UNHCR should be cautious on refugee repatriation

Refugees International (RI) recommended on Wednesday that UNHCR should “proceed slowly” in determining whether to repatriate Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea and Liberia, arguing that the country was not yet ready to accommodate the return of large numbers. “With as many as 450,000 Sierra Leoneans in camps in Guinea and another 50,000 believed to be in Liberia, the potential resettlement problem is enormous,” RI said. Very few Sierra Leoneans have returned to their native country, RI said, fearing rebel attacks and continued unrest in the countryside. In addition, RI argued that the refugees have “little to go home to” as social services came to a virtual standstill during the conflict. RI also made a number of recommendations for refugees in neighbouring countries including a call for “UNHCR to increase its protection staff in refugee camps in Guinea” and for WFP and UNHCR to monitor assistance levels in refugee camps to assure that refugees are receiving at least the minimum standard of food rations.