Off the wire
• Nigeria pledges to maintain safety standards in maritime industry  • First China-CEE cultural forum concludes with appeal for more cooperation  • Czech Republic, Slovakia reject EU fine for refusal of migrants  • Austrian pork producers hoping to begin export to China soon  • Austrian central bank lowers GDP growth forecast  • Bayer Leverkusen extend contract of sporting director Voeller  • UN chief names new senior official for UNICEF  • Oil prices jump on supply worries  • U.S. dollar falls against most major currencies  • Del Bosque still keeping his cards close to his chest ahead of Euros  
You are here: 　 Home

Nigeria's restive northeast not conducive for return of IDPs: UNHCR official

Xinhua, June 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Nigeria's restive northeast region is not yet conducive for the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), an official with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said Monday.

Liz Ahua, the Regional Representative for West Africa and Coordinator for Nigeria, said this in Abuja, the Nigerian capital city at the opening ceremony of the Lake Chad Regional Protection Dialogue.

The persistent threat from Boko Haram, presence of mines and absence of basic services posed acute humanitarian and protection risks for the affected population, Ahua said.

The situation was not only peculiar to Nigerians but all border countries in the Lake Chad Basin, she added.

According to her, the regional meeting was meant to adopt a working blueprint on regional protection of the Lake Chad basin and safe return of refugees and IDPs.

Ahua told her audience that many refugees and IDPs have experience high levels of violence, many suffer from trauma, and are in need of support in what practically and systemic ways can we help them.

She said over 2.7 million people in the region had been displaced, while 20 million people had been negatively impacted by the insurgency in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

The three days Regional Protection Dialogue on the Lake Chad Basin has senior government officials from Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad in attendance.

The meeting is expected to identify the most urgent protection risks in the Lake Chad Basin resulting from the conflict-induced crisis and to agree upon comprehensive actions at local, national, and regional levels. Enit