Ivorian refugees told to repatriate voluntarily

Refugees from neighbouring La Cote d’Ivoire living in Ghana, have been told to consider returning voluntarily to their home country or accept integration into the host nation.

Ms. Ioli Kimyaci, the Country Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), assured them of the world body’s support - whatever choices they made.

She was addressing a durbar to mark this year’s celebration of the World Refugee Day.

The event was held at the Fetentaa Refugee Camp in the Berekum Municipality under the theme “With refugees”.

Mr. Kenneth Dzirasah, Chairman of the Ghana Refugee Board (GRB), Mr. Justice Samuel Adjei, Deputy Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister and the Most Reverend Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, Catholic Bishop of Sunyani, were among those present.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. Filippo Grandi, in a speech read for him, expressed concern about the unprecedented high number of people that continued to be displaced daily by armed conflicts.

He noted that more than 60 million people had been uprooted from their homes across the world and that with each passing day, the figures kept swelling.

He condemned, what he labeled as “divisive political rhetoric on asylum and migration issues and xenophobia - threatening international agreements protecting those forced to flee from war or persecution”.

Mr. Grandi spoke of the need for “burden sharing and political will” as the UNHCR struggled with funding to take care of the refugees, adding that, everybody should join in the effort at providing help to them.

Mr. Adjei hailed the church and other religious organizations for the tremendous assistance to refugees in the country.