Fears of refoulement

JOBURG:The UN refugee agency has expressed concern that forced returns of refugees from Cameroon’s far north region to crisisgripped north-eastern Nigeria are continuing despite the recent signing of a tripartite agreement aimed at ensuring the voluntary nature of returns.

So far this year, Cameroon has forcefully returned more than 2 600 refugees to Nigerian border villages against their will, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

“UNHCR is particularly concerned as these forced returns have continued unabated after the governments of Nigeria and Cameroon signed a tripartite agreement with UNHCR in Yaoundé on March 2,” UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told reporters at the UN’s Geneva Office.

The forced return of asylum-seekers and refugees is known as refoulement, and constitutes a serious violation of the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1969 OAU Convention, both of which Cameroon has ratified.

While acknowledging the generosity of its government and local communities that host more than 85 000 Nigerian refugees, UNHCR called on Cameroon to honour its obligations under international and regional refugee protection instruments, as well as Cameroonian law.

Most returning refugees find themselves in situations of internal displacement upon return and are unable to return to their places of origin.

Inside Nigeria, UNHCR teams have documented accounts about Cameroonian troops returning refugees against their will – without allowing them time to collect their belongings. – ANA