By Bode Olagoke
Abuja
The federal government has signed a tripartite agreement for the establishment of a Commission which will facilitate the voluntary repatriation of Nigerian refugees in Cameroon.
The new Commission which will also involve the United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), according to findings will serve as a body to implement earlier agreements signed between the four countries in the Lake Chad region concerning refugees, displaced persons and other persons affected by the Lake Chad crisis.
Speaking Thursday in Abuja at the inauguration of the tripartite commission for the implementation of the tripartite agreement for the voluntary reparation of Nigerian refugees living in Cameroon, Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau explained that the agreement is premised on international and regional convention institutionalising the rights of refugees by ensuring their return in dignified manner.
The minister said members of the commission were nominated in line with Article 23 of the agreement, adding that two members each are to represent the parties and their subtitles.
Accirding to Dambazau, “the war against insurgency has been won through the joint efforts of our regional armies as well as support of the international community who also share in the attendant loss of unquantifiable human, material and financial resources.”
Representative of Cameroon, Mr. Rene Emmanuel Sadi advocated that the areas liberated from the insurgents should be made viable for those who will eventually return voluntarily.
Also speaking, UNHCR country representative Antonio Jose Canhandula, reaffirmed his organisation’s commitment to collaborate with the government of Nigeria and Cameroon to ensure the smooth implementation of the tripartite agreement.
Canhandula noted that “a multifaceted approach is required, which looks beyond a solely military and security approach to also encompass a strategy that responds to the humanitarian situation.”
