EMBASSY ENGAGES ON LIBERIAN REFUGEE REPATRIATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 000547

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PREL GH LI
SUBJECT: EMBASSY ENGAGES ON LIBERIAN REFUGEE REPATRIATION

REF: ACCRA 248


1. (U) Summary: In a February 14 meeting with Liberian
Ambassador to Ghana von Ballmoos, Ambassador expressed USG
support for the new GOL and for repatriation of Liberian
refugees. Ref Coord echoed these themes in a speech to
graduates of a skills training program at Budumburam Refugee
Camp. The GOG, UNHCR and Refcoord held a second, very
positive tripartite refugee meeting, focused on the need to
repatriate Liberians and rehabilitate Krisan camp. End
Summary.

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Meeting with Liberian Ambasador
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2. (U)Ambassador met with Liberian Ambassador to GhanaRudolf von Ballmoos on February 1 to congratulate him on
President Johnson-Sirleaf's inauguration. Von Ballmoos
pointed to Ghana's possible future role in training the
Liberian police. He opined that most of the Liberian
refugees in Ghana were ready to return home, with only a few
interested in resettlement. He was impressed that Budumburam
Camp offered such amenities as electricity, vocational
training, and schooling through the secondary level,
providing opportunities that few children living in Liberia
can currently enjoy. For refugees not wanting to repatriate,
von Ballmoos hoped naturalization in Ghana might be an
option, since many refugees had already spent over 10 years
living near Accra. (Many Ghanaians who fled the Nkrumah
government emigrated to Monrovia and eventually became
Liberian citizens, he said.) Ambassador hoped that
conditions would be ripe for more repatriation and also saw
naturalization in Ghana as a viable alternative.

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Speech at Budumburam Camp: Liberians, Go Home!
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4. (U) On February 25, Ref Coord visited Budumburam Camp to
attend a ceremony honoring graduates of a PRM-funded skills
training class for teen mothers. In a speech to several
hundred Liberian refugees, he encouraged repatriation, hoping
the honorees would use their newly acquired skills to help
rebuild their country. The visit marked the first time the
GOG granted an embassy request to visit a refugee camp since
it began requiring formal approval in December 2005.

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Second Tripartite Meeting Focuses on Liberians
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5. (SBU) Repatriation was also the dominant theme of a
recent tripartite refugee meeting involving representatives
from the Embassy, UNHCR, and the GOG on February 28. Acting
UNHCR Representative Luc Stevens said despite shortfalls in
staffing and funding, he would continue to do the "minimum"
with what he had to assist refugees. (Comment: while this
may have been a poor choice of words, it reflects UNHCR's
concerns about budget cutbacks. End comment.) Stevens
emphasized that his overarching priority was the repatriation
of Liberians, with a target of 10,000 departures this year.
Barnes offered three suggestions to encourage more
repatriation: offer training in vocational skills so that
refugees will feel more empowered to rebuild their lives and
country; involve the Liberian embassy as a facilitator to the
greatest extent possible; and inform the 300 Liberian
refugees at Krisan so that they, too, can repatriate if they
wish. Stevens said that currently only 50-75 refugees were
repatriating each week by air, despite an increase in the
baggage allowance to 50 kilograms per person. (Note: at this
rate, it would take 20 years to empty out Budumburam Camp.
End note.) Ref Coord said the USG was putting out the word
that the large-scale resettlement of Liberians had ended. In
addition, we were postponing or terminating some of our
resettlement programs to encourage more Liberians to
repatriate before the onset of the rainy season. Senior UNHCR
Protection Officer Jane Muigai favored the naturalization of
long-term Liberian refugees, to which the GOG interlocutors
had no direct response.

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Update on Krisan
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6. (SBU) Stevens told the group he intended to hire a UN
Volunteer to conduct a long-awaited socio-economic survey of
the Krisan refugee camp population, which he thought could be
completed by mid-April. Questioned on resettlement, he said
that after the survey, "We will proceed with the Sudanese,"
although the exact modalities were yet to be determined.

ACCRA 00000547 002 OF 002


Stevens also wanted to look more carefully at durable
solutions for the TOGOlese living in Krisan since the camp
opened in 1997. UNHCR staff at the Ho Field Office would
conduct a similar socio-economic survey of the TOGOlese
refugees in the Volta Region, with an expected completion
date of April 30.


7. (SBU) In terms of refugee assistance at Krisan, Stevens
said UNHCR would concentrate on the basics of water,
sanitation, and food, abandoning its plan to re-introduce a
UNIDO program to teach income-generating skills such as
making palm oil. Participants questioned the value of such a
program in the remote subsistence economy of the refugee camp
area. He added that Geneva had given him the directive to
"find a solution for Krisan and close the camp," but
cautioned that this would take another 1-2 years. In light of
a depleting food pipeline for Krisan, Stevens thought he
might be able to divert funds from Budumburam as an interim
fix at the end of March. Ref Coord pointed out that the U.S.
and Norway were currently the World Food Program's only
donors, and that if others step up to the plate, the USG
might be persuaded to make additional contributions.


8. (SBU) Stevens expressed his disappointment that the
Ghanaian judicial system had not yet dealt firmly with the
provocateurs responsible for the arson at Krisan Camp in
November. All suspects had been released on bail and many
had returned to Krisan to receive their food rations, he
asserted. Edwin Barnes, Chief Director at the Ministry of
the Interior, replied that he would contact judicial
authorities quietly to see what might be done about the
presumed arsonists. Obviously, he could not be perceived as
tampering with the system or infringing upon human rights, he
added.

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Comment
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9. (SBU) The tripartite meeting was a follow-on to the
Ambassador's January lunch (reftel). This meeting was more
relaxed and jovial, reflecting a greater level of trust among
the group. Clearly, the forum has helped UNHCR and the GOG
to communicate more effectively, although the GOG remains
somewhat miffed that it has not yet received a formal
response to its October request for resettlement of the
Sudanese. The next tripartite meeting is tentatively set for
early April. Our impression is that UNHCR is moving in the
right direction with the limited resources it has. Even with
widespread international support, repatriation of the mostly
Monrovia-based refugees in Ghana by air or by sea will
require a good deal of persuasion and persistence, as opposed
to the relatively straight-forward process of trucking
agrarian refugees from Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire across the
Liberian border. Furthermore, despite the Liberian
Ambassador's comments, we believe that interest in possible
resettlement remains high at Budumburam. End Comment.




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