MAKURDI, BENUE STATE, NIGERIA, 28 January 2015 (UNHCR) –  The UN Refugee Agency in Nigeria is organising the 5th biannual retreat for ECOWAS Ambassadors from 28-29 January 2015 in Makurdi, Benue State, on the theme “Let’s unite to fight forcible displacement and statelessness. We can do a lot with little.”

Maintaining the focus on the ongoing forcible displacements in the sub-region, the retreat will evaluate progress, challenges and the way forward on ratification of the Kampala Convention (formally, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa) which came into force in 2012. The retreat will also focus on the two UN Conventions on Statelessness, namely the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Participants will also be sensitised towards and reminded of the merits of ratifying the AU IDP Convention and the UN Statelessness Conventions, as well as implementation of other outcomes of the AU special summit on the Kampala Convention.

UNHCR / MATHIJS LE RUTTE

ECOWAS Ambassadors arrive at the 5th biannual retreat in Makurdi, Benue State. The retreat is organized by UNHCR and is taking place on 28-29 January.

The diplomats will be briefed on UNHCR-ECOWAS cooperation and achievements from the last retreat in 2013 until now. They will also be informed about other relevant UNHCR country-specific operations in West Africa with regard to statistics, budgets, challenges and opportunities. The retreat seeks to strengthen the working relations between the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council at the ambassadorial level and UNHCR Representation in Nigeria and in West Africa in general.

 The ECOWAS Ambassadors’ Retreat was initiated in 2007 by UNHCR in Nigeria within the framework of the UNHCR/ECOWAS partnership to facilitate the Ambassadors’ support for the protection of refugees and other persons assisted by UNHCR in West Africa. Since its inception, the retreat has served as a forum for sharing information on the UNHCR/ECOWAS partnership and increasing the Ambassadors’ awareness of UNHCR operations in the sub-region. Since then, the retreat has been held every other year with the full participation of the Ambassadors.

The retreat has also served as an impetus for the ratification by Member States of the Kampala Convention. However, in order to improve on the key role UNHCR has played in promoting that Convention, much advocacy is still required to ensure its wider acceptance. As a result of the increasing number of conflicts, States and Governments are expected to do more in fostering or restoring the nationality of stateless individuals, and improving national laws to prevent statelessness.