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UNHCR Cameroon Factsheet - March 2017

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Cameroon
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UNHCR
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259,145 Central African refugees registered by UNHCR in rural areas in the East, Adamaoua and North regions, of which 158,418 arrived since December 2013

86,729 Nigerian refugees in the Far North region (of which 62,829 have been registered in Minawao camp)

191,908 Internally Displaced Persons in the Far North region (sources: DTM by IOM as of January 2017 and UNHCR protection monitoring Flash Updates)

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS

  • UNHCR undertook a mission to Bétaré-Oya in the East region on 4 March and registered 176 new Central African asylum seekers (58 households). The majority are Christians of the Gbaya ethnic group who fled exactions carried out by Peuhls rebel groups in the area of Bocaranga in the CAR. A medical and nutritional screening was carried out and cases of acute pathologies were treated.

  • The security situation in the Far North region remains uncertain. During the month of March, 529 (198 households) new arrivals from Nigeria were registered at Gourounguel transit center. They came from the Cameroonian villages of Zhélevet, Tchakarmari and Mémé and various Nigerian villages along the border, seeking family reunification as well as protection and assistance due to difficult living conditions and the fear of Boko Haram incursions. Some 2,254 Nigerians also arrived in the localities of Dabanga, Waza, and Sale in the department of Logone et Chari, and Kolofata and Kerawa in the department of Mayo Sava. They essentially came from Nigerian villages in Borno state (Maloum Kari, Djabari, Blamassa, Abudja, Gumba, Yerwa, Bargino, Daradjaman, and Bomari) where they fled confrontation between the Nigerian armed forces and Boko Haram fighters. Most of these newcomers are settled in the customs building in Kolofata and show signs of malnutrition, dehydration and fragile health.

  • On 2 March, the Governments of Cameroon, Nigeria and UNHCR signed, the Tripartite Agreement on the voluntary repatriation of Nigerian refugees living in Cameroon. This document is a legal framework setting out the modalities for the voluntary return of more than 85,000 Nigerian refugees in the Far North region, of whom approximately 62,000 live in Minawao camp. The Agreement stipulates that repatriation, which is a voluntary decision, will only take place once conditions are conducive for their return in safety and dignity.

  • On 3 March, a delegation of the 15 permanent members of the United Nations Security Council visited Maroua. This took place within a wider context to visit and focus attention on the humanitarian situation of countries of the Lake Chad Basin. . The objective of the mission was to assess the challenges in fighting Boko Haram, and to appreciate efforts concerning humanitarian emergency and development. In Maroua, they met with local authorities and UNHCR Factsheet | Cameroon | March 2017 humanitarian actors, as well as a group of Nigerian refugees, internally displaced persons and two children victims of Boko Haram's violence.

  • The Cameroonian government, the World Bank, the European Union and UN agencies organized a workshop in Bertoua, on 28 March, on the common understanding of the process of rehabilitation and consolidation of peace (RCP) in Cameroon, in particular in the regions of the East, Adamawa, the North and the Far North that host refugees and internally displaced persons in an environment already struggling with infrastructural challenges. A joint assessment and strategic prioritization of needs to sustainably address these challenges will be conducted. The main objectives of the RCP process are to establish an inclusive process and build mutual understanding both of the underlying causes of the crises affecting Cameroon and on the structural challenges Cameroon must meet for the recovery and peacebuilding; and develop a mutual accountability framework that will promote more effective coordination and implementation. The process will be based on five main themes: security, forced displacement and protection; governance and basic social services; economic and territorial integration; access to land and agricultural production; and the commitment and inclusion of youth. Stakeholders in this process will develop a strategy by June 2017 to achieve these objectives, and activities and programs will be implemented from the second half of the current year.