Repatriation of Refugees Gains Momentum in Ghana
PRESS RELEASE
As Liberian refugees are expressing their willingness to return and contribute to the development process in Liberia, the momentum for repatriation has increased. During the past few weeks, the Liberian Government through the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC), in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), has assisted in the voluntary repatriation of 275 Liberian refugees from Ghana.The repatriation of Liberian refugees from Ghana formally resumed following a Tripartite Committee meeting held between the Governments of Liberia and Ghana as well as UNHCR in Accra, Ghana, on 16 April 2008. An estimated 200 returnees are expected to arrive from Ghana by two shared UNMIL flights each week in the coming months. Prior to departure from Ghana, the refugees are provided with a returnee package.
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Upon arrival at the Roberts International Airport, returnees are received by LRRRC, the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization and UNHCR before they are transported to the LRRRC managed Transit Center in Schefflin, Margibi County and screened before the returnees’ departure to their respective areas of origin or preference. The UNHCR organized voluntary repatriation exercise for Liberian refugees began in October 2004 and officially ended on 30 June 2007. During that period, 7,021 out of a total of 47,450 Liberian refugees returned from Ghana (112,256 Liberian refugees were facilitated to return from countries of asylum in West Africa). Out of the more than 75,000 residual caseload of Liberian refugees in the region, 26,000 of them reside in Ghana. Today, Wednesday, 7 May, a group of 41 Liberian refugees returned from Oru refugee camp in Nigeria. This is further evidence of the growing momentum for repatriation of Liberian refugees in the West African sub-region.
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