Côte d'Ivoire

Working environment

The refugee status determination and refugee management in Côte d’Ivoire  is conducted on the basis of a ministerial decree that delegated the competencies within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and created a specific department  for this purpose,  Service d'Aide et Assistance aux Refugies et Apatrides (SAARA).
 
At the end of 2016, the draft bill on asylum law was ready for submission to the Parliament for debate and adoption, scheduled to be adopted in 2017.
 
While the voluntary repatriation continued mainly from Liberia, a large number of Ivorian refugees, in particular those in Ghana, Guinea, and Togo remained unwilling to return.
 
Adoption of the National Action Plan for the eradication of statelessness could not take place in 2016 in compliance with the Abidjan Declaration which was adopted during Regional Conference on Statelessness in February 2015.   It is now expected in 2017. In 2016, Côte d’Ivoire also appointed a government focal point to deal with issues related to statelessness and National Action Plan.
 

Population trends

• Following a verification operation conducted in November 2016, the refugee population was confirmed to include some 1,400 people, mainly from the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Liberia.  
• After resumption of repatriation in December 2015, some 1,200 Ivorian refugees returned from asylum countries with the assistance of UNHCR in December 2015 and another 19,200 in 2016
• According to government estimates, the number of stateless and people at risk of statelessness in 2015 was 700,000. Nationality certificates were granted to some 5,300 people in 2015 and almost 7,000 people in 2016. As half of these certificates were granted to people deemed to be stateless (reduction cases were 6,100), the total stateless population has been reduced to 693,900 by the end of 2016.

Achievements and impact

• In 2016, 19,200 people were repatriated with the majority from Liberia (18,400). The main constraints were heavy and prolong rainy season and absence of good roads inside Liberia.
• 500 shelters were constructed for vulnerable returnees, and 12 schools and 4 health centers were rehabilitated in return areas
• With regards to statelessness, almost 7,000 nationality certificates were delivered in 2016, resulting in a total of 12,300 since the launch of the special law in 2014. Almost half of these certificates were provided to people deemed stateless. The stateless numbers reduced from 700,000 in 2014 to 693,900 by the end of 2016.
• A total of 67 resettlement cases were submitted during 2016 .

Unmet needs

• Due to budgetary constraints, UNHCR Côte d’Ivoire decided to prioritize assistance based on vulnerability criteria and standard operating procedures were developed to inform the selection process.
• For refugees, subsistence assistance was only granted to people with specific needs. Without sufficient assistance, covering the cost of rent was particularly challenging for many refugees due to funding constraint.
• Budgetary constraints affected the needs of refugees who aspire for higher education. 20 students applied for scholarships to pursue higher education, but DAFI scholarships were not awarded in 2016.
• Health assistance was limited only to extremely vulnerable cases, in particular cases of medical and surgical emergencies, hospitalized people and chronically ill people.
• The size of the cash grants provided to returnees (USD 150 for adult and USD 100 for child) was insufficient and did not allow meeting the needs of the returnees.

 

UNHCR’s strategy in Côte d’Ivoire revolves around three main axes: continued provision of protection and assistance for refugees and asylum-seekers; reception of Ivorians returning from countries of asylum and their reintegration (infrastructure, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), social cohesion) in the main areas of return, together with the Government and development actors; and the pursuance of efforts to reduce statelessness in the country.
 
The repatriation operation, under which some 240,000 Ivorians returned from asylum countries between October 2011 and July 2014, was suspended in August 2014 as a result of the Ebola outbreak in the region. It is expected that some 21,000 individuals will return in 2016 (20,000 from Liberia and 1,000 from other asylum countries). UNHCR will work with the Government and other partners on rehabilitating basic social infrastructure, as well as implementing activities related to self-reliance, SGBV and peaceful co-existence.
 
In 2016, UNHCR will support the Government and partners in addressing statelessness so that as many individuals as possible are able to obtain nationality and identity documents. UNHCR will build the capacity of the Service d'Aide et Assistance aux Réfugiés et Apatrides in order to respond to the needs of some 675,000 stateless individuals.