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UNHCR concern about return of Nigerians, shrinking humanitarian space

Press Releases, 14 August 2015

The UN refugee agency is concerned about the escalating violence in and around Nigeria and its impact on the situation of Nigerian refugees in surrounding host countries, including a shrinking humanitarian space in which they can seek asylum.

UNHCR salutes the generosity and humanitarian spirit of Cameroon, Chad and Niger in opening their doors to tens of thousands of thousands of people fleeing conflict in their home areas in north-east Nigeria over the past two years.

We share their commitment to ensuring the safety and protection of these people in need while at the same time ensuring the security of their own citizens and border areas. UNHCR has, for example, encouraged refugees to move away from front line border areas to camps deeper inland, where they can receive aid and protection.

But amid the fluid military situation in border areas since Nigerian militants widened their campaign earlier this year, thousands of people have been deported or returned to Nigeria from Cameroon and Chad in July and August. These include 925 Nigerians sent home from Cameroon and Chad from July 9-11 and 50 Nigerians being screened by UNHCR at the Gourounguel transit camp on August 3.

UNHCR is unaware at this time if they include refugees who may have gone back involuntarily, but we have been in close and regular contact with the relevant governments and have expressed our concern at the way these returns were conducted. UNHCR fears that such deportations lead to shrinking of the protection and humanitarian space and the agency reminds governments of their duty to protect asylum-seekers fleeing human rights violations and to respect the principle of non-refoulement (non-return).

We have reiterated in our talks with government counterparts that certain principles and international standards should be respected, even in the face of serious security concerns. These include the right to apply for asylum and the need for joint screening with UNHCR for people in need of international protection as well as evacuation for those willing to go back after making an informed decision about the situation in areas of return.

We are encouraged by the response, with the authorities in Cameroon assuring UNHCR that they will take the necessary measures to comply with international standards.

UNHCR will continue to monitor the situation of refugees and returnees, while noting that protection and humanitarian assistance for returnees is becoming increasingly difficult due to security and access difficulties. UNHCR will also continue to be ready to offer advice and assistance, in areas such as screening, to Nigeria and the governments of Cameron, Chad and Niger.

News contacts:

  • In Cameroon, Djerassem Mbaiorem, on +237 70 40 18 41
  • In Dakar, Simplice Kpandji, on +221 77 333 98 83
  • In Geneva, Leo Dobbs, on +41 79 883 6347
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Victims of Conflict in Nigeria Find Safety in Cameroon Camp

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres visited Cameroon in late March to put a spotlight on the situation there of tens of thousands of refugees from Nigeria. These people have escaped mounting violence by insurgents in the north-east of their country. Among the places that Guterres visited during his March 24-25 visit is the Minawao Refugee Camp, where many of the uprooted have been relocated.

Situated some 120 kilometres from the dangerous border area with Nigeria in Cameroon's Far North region, Minawao camp is currently home to 33,000 Nigerian refugees, mainly from Borno state. Many of the arrivals are traumatized and in need of material and psycho-social help. They told the High Commissioner of losing their homes and belongings as well as members of their families. Some were injured. In total, an estimated 74,000 Nigerians have found refuge in Cameroon while cross-border incursions from Nigeria have displaced 96,000 Cameroonians. UNHCR photographer Hélène Caux also visited Minawao to hear the individual stories.

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New refugees from Central African Republic struggle with ration cuts in southern Chad

Since January 2014, a funding shortfall has forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to cut food rations by 60 per cent in refugee camps in southern Chad. The reduction comes as thousands of refugees from Central African Republic (CAR) continue to arrive in the south - more than 14,000 of them since the beginning of 2014. Many arrive sick, malnourished and exhausted after walking for months in the bush with little food or water. They join some 90,000 other CAR refugees already in the south - some of them for years.

The earlier refugees have been able to gain some degree of self-reliance through agriculture or employment, thus making up for some of the food cuts. But the new arrivals, fleeing the latest round of violence in their homeland, are facing a much harsher reality. And many of them - particularly children - will struggle to survive because WFP has also been forced cut the supplemental feeding programmes used to treat people trying to recover from malnutrition.

WFP needs to raise US$ 186 million to maintain feeding programmes for refugees in Africa through the end of the year. Additionally, UNHCR is urgently seeking contributions towards the US$ 78 million it has budgeted this year for food security and nutrition programmes serving refugees in Africa.

Photojournalist Corentin Fohlen and UNHCR Public Information Officer Céline Schmitt visited CAR refugees in southern Chad to document their plight and how they're trying to cope.

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Food cuts in Chad camps expose refugee women and children to exploitation, abuse

A funding shortfall has forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to cut food rations in refugee camps in eastern Chad by up to 60 per cent. As a result, Sudanese refugees in 13 camps in the east now receive about 850 calories per day, down from the minimum ration of 2,100 calories daily they used to get. The refugees are finding it difficult to cope. Clinics in the area report a significant spike in malnutrition cases, with rates as high as 19.5 per cent in Am Nabak camp.

WFP needs to raise US$ 186 million to maintain feeding programmes for refugees in Africa through the end of the year. Additionally, UNHCR is urgently seeking contributions towards the US$ 78 million it has budgeted this year for food security and nutrition programmes serving refugees in Africa.

In the meantime, the refugees experiencing ration cuts have few options. Poor soil quality, dry conditions and little access to water mean they can't plant supplemental crops as refugees in the less arid south of Chad are able to do. To try to cope, many refugee women in eastern Chad are leaving the camps in search of work in surrounding towns. They clean houses, do laundry, fetch water and firewood and work as construction labourers. Even so, they earn very little and often depend on each other for support. In the town of Iriba, for example, some 50 refugee women sleep rough each night under a tree and share their some of their meagre earnings to pay for a daily, communal meal.

They are also subject to exploitation. Sometimes, their temporary employers refuse to pay them at the end of the day. And some women and girls have resorted to prostitution to earn money to feed their families.

Ration cuts can have an impact far beyond health, reverberating through the entire community. It is not uncommon for children to be pulled out of school on market days in order to work. Many refugees use a portion of their food rations to barter for other essentials, or to get cash to pay school fees or buy supplies for their children. Small business owners like butchers, hairdressers and tailors - some of them refugees - also feel the pinch.

WFP supplies food to some 240,500 Sudanese refugees in the camps of eastern Chad. Many have been in exile for years and, because of their limited opportunities for self-sufficiency, remain almost totally dependent on outside help. The ration cuts have made an already difficult situation much worse for refugees who were already struggling.

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