figures, UNHCR has estimated the refugee population in many industrialized countries based on 10 years of individual asylum-seeker recognition. Persons whose applications for asylum or refugee status are pending at the end of 2014 at any stage in the asylum procedure. Refugees who have returned to their place of origin during 2014. Source: country of origin and asylum. Persons who are displaced within their country and to whom UNHCR extends protection and assistance. It also includes people in IDP-like situations. This category is descriptive in nature and includes groups of persons who are inside their country of nationality or habitual residence and who face protection risks similar to those of IDPs but who, for practical or other reasons, could not be reported as such. IDPs protected/assisted by UNHCR who have returned to their place of origin during 2014. Refers to persons who are not considered as nationals by any State under the operation of its law. This category refers to persons who fall under the agency's statelessness mandate because they are stateless according to this international definition, but data from some countries may also include persons with undetermined nationality. Refers to individuals who do not necessarily fall directly into any of the other groups but to whom UNHCR may extend its protection and/or assistance services. These activities might be based on humanitarian or other special grounds. The data are generally provided by Governments, based on their own definitions and methods of data collection. A dash (-) indicates that the value is zero, not available or not applicable. Source: UNHCR/Governments. Compiled by: UNHCR, FICSS.
Residing in Côte d'Ivoire [1]
Refugees [2]	1,925
Asylum Seekers [3]	669
Returned Refugees [4]	12,362
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) [5]	24,000
Returned IDPs [6]	0
Stateless Persons [7]	700,000
Various [8]	58
Total Population of Concern	739,014
Originating from Côte d'Ivoire [1]
Refugees [2]	71,959
Asylum Seekers [3]	13,439
Returned Refugees [4]	12,362
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) [5]	24,000
Returned IDPs [6]	0
Various [8]	41
Total Population of Concern	121,801

Government Contributions to UNHCR
Contributions since 2000
Year	USD
2014	0
2013	0
2012	102,178
2011	10,000
2010	0
2009	0
2008	0
2007	0
2006	0
2005	0
2004	0
2003	0
2002	0
2001	0
2000	0

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UNHCR Côte d'Ivoire Situation Updates

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Refugees move to new camp in Liberia

UNHCR has begun transferring refugees from Côte d'Ivoire to a new refugee camp in the north-eastern Liberian town of Bahn. Over the coming weeks UNHCR hopes to move up to 15,000 refugees into the facility, which has been carved out of the jungle. They are among almost 40,000 civilians from Côte d'Ivoire who have fled to escape mounting political tension in their country since the presidential election in late November.

The final number of people to move to Bahn will depend on how many wish to be relocated.from villages near the Liberia-Côte d'Ivoire border. Initially most of the refugees were taken in by host communities, living side-by-side with locals. Poor road conditions made it difficult for humanitarian agencies to deliver assistance. Supplies of food, medicine and water have been running low, making conditions difficult for both locals and refugees.

At the camp in Bahn, refugees will have easy access to basic services such as health care, clean water and primary school education.

Refugees move to new camp in Liberia

New flows of Ivorian refugees into Liberia

As of late March, more than 100,000 Ivorian refugees had crossed into eastern Liberia since lingering political tension from a disputed presidential election in neighbouring Côte d' Ivoire erupted into violence in February. Most have gone to Liberia's Nimba County, but in a sign that the fighting has shifted, some 6,000 Ivorians recently fled across the border into Liberia's Grand Gedeh County. Most of the new arrivals have settled in remote villages - some inaccessible by car. The UN refugee agency sent a mission to assess the needs of the refugees in the region.

Photographer Glenna Gordon photographed new arrivals near Zwedru in south-eastern Liberia.

New flows of Ivorian refugees into Liberia

Running for shelter in Côte d'Ivoire

UNHCR has expressed its mounting concern about civilians trapped in the Abobo district of Cote d'Ivoire's commercial centre, Abidjan, following days of fierce fighting between forces loyal to rival presidential candidates. The situation there remains grim. Many of the 1.5 million inhabitants of Abobo have fled, but armed groups are reportedly preventing others from leaving. UNHCR is particularly concerned about vulnerable people, such as the sick and the elderly, who may not be able to leave.

Running for shelter in Côte d'Ivoire

Liberia: A Neighbour's Help

Alphonse Gonglegbe fled to Liberia with his family a few months ago. He appreciates the help he's been receiving in this land neighbouring his native Côte d'Ivoire.

Liberia: Hurried Flight

Tens of thousands of Ivorians have fled their villages and sought shelter in Liberia. Francis says he ran for his life and now he wants safety and food.

Liberia: Arrival at Bahn Camp

UNHCR has opened a new camp for up to 15,000 Ivorian refugees at Bahn in eastern Liberia. Follow the arrival of the first group.

Liberia: Ivorians on the Run

More than 25,000 civilians from Côte d'Ivoire have fled to the safety of Liberia. UNHCR is helping local communities cope.

Liberia: Providing Refuge

UNHCR is building a camp in north-eastern Liberia to shelter thousands of refugees from Côte d'Ivoire. The local community is giving a helping hand.