(Volker Turk – UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection)

From the 6th to 8th of June, the Governments of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, as well as UNHCR and representatives of national, international and regional organizations met in Abuja, Nigeria for the Regional Protection Dialogue on the Lake Chad Basin. The Dialogue culminated in a strong Action Statement (see link below for full text) on the part of the Governments, and a commitment to establishing Action Plans at the national level within 6 months of its adoption.

The Lake Chad basin has been the arena for Boko Haram insurgency for the past seven (7) years. Initially confined to the North East of Nigeria, the violence has spilled over into the neighboring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon. The insurgency has resulted in the displacement of over 2.7 million people in the region, and a death toll estimated to be in excess of 25,000 people.

Niger witnessed the first attacks on its soil in February 2015 and has been victim of an estimated 115 attacks since then in the Diffa region. In May 2016, there were over 241,000 displaced persons in the region although it is expected that this number has increased following the recent attacks in Bosso town on the 3rd of June 2016. These figures include at least 127,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). It is now estimated that 1 in every 2 people in the region is displaced. The objective of the dialogue was to identify the most urgent protection risks in the Lake Chad Basin resulting from the conflict, and to agree on measures at the local, national and regional level to improve protection measures to meet the needs of the affected populations, in particular refugees and IDPs.

The Action Statement reaffirmed the commitment of the states to the various principles and standards pertaining to refugee and IDPs protection, most notably the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention, the 2009 Kampala Convention on IDPs, and the 1954 and 1961 Conventions on Statelessness.

The key areas prioritized in the Action Statement are: forced displacements and freedom of movement in conflicts, civil-military coordination and the civilian character of refugee and IDP hosting areas, persons with specific protection risks, comprehensive solutions approaches and the right to nationality and documentation.

The Action Statement emphasizes the need for continuous monitoring of security measures to ensure compliance with international standards, whilst strengthening collaboration between government and humanitarian actors and coordination at the regional level. It stresses the importance of achieving a balance between security and respect for the right to asylum, and in particular the principle of non-refoulement in emergency situations.

The need for capacity development and training is a theme throughout the Action Statement, in particular for security forces including the Multi National Joint Task Force. In addition to security, the need for access to justice is a central priority of the Statement. The need for stronger community participation is pivotal, in particular in terms of the identification of people with specific protection risks, most notably children – of whom there are over 200,000 either separated or unaccompanied, as a direct result of the conflict in the region.

In the ever changing context, the need to support the link between humanitarian response and development and the achievement of durable solutions is emphasized, as a short to medium term solution to this conflict is unlikely. Just over one year on from the Abidjan Declaration on the Eradication of Statelessness 2015, the prevention and reduction of statelessness is a key element of the Statement, with commitments made to simplify birth registration and civil documentation processes, and renewed efforts in terms of awareness raising campaigns.

The Ministerial segment of the dialogue was chaired by the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and attended by UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection. The delegation from Niger included the newly appointed Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior, the Director General of Child Protection, the Director of Internal Migration and Refugees and the Secretary General of the Diffa region, as well as the Director de Cabinet of the Minister of Interior. Additionally, representatives of UNHCR, UNICEF, OCHA and IRC Niger participated in the dialogue, which was facilitated by UNHCR. As per the commitments made in the Action Statement, the Niger government is expected to establish a National Action Plan within the next 6 months, to include concrete steps towards the achievement of the overall objectives outlined and agreed upon in Abuja.