By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Bolgatanga, Nov 3, GNA – Ms Kelly T. Clements, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees of the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has commended Ghana for demonstrating a strong commitment to supporting refugees seeking asylum in the country.
She lauded the country, particularly for enhancing policies and programmes that sought to ensure support, security, welfare and inclusion of asylum seekers and refugees.
“Again, warm appreciation to what the state has done in terms of identifying land and you hurriedly agreed that having new arrivals under precarious positions and very close to the border, is not optimum and not secure for them and the citizens of the country, it is much better to move them away and this has been a process in which the UNHCR and other partners have been a part of,” she said.
The UN Deputy High Commissioner gave the commendation when she led a delegation from the UNHCR and the Ghana Refugee Board to pay a courtesy call on Mr Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister.
It formed part of Ms Clements’s visit to the reception and settlement centres provided for the asylum seekers at Tarikom in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region.
She said the in last couple of days, the UNHCR and other relevant stakeholders had been engaging in Accra on the Africa Forum for Displacement which brought together private sector stakeholders to brainstorm to find solutions to the challenges of refugees.
She said Ghana had success stories and an inclusive system in accommodating and supporting refugees and asylum seekers and the rest of the continent had the opportunity to learn.
The UN Deputy High Commissioner reiterated the commitment of the UNHCR to continue to support the country to offer the best support to the refugees and asylum seekers and urged stronger collaboration among stakeholders.
“Realising very much that Upper East Region is on the frontlines of receiving refugees who are not very secure in Burkina Faso and you have received thousands and this is not easy for the communities,” she said.
As a result, Ms Clements explained, motivated them to visit and ascertain the operational context in which the country and the region were receiving the asylum seekers, the support the UNHCR had been providing and what more they could support.
Mr Tetteh Padi, the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Refugee Board, explained that the process had begun to relocate the asylum seekers from the reception centre to the settlement centre to receive new arrivals.
He said that apart from sensitising the asylum seekers and the host communities, the Ghana Refugee Board had been engaging the Ministry of the Interior on the need for the asylum seekers to be relocated to the settlement area.
Mr Rex Asanga, the Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive who spoke on behalf of the Regional Minister noted that about 7,000 asylum seekers had been registered while 969 had been relocated to the reception area.
“There are groups of refugees mainly at the Garu enclave we are still working on to get them to relocate to the reception and settlement centre,” he said.
He commended the UNHCR and the Ghana Refugee Board among other partners for the support provided to the region to contain the asylum seekers including the provision of shelters, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene infrastructure which was making life comfortable for them.
Ms Clements was accompanied by Ms Esther Kiragu, the Country Representative of UNHCR Ghana, Ms Tetteh Padi, Executive Secretary of the Ghana Refugee Board and some staff of the two agencies.
GNA