Shocking details came to light yesterday (Thursday) as survivors recounted to local authorities and our partners how smugglers forced 22 passengers overboard soon after the engine failed.

UNHCR is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life. Authorities in the Somali port town of Bossaso are investigating the incident and we hope that the perpetrators will be brought to justice.

So far, 11 bodies have been recovered on beaches around the village of Ceelaayo some 30 kilometers west of Bossaso. Locals also found 13 survivors, including two women and a teenage boy and girl. Our partners, in coordination with the local authorities, organized the transport of these people from the village of Qaw to Bossaso for medical treatment. Most of them are suffering from skin burns caused by fuel inside the boat.

Every year tens of thousands of Somalis and Ethiopians – fleeing violence, human rights abuses and poverty in the Horn of Africa – pay smugglers to ferry them across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen. Many never make it, as the boats capsize or smugglers beat some of the passengers to death, force them overboard, or disembark people too far from shores.

To alert people planning to cross the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden, UNHCR teamed up in 2009 with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other partners to spread awareness about the dangers. But people still keep making the perilous crossing.

Despite growing instability and worsening security in Yemen, a record 103,000 refugees, asylum seekers and migrants from the Horn of Africa made the journey across the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea in 2011.

For further information on this topic, please contact:

• In Kenya, UNHCR Somalia Office: Andy Needham on mobile +254 733 120 931
• In Geneva: Andrej Mahecic on mobile +41 79 200 7617

Since June 2011, heavy fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-North) in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states has driven over 130,000 Sudanese refugees into Ethiopia and South Sudan. UNHCR anticipates continuing arrivals over the next months with clashes continuing and humanitarian conditions deteriorating in the conflict zones. More than 30,000 refugees have already been registered in the two countries so far this year, a pace of arrival not foreseen during the regular 2012 planning cycle.

Many of the new arrivals are in remote border areas that are close to the fighting. In South Sudan, Elfoj in Upper Nile state and Yida refugee settlement in Unity state have both seen air raids. UNHCR has relocated some 20,000 refugees from unsafe border sites since January 6th, moving them to four new settlements.

In Ethiopia's Assosa region, the pace of relocation from border areas has also picked up in recent weeks as a result of fighting in Blue Nile and the end of the harvest season for refugee farmers living near the border. The two existing camps have reached full capacity and new arrivals are being sheltered at a transit centre until a third camp can be built.

In addition to urgent relocation from volatile border areas, UNHCR's emergency response includes the provision of basic relief items and services, registration and child protection. In December, the agency mounted a massive airlift to bring in supplies – tents, plastic sheets, jerry cans, kitchen sets, among others – to the refugees in South Sudan.

UNHCR will also use the funds to build and service additional refugee settlements, improve road access and preposition relief supplies ahead of the rainy season starting in April.

The $145 million UNHCR is urgently seeking for this supplementary appeal is in addition to its regular 2012 budget of $269.1 million for programmes in Ethiopia and South Sudan. UNHCR is also appealing directly to members of the public for donations via http://www.unhcr.org/sudan.

For further information on this topic, please contact:

• In Nairobi (UNHCR regional hub): Vivian Tan, on mobile +254 735 337 608
• In Geneva: Adrian Edwards, on mobile +41 79 557 9120
• In Geneva: Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba, on mobile: +41 79 249 3483

UNHCR has initially purchased 1,200 tents for Mauritania, another 2,000 for Niger and 500 for Burkina Faso. These will be flown from our stockpiles in Cameroon and Ghana to address the critical shelter needs in influx areas. Trucks will also be transporting basic relief items such as sleeping mats, blankets, jerrycans, mosquito nets, kitchen sets. Two trucks carrying 40 tons of aid are currently on the way from Accra to Niger where they are due to arrive by the middle of next week

Meanwhile, at Mauritania's Fassala border crossing with Mali, the Mauritanian authorities and UNHCR are working around the clock to provide the refugees with food, clean water and shelter. UNHCR has already sent several convoys of food and aid items, with distribution of a 15-day food ration being carried out by the local authorities.

Most of the 10,887 Malian refugees in Mauritania are Tuareg, many of whom are fleeing from nearby Léré. The Mauritanian authorities have identified a potential camp site in M'Bera, 50km from the border, and plan with UNHCR to move the refugees to the new location. The same site had hosted around 30,000 Malian refugees in the 1990s when there were also clashes between Tuareg rebels and the Malian army.

In Niger, yesterday, our emergency team interviewed a group of Malian refugees in Sinegodar area some 278 km, northeast of the capital Niamey. Refugees told us that their hometown in Anderamboukane is now empty. They say that the population fled from the Malian border town following a 26 January attack by rebels targeting homes, looting, poisoning water points, burning personal property and businesses and taking away animals.

They all said that they want to go back as soon as peace is restored. In the interim, they would like to travel back to salvage whatever is left of their personal property and animals that may have survived the attacks and looting.

In Burkina Faso, UNHCR has released aid from its local stocks to be distributed to Malian refugees as well host communities in the arid northern region of the country. An estimated 8,000 people have crossed into Burkina Faso from Mali, of whom 6,000 are in the north.

Since the start of the Tuareg insurgency in northern Mali on 17 January, an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 people have crossed to seek safety mainly in neighboring Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger. Not all are refugees or asylum seekers. With Niger, for example, some of those returning are Niger nationals.

For further information on this topic, please contact:

• In Niger: Helene Caux (on mission) on mobile +41 79 217 31 93
• In Geneva: Adrian Edwards on mobile +41 79 557 9120
• In Geneva: Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba on mobile: +41 79 249 3483
]]>http://www.unhcr.org/4f3516319.html The UN refugee agency calls for an additional US$145 million to help up to 185,000 Sudanese refugees sheltering in Ethiopia and South Sudan. UNHCR?s emergency response for Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia and South Sudan, 2012

GENEVA, February 10 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Friday called on donor nations for an additional US$145 million to fund its emergency aid operation for tens of thousands of civilians fleeing fighting in two Sudan states and seeking shelter in Ethiopia and South Sudan.

"The amount is meant to cover the needs of up to 185,000 Sudanese refugees in the two countries," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists in Geneva, adding that it came on top of top of UNHCR's 2012 budget of US$269.1 million for programmes in Ethiopia and South Sudan.

Heavy fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-North) in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states has driven more than 130,000 Sudanese refugees into Ethiopia and South Sudan.

"UNHCR anticipates continuing arrivals over the next months with clashes continuing and humanitarian conditions deteriorating in the conflict zones," Edwards said. "More than 30,000 refugees have already been registered in the two countries so far this year, a pace of arrival not foreseen during the regular 2012 planning cycle," he added.

"The Sudanese emergency has been simmering for months, overshadowed by other crises on the continent," said George Okoth-Obbo, director of the Africa Bureau in UNHCR. "The needs are real and urgent, with refugees having to walk for weeks to reach safety, running out of food and water, and living in the bush."

Many of the new arrivals are in remote border areas that are close to the fighting. In South Sudan, Elfoj in Upper Nile state and Yida refugee settlement in Unity state have both seen air raids. UNHCR has relocated some 20,000 refugees from unsafe border sites since January 6, moving them to four new settlements.

In Ethiopia's Assosa region, the pace of relocation from border areas has also picked up in recent weeks as a result of fighting in Blue Nile and the end of the harvest season for refugee farmers living near the border. "The two existing camps have reached full capacity and new arrivals are being sheltered at a transit centre until a third camp can be built," Edwards noted.

In addition to urgent relocation from volatile border areas, UNHCR's emergency response includes the provision of basic relief items and services, registration and child protection. In December, the refugee agency mounted a massive airlift to bring in supplies – tents, plastic sheets, jerry cans, kitchen sets and more – to the refugees in South Sudan.

UNHCR will also use the funds to build and service additional refugee settlements, improve road access and stockpile relief supplies ahead of the rainy season starting in April.

]]>http://www.unhcr.org/4f34f6d19.html When Marianne fled her home in Central African Republic, she feared being left to fend for herself in a foreign land. A year later she is coping in the Congo. BONDO, Democratic Republic of the Congo, February 8 (UNHCR) – When a vicious Ugandan rebel group forced Marianne and fellow villagers to flee their home in Central African Republic, there was one thing she feared more than anything.

"I was terrified to be abandoned to fend for myself in a foreign place," she told recent UNHCR visitors to Bondo in the Orientale province of northern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Marianne, who thinks she is in her mid-50s, was a widow when fighters from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) attacked the village. What's more, she had no close relatives with her – no wonder she was terrified.

But one year on, she has settled into her new life in this isolated town with the help of UNHCR and other humanitarian groups. Life is hard in Bondo and the surrounding Bas-Uele district, but she has her own plot of land and has integrated well. And she has not given up hope of returning home.

Marianne is one of 800 refugees forced to flee Central African Republic to escape the marauding raids and brutal harassment of the LRA, who have brought misery to the lives of tens of thousands of people in their homeland and across the region over the past two decades.

She fled with almost nothing and had to trek through dense forest for several days to reach the safety of Bas-Uele district. This must have been one of the most traumatic moments for someone scared of the future in a foreign land.

But as soon as Marianne crossed the border, UNHCR took her in charge: she was registered as a refugee, provided with a plot of land and some canvas to prepare a simple home, and given other vital aid items, including a sleeping mat, a jerry can, a mosquito net and clothing.

In addition, UNHCR and the World Food Programme helped Marianne by giving her seeds and agricultural tools. "This help is very important as it improves what I eat and gives me strength," she noted.

And, being a widow living on her own, she needs all her strength to maintain the land and grow enough food. When UNHCR visited, she looked at her field and said she had difficulties removing fallen branches. "I feel old," she sighed.

Marianne said she hoped the season's harvest of beans, sweet potatoes and groundnuts would be enough to feed her and to earn a bit of money at the local market.

"Integration into the local economy is an important aspect of this project as it fosters peaceful coexistence with the local population," stressed Kengo Wakyengo, who works as an associate protection officer for UNHCR in Orientale province. "It also makes the refugee less dependent on outside assistance and helps boost his or her confidence."

The socio-economic activities supported by UNHCR and others are complemented by programmes aimed at improving access to free health care and education for Marianne and her fellow refugees. UNHCR also provides technical support for the region's only radio station, helping promote peaceful coexistence with the local population.

Marianne is grateful for the assistance provided by UNHCR, but she misses her village. As long as the LRA is still active in the region, she will not be able to return home.

She is no longer afraid of being on her own in this foreign land, but confesses with a chuckle, "God willing, I will return to my home village before I die."

By Sebastian Frowein in Bondo, Democratic Republic of the Congo

]]>http://www.unhcr.org/4f33a4fa9.html UNHCR has deployed emergency teams to countries surrounding Mali to help meet the needs of some 20,000 people who have been forced to flee fighting in northern Mali. Most of the displaced are in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.

Fighting between rebel Tuareg groups and governmental forces in the Azawad region of northern Mali began in mid-January.

In the past three weeks, at least 10,000 people are reported to have crossed to Niger, 9,000 have found refuge in Mauritania and 3,000 in Burkina Faso.

In Niger, most of the new arrivals are from Menaka in Mali. Some have settled very close to the volatile border. Many of the new arrivals are sleeping in the open and have little access to shelter, clean water, health services, and food. People are scattered mainly in villages in Tillaberery, Ouallam, and Filingue districts, in the north of the country. Sinegodar, a village in Tillabery district, is hosting over 5,500 Malians, with one sole water point for the entire refugee and local population.

While most of those who recently fled Mali are Malians, recent arrivals in Niger also include nationals of Niger who had been living in Mali for decades. Many have been crossing the border between the two countries regularly to find grazing land for their cattle.

Local communities along the border, affected by the food crisis themselves in the Sahel, are sharing their resources with the new arrivals. The authorities have also distributed food. Four additional UNHCR staff are already in Niger and more are on their way. We plan to send aid for 10,000 people from our stockpiles in the region.

Our office in Ouagadougou, in Burkina Faso also reported the arrival of some 3,000 Malian Tuaregs following attacks on their homes and businesses in the Malian capital Bamako and in the nearby town of Kati last week. Many of the new arrivals are staying with host families in Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso, 320 kilometres south-west of the capital. Other new arrivals have been reported in the north west of the country, especially near Djibo, in Soum province. An inter-agency mission, including UNHCR, is scheduled to go there by the end of the week to assess the needs of the people.

Meanwhile in Mauritania UNHCR has sent several missions to the village of Fassala, in the region of Hodh el Chargi 3km from the border with Mali, where over 9,000 people have arrived since 25th January. The mainly ethnic Tuareg Malian refugees come from the region of Léré on the other side of the border. They told UNHCR that they fled fighting between Government forces and rebel Tuareg fighters, fearing retaliation by army troops.

The Mauritanian authorities, with the support of UNHCR, are taking care of the new arrivals. Medical services are being offered by the local health clinics and water is being trucked in by the authorities. UNHCR Mauritania distributed 15-day food rations and non food items to cover the urgent needs of 5000 refugees in the refugee site of Fassala. Key needs identified are food, shelter and other basic items. UNHCR will strengthen its presence in Mauritania by fielding an emergency support team.

Fighting between the Tuareg liberation movement MNLA (Mouvement National de Liberation de l'Azawad) and governmental forces resumed on 17 January in Mali, breaking a 2009 agreement that had officially ended the Tuareg rebellion.

For further information on this topic, please contact:

• In Dakar: Helene Caux on mobile +221 77 333 12 91
• In Geneva: Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba on mobile +41 79 249 3483
• In Geneva: Sybella Wilkes on mobile +41 79 557 9138
]]>http://www.unhcr.org/4f3122e79.html UNHCR is implementing a set of comprehensive strategies aimed at closing three of Africa's longstanding refugee situations, namely those involving Angolan, Liberian and Rwandan refugees.

These strategies-which were first announced in 2009 by the High Commissioner to UNHCR's governing body, the Executive Committee- aim at finding solutions for as many Angolan, Liberian and Rwandan refugees as possible, be it in their countries of origin or asylum.

Solutions include scaled up voluntary repatriation together with assistance packages to help former refugees reintegrate, or securing an alternative legal status that would allow them to continue to reside in the country of asylum. After decades in exile, many Angolan, Liberian and Rwandan refugees have established strong ties with their host communities, including through marriage. UNHCR hopes that countries of asylum will convert refugee status into residency permits for such persons, including ultimately citizenship when domestic legislation allows. In West Africa, for example, Liberians can obtain residence and work permits, allowing them to remain in the country of asylum as ECOWAS citzens.

Cessation clauses are built into the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1969 Organization of African Unity Refugee Convention. They allow refugee status to end once fundamental and durable changes have taken place in the country of origin and the circumstances that led to refugee flight no longer exist. This is the case for all three countries of orgin. UNHCR recommends that cessation apply for Angolan refugees who fled the country as a result of the conflicts between 1961 and 2002; for Liberian refugees who fled the civil wars from 1989 and 2003; and for Rwandan refugees who fled between 1959 and 1998.

The application of cessation by States does not mean that all Angolan, Liberian and Rwandan refugees automatically lose their refugee status or that the countries of origin no longer produce any refugees. Cessation will not apply to refugees who still have well-founded fear of persecution, nor to refugees who have compelling reasons for not wanting to go back home because of past persecution. UNHCR is working closely with governments to protect asylum rights in these cases, even as we implement the comprehensive strategies. Cessation would also not apply to any Angolan, Liberian or Rwandan refugees who have pending asylum claims.

Furthermore, UNHCR appeals to governments to properly and fully determine all new or pending claims by Angolans, Liberians and Rwandans fairly, regardless of when they were filed.

UNHCR recommends that States continue to implement all aspects of the comprehensive strategies leading to cessation of refugee status by 30 June 2012 for Angolans and Liberians, and by 30 June 2013 for Rwandans. In Angola, 40 years of conflict that displaced millions of Angolans, finally ended in a lasting peace agreement in 2002. While the majority of Angolan refugees have since returned to their country of origin, more than 131,000 remain in exile, mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. Almost half of them have indicated their wish to return to Angola.

In Liberia, a period of civil wars that started in 1989 ended in 2003, with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the departure of then-president Charles Taylor from office. The conflicts claimed 200,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of Liberians. While the majority of the Liberian refugees have returned home, some 63,000 remain in exile, mainly in Côte d'Ivoire.

In Rwanda, peace and stability have essentially prevailed since 1999. The vast majority of Rwandans refugees fled as a result of the 1994 genocide and its aftermath, including armed clashes in northwestern Rwanda in 1997 and 1998, the last time the country experience generalized violence. Over the past years, the majority of Rwandan refugees have returned to Rwanda, but close to 100,000 still remain in exile in some forty countries, mainly in Africa.

UNHCR stresses the importance of bringing protracted refugee situations to an end so that refugees can resume their normal lives. It is incumbent upon the international community to invest in a decent closure of longstanding refugee situations. Assisting these refugees in finding solutions will also help prevent larger mixed migrations movements.

For further information on this topic, please contact:

In Dakar: Helene Caux on mobile +221 77 333 12 91

In Geneva: Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba on mobile +41 79 249 3483

]]>http://www.unhcr.org/4f3125cc9.html UNHCR deploys emergency teams to help meet the needs of some 20,000 people who fled fighting in Mali and found shelter in neighbouring countries. GENEVA, February 7 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency has deployed emergency teams to countries surrounding Mali to help meet the needs of some 20,000 people who have been forced to flee fighting in the north of the country. Most of the displaced are in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.

Fighting between rebel Tuareg groups and government forces in the Azawad region of northern Mali began in mid-January. "In the past three weeks, at least 10,000 people are reported to have crossed to Niger, 9,000 have found refuge in Mauritania and 3,000 in Burkina Faso," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists in Geneva on Tuesday.

In Niger, most of the new arrivals are from Menaka in Mali. Some have settled very close to the volatile border.

"Many of the new arrivals are sleeping in the open and have little access to shelter, clean water, health services and food," Edwards said, adding that people were scattered mainly in villages in Tillaberery, Ouallam and Filingue districts, in the north of the country. Sinegodar, a village in Tillabery district, is hosting more than 5,500 Malians, with only one water outlet for the refugees and the local population.

While most of those who recently fled Mali are nationals of the country, recent arrivals in Niger also include citizens of Niger who had been living in Mali for decades. Many have been crossing the border between the two countries regularly to find grazing land for their cattle.

Local communities along the border, despite being affected by the food crisis in the Sahel region, are sharing their resources with the new arrivals. The authorities have also distributed food.

Edwards said four additional UNHCR staff were in Niger and more were on their way. "We plan to send aid for 10,000 people from our stockpiles in the region."

UNHCR staff in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, also reported the arrival of some 3,000 Malian Tuaregs following attacks on their homes and businesses in the Malian capital Bamako and in the nearby town of Kati last week.

Many of the new arrivals are staying with host families in Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso, 320 kilometres south-west of the capital. Other new arrivals have been reported in the north-west of the country, especially near Djibo, in Soum province. An inter-agency mission, including UNHCR, is scheduled to go there by the end of the week to assess the needs of the people.

Meanwhile, in Mauritania UNHCR has sent several missions to the village of Fassala, near the border with Mali, where more than 9,000 people have arrived since January 25. The mainly Tuareg Malian refugees come from the region of Léré on the other side of the border. They told UNHCR that they fled fighting between government forces and rebel Tuareg fighters, fearing retaliation by army troops.

The Mauritanian authorities, with the support of UNHCR, are taking care of the new arrivals. Medical services are being offered by local health clinics and water is being trucked in by the authorities.

"UNHCR Mauritania distributed 15-day food rations and non-food items to cover the urgent needs of 5,000 refugees in the refugee site of Fassala. Key needs identified are food, shelter and other basic items," Edwards said, adding that the refugee agency would strengthen its presence in Mauritania by fielding an emergency support team.

Fighting between Tuareg rebels and Malian forces resumed on January 17, breaking a 2009 agreement that had officially ended the Tuareg rebellion. The Tuaregs are an ethnic Berber people living in the Sahara region.

By Divers

]]>http://www.unhcr.org/4f312a219.html UNHCR flies tents to Nema in Mauritania, launching an aid airlift to countries hosting refugees from Mali. Trucks are also taking aid to influx areas. GENEVA, February 10 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Friday stepped up its response to the growing displacement crisis in Mali, launching an aid airlift with a flight to Nema in Mauritania carrying 300 tents. It was the first of four planned aid flights to countries sheltering civilians fleeing clashes in Mali between the armed forces and Tuareg rebels.

UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists that the agency has purchased 1,200 tents for Mauritania, 2,000 for Niger and 500 for Burkina Faso. These will be flown from stockpiles in Cameroon and Ghana to address the critical shelter needs in influx areas in the three countries.

Trucks will also be transporting basic relief items such as sleeping mats, blankets, jerry cans, mosquito nets and kitchen sets. Two trucks carrying 40 tons of aid are currently on the way from Ghana to Niger, where they are due to arrive by the middle of next week.

Meanwhile, at Mauritania's Fassala border crossing with Mali, the authorities and UNHCR are working around the clock to provide the refugees with food, clean water and shelter. UNHCR has already sent several convoys of food and aid items, with distribution of a 15-day food ration being carried out by the local authorities.

Most of the almost 11,000 Malian refugees in Mauritania are Tuareg, many of whom are fleeing from nearby Léré. The Mauritanian authorities have identified a potential camp site in M'Bera, 50 kilometres from the border, and plan with UNHCR to move the refugees to the new location. The same site had hosted around 30,000 Malian refugees in the 1990s when there were also clashes between Tuareg rebels and the Malian army.

In Niger, a UNHCR emergency team on Thursday interviewed a group of Malian refugees in Sinegodar, north-east of the capital Niamey. "Refugees told us that their hometown in Anderamboukane is now empty. They say that the population fled from the Malian border town following a 26 January attack by rebels targeting homes, looting, poisoning water points, burning personal property and businesses and taking away animals," Edwards said in Geneva on Friday.

"They all said that they want to go back as soon as peace is restored. In the interim, they would like to travel back to salvage whatever is left of their personal property and animals that may have survived the attacks and looting," he added.

In Burkina Faso, UNHCR has released aid from its local stocks to be distributed to Malian refugees as well host communities in the arid northern region of the country. An estimated 8,000 people have crossed into Burkina Faso from Mali, of whom 6,000 are in the north.

Since the start of the Tuareg insurgency in northern Mali in mid-January, an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 people have crossed to seek safety, mainly in neighbouring Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger. Not all are refugees or asylum-seekers. With Niger, for example, some of those returning are Niger nationals.

]]>http://www.unhcr.org/4f3517ea9.html UNHCR, for the first time, is using mobile phones to record information about refugees and asylum-seekers, saving valuable time and resources. SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, February 6 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency and its partner organization Pastoral Haitiana have launched an unprecedented census aimed at improving the lives of hundreds of refugees and asylum-seekers in the Dominican Republic.

The census, which began last week with funding from the United States administration, will provide more accurate data on the number of refugees in the Caribbean nation and will record basic information such as age, gender, nationality, place of current residence, and family details.

UNHCR, for the first time, is using mobile phones rather than pen and paper to record and digitalize this information, saving valuable time and resources. This equipment will also enable UNHCR-trained and supported census staff to take pictures and include satellite navigation data [GPS] as part of the registration process. The exercise will continue into March.

At the end of last year, there were an estimated 595 refugees and 1,785 asylum-seekers living in the country. While most are Haitian, there are also people from countries such as Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Sri Lanka and Syria. The majority live in urban areas around the capital, Santo Domingo.

The census will also provide an overview of the documentation status of this population. Most refugees in the Dominican Republic were recognized as such in the mid 1990s, but were never able to obtain legal residence in the country. Asylum-seekers have been waiting in some cases for more than 10 years for their claims to be decided, holding state-issued certificates which need to be renewed every three months and do not allow them to work.

"This census can be a useful tool for both UNHCR and the Dominican government," said Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, head of the refugee agency's office in Santo Domingo. "By identifying where individuals are today and re-establishing contact with them, this exercise can contribute significantly in our joint efforts to reactivate the asylum system for individuals who have been waiting years for a decision," he added.

Refugee leaders and asylum-seekers welcomed the census, hoping it would bring about positive changes for them. "This will not solve all the problems my family and I have, but we feel that we count and that we are now being taken into consideration", said Joseph, a community leader.

The census was preceded by an information campaign and intensive consultations with community leaders to ensure that refugees and asylum-seekers are aware of the importance of being registered.

In August 2011, the National Commission for Refugees (CONARE) requested UNHCR´s support to locate asylum-seekers in the country and prepare an initial assessment of their claims. The Dominican government later pledged at a landmark ministerial meeting in Geneva to strengthen CONARE's work and improve the procedure to deal with pending and future asylum cases.

UNHCR has pledged its full support to the Dominican authorities in this significant undertaking. As CONARE has not met since 2005, its reactivation is key in ensuring individuals can exercise their rights and duties under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

By Federico Martinez in Santo Domingo, Dominican

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