Camps in Benin housing Togolese refugees who fled election-related violence two years ago are downsizing as human rights officials say the situation in Togo has "greatly improved".
“There is an agreement between UNHCR and the governments of Togo and Benin to repatriate refugees, and for good reason. Of the 25,000 Togolese that fled to Benin, only 4,700 remain there,” said Francis Kpatinde, regional director for UNHCR in Ghana.
A botched father to son succession in Togo in April 2005 prompted weeks of protests and security crackdowns. Between 400 and 500 people were killed in the violence, according to an inquiry by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
But Tokumbo Ige, a OHCHR official in Togo, said the situation has "greatly improved" and now she sees "no reason why" the remaining refugees do not want to come back to their country.
Last week, Togolese Minister for Human Rights and Democracy Célestine Akouavi Aidam, members of the Togolese opposition, civil society, and two former refugees visited remaining refugees at Agome in Benin to encourage them to return.
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