UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 002287

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PREL GH TO CI
SUBJECT: UNHCR DISCUSSES RESETTLEMENT, KRISAN CAMP,
REPATRIATION, AND CONTINGENCY PLANNING FOR COTE D'IVOIRE


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: During their initial courtesy call,
Ambassador Bridgewater and Acting UNHCR Representative Luc
Stevens discussed resettlement issues, the brewing unrest at
Krisan Camp, the possible repatriation of Togolese refugees,
and contingency planning for Cote d'Ivoire. Stevens said the
hub would refer 700 refugees over the next two months, but
did not offer any numbers from among the Ghana refugee
population. He advised that 600 refugees from Krisan Camp
were still camped at the Ghanaian/Ivoirian border, demanding
resettlement on the basis of false information, but
apparently tiring of their predicament. Stevens agreed that
the GOT's calls for assistance with repatriation of Togolese
refugees was premature. Finally, he discussed the possible
use of three reception centers in case large numbers of
TCN's, refugees, and Ghanaians had to flee to Ghana from Cote
d'Ivoire. END SUMMARY.

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Resettlement: Still Too Little, Too Late
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2. (U) Acting UNHCR Representative Luc Stevens called on
Ambassador Bridgewater on December 4, with DCM Jerry Lanier
and Ref Coord Nate Bluhm present. When asked directly about
the declining resettlement activity in the region, Stevens
proffered some good news: the hub estimated that five branch
offices would be submitting referrals for another 700
refugees between now and December 31. These numbers would
come from CAR, Cameroon, Gabon, and Nigeria (about 100 from
each location), and from Sierra Leone (300).


3. (SBU) On the Sudanese, Stevens said the Minister of the
Interior (MOI) was generating confusion by telling the press
they would either be resettled or moved to a third country.
UNHCR was reluctant to refer them for resettlement at this
time because of the possible pull factor, and no other
country had agreed to accept them on an interim basis.
Nevertheless, Stevens acknowledged that High Commissioner
Guterres had told his office to consider resettlement as a
durable solution for the Sudanese, an order he took
seriously. Stevens noted that Sudanese continue to trickle
into Ghana at the rate of five to ten per week. It was
ironic that after moving 250 Sudanese from Central Accra to
Krisan Camp in August, the MOI now had to contend with them
in his

own backyard, since he represented the nearby city of
Takoradi in parliament.

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Consternation in Krisan
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4. (SBU) The MOI's inaccurate public pronouncements on the
Sudanese were triggering resentment at Krisan Camp, home to a
polyglot community of 2,000 Sudanese, Togolese, Ivoirians,
Rwandans, and others. The Togolese in this camp arrived in
Ghana as early as 1993 and believe they should be given
consideration for resettlement before the Sudanese. Stevens
reminded us that resettlement is based on need, not
nationality. Other refugees heard that enrollment in a
vocational training program would be tantamount to local
integration and thus disqualify them for resettlement.
Emotions came to a head on November 1, when Stevens tried to
visit the Camp for the first time. He turned back after
learning that refugees had packed their bags in the
expectation that UNHCR would transport them to Accra's
international airport for immediate resettlement. Still
other rumors circulated that the UNHCR offices in Ghana would
be closed and all assistance would cease. Some 600 angry
refugees thus began the long, 40-mile walk to the
Ghanaian/Ivoirian border, where they demanded entry into Cote
d'Ivoire. Some succeeded in contacting RFI and BBC to
complain of the UNHCR's alleged mistreatment of them.
Bewildered border officials eventually decided not to allow
the refugees to cross the border, since there was no legal
basis for admitting them.

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The Togolese
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5. (SBU) Stevens shared that he had been in touch with the
GOT's Commissioner for Repatriation, who unconvincingly
stated that everything was now fine in Togo and it was time
to begin repatriating the refugees. Stevens reminded him
that repatriation had to be voluntary, and the 11,900
recently arrived refugees in the Volta Region were in no mood
to return home yet. Ref Coord pointed out that Ghana is home
to another 4,000 Togolese who fled during unrest in the
1990's. While there may be conceptually an "ideal" time for
resettlement to begin, waiting for "perfection" should not
serve as a pretext for inaction. Someone may have missed the
boat by not resettling this group earlier; now we face the
prospect that resettling the older caseload would unsettle
the new arrivals in the Volta Region. Stevens agreed to
check into unconfirmed reports that the older Togolese
caseload had already been referred for resettlement years ago
but had been rejected.

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Contingency Planning for Cote d'Ivoire
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6. (SBU) Contingency plans had been drafted in case events
turned sour in Cote d'Ivoire, Stevens said. The GOG had
identified three possible reception centers located near the
Ivoirian border and the various players had drafted emergency
budgets for sharing among potential donors. UNHCR would not
issue an appeal until such time as refugee flows actually
began; otherwise, the Ivoirians could think that UNHCR had
already concluded that violence was inevitable. The UN's
OCHA office in Dakar was taking the lead in coordinating
regional contingency planning.
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Comment
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7. (SBU) COMMENT: Stevens was forthright and appeared to be
well versed in refugee issues, despite having become Acting
Representative only one month ago. The 700 submissions for
resettlement Stevens promised would bring the regional UNHCR
total to approximately 2,400 P-1's for this calendar year,
still short of the 3,000 to which Geneva committed when it
accepted five PRM-funded resettlement positions. Still, the
700 anticipated over the next two months would restore
resettlement activity to an acceptable level, following the
dismal months of September and October, when UNHCR referred
only 25 cases. As for the Sudanese, despite their exemplary
behavior, the MOI will continue to regard them as a thorn in
his side. We hope UNHCR will eventually refer most of the
vulnerable Sudanese to the U.S. Resettlement Program, an
action that would please both the GOG and UNHCR's largest
donor. We will continue to monitor the stand-off at the
Ivoirian border; by most accounts, the refugees are tiring of
this publicity stunt and many have already asked for
transportation back to Krisan. END COMMENT.
BRIDGEWATER